Turbulent times for Dal, conservation slow

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 24

It is difficult to find pristine water in the Dal, the lake in Srinagar which lies at the heart of the tourism industry and serves as a quiet host to thousands of tourists.

The lake, located at an average altitude of 1,583 metres, is spread over 24.60 sq km. Of this, only 15.41 sq km is an open expanse of water with submerged vegetation and over 8 sq km is covered with floating vegetation and cultivated land.

With the increase in human interference over decades, the Dal conservation efforts have remained slow. The lake now faces a turbulent phase as sewage and high-nutrient load flows into it, posing a major challenge to its ecosystem.

The conservation reports, one of them dating back to 1978 and prepared by ENEX Consortium of New Zealand, have been strongly recommending “control of nutrient load from the catchment area and allied interventions”, but despite that fewer remedial measures have been implemented.

The finding of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the conservation of the lake this year has detailed major changes in the lake’s ecosystem, most of them attributed to the high-nutrient load entering and settling in the lake.

At the committee’s meeting, scientists and experts discussed a change in the vegetation pattern as a new water fern, azolla, has now replaced the existing fern, salvania.

“The main reason being the enrichment of water by nutrients and change in weather conditions,” the scientists and experts concluded as they directed a study of the impact of the new fern on the lake and short-term remedial measures.

The increased nutrient load has also impacted the population of the lake’s native fish, which requires cleaner environment to survive.

Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee, AR Yousuf, also a former expert at the National Green Tribunal, described the entry of sewage into the lake as the major handicap in its conservation.

“Our priority is to stop the entry of sewage into the lake. Unless we stop it, we cannot conserve the lake,” Yousuf said.

The nutrient load, mostly including nitrogen and phosphorus, is “not getting controlled”, he said.

“The tributaries are also bringing a very high quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus. Once it is controlled, we can work on conserving the lake,” he said.

Yousuf described the lake as “nutrient rich”, a definition of its poor health. “The high-nutrient load has already changed the composition of the lake,” he said.

The Dal Lake is also facing a challenge from the increased growth of lily, which earlier this year had covered 5 sq km-area of the lake. The lily patches had spread “mostly due to its cultivation by locals so that they can convert it later into floating gardens”, the committee had found.

The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), which works for the conservation and management of the Dal Lake, had initiated a major cleansing operation and removed lily patches from 3 sq km in recent months.

The LAWDA is also working on upgrade of two existing artificial wetlands and four retention ponds, where the nutrient load coming from the tributaries will get dumped and cleaner water will go into the lake. The Scientific Advisory Committee has recommended creation of more artificial wetlands at the mouth of the tributaries and drains entering the lake to “arrest the flow of nutrient load”.

Yousuf said there was an immediate need for “simultaneously tackling all components” to conserve the lake. The worst-case scenario, he said, could be that the lake would turn into a marsh.

Sewage a challenge

• Sewage and high-nutrient load flowing into the Dal Lake pose a major challenge to its ecosystem
• The increased nutrient load has also impacted the population of the lake’s fish, which requires cleaner environment to survive