When the water bodies in the valley are deteriorating and drains and sewage being dumped into them,the Nigeen Lakes conservation organization NLCO,an NGO,has set up an example by taking an initiative to save it,however small it may be. The NLCO was started in 2000 with the donation from a group of businessmen to save the Nigeen Lake from further pollution and it seems they have succeeded to an extent. We registered our organization with the Government in 2001 and started deweeding of the lake which proved very beneficial, said one of the founder members of NLCO,Manzoor Ahmed Wangnoo. The organization has involved the residents living in the area around the lake in the campaign started by them. NLCO had also launched an awareness campaign regarding the effect of dumping polythene and other waste material in Nigeen Lake. We have worked voluntarily with the locals and worked on a small budget when we started. Go and check there is not a single polythene in the central portion of the Lake said Wangnoo. We forcibly removed some floating gardens and the pipes which were laid in the middle of the lake for water treatment, he said. The area of the lake has decreased considerably with the 60,000 odd illegal constructions inside the lake which also contribute to the pollution in the Lake. The main source of pollution from the residential houses is the kitchen waste water which contains detergents and soaps say the experts. The people living in the lake should be rehabilitated,given proper sanitation and electricity. The floating gardens should be removed immediately as they contribute to the shrinking area of the lake, added Wangnoo. The people living in and around the lake need hygienic kitchens with good sanitation and drainage. Floating gardens which are actually a land mass in the water are a real threat to the lake. Floating gardens stop flow of water,silt,dead animals and polythene which leads to water stagnation, he said. Another major source of pollution are the drains from the adjoining areas Lal Bazar,Sadrabal and Khoj Yarbal that are directly diverted into the lake without any chemical treatment. The only way to save these water bodies is to make some civil societies who will monitor the work being done by Lakes and Water Ways Development Authority as it seems the LAWDA has failed to do anything, he added. The sewage treatment plants have not been connected and the High Court had given an order for completion of work on them in two weeks,but nothing has happened as yet. The NLCO has been working on the cleaning of the Lake for eight years now. According to the NGO,the realignment of the houseboats and their connection has been a complete failure. However,the main problems which lead to water pollution are many and need to be addressed at the ground level. The washer men living in areas around the lake wash their stuff with detergent on the banks of the lake which is again a major source of pollution. Also the vote bank politics is another problem. Politicians lure the people with facilities in return for their votes. Much work needs to be done to save the lake and free it from pollution. While some types of weeds are beneficial to the lake,they absorb the nutrients from the air and help in the purification of the water. At the same time few weeds are devastating for the lake. The disastrous of all weeds is Azolla which when dead,sinks to the bottom of the lake and decreases the water level, he added.
