Sukhna146;s fishy waters

Chandigarh8217;s best-known landmark, the Sukhna Lake, is dying a slow death

Chandigarh8217;s best-known landmark, the Sukhna Lake, is dying a slow death
A week ago, early morning walkers at Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh8217;s best-known landmark, were stunned to see dead fish, washed up on the shores of the lake. The fish were huge most measuring close to 40 cm and the administration sent them for examination to the zoology department of Panjab University.

The report attributed the deaths to a drastic increase in the lake8217;s fish population. The explanation was: the crowded lake had forced the big fish who need more food to go deeper into the lake in search of food. The search led these fish to the lake8217;s silted bottom, the silt choked their gills and they died of asphyxiation.

The administration then got working and decided to remove all the big fish from the lake. The administration justified its decision, saying large fish can be fished out since migratory birds, which will soon start visiting the lake, don8217;t feed on them anyway.
But the city8217;s residents and environmentalists say this is another sign that the lake, which was Le Corbusier8217;s greatest gift to the people of Chandigarh, is slowly dying. Corbusier, the Swiss born architect who designed the city of Chandigarh, had said that people of the city would be drawn to the lake for 8220;care of body and spirit8221;. This 3-km rainfed lake was created in 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik hills.

But the rise of construction activity around the Choe, something which Corbusier had warned against, led to a lot of silt which eventually found its way into the lake. The Sukhna stream was diverted to check the entry of silt, which led to a drastic decline in the level of water in the lake. From a one time high of 20 feet, water in the lake reportedly sunk to two feet. Abundant rains did bring up the water level but the lake, which originally extended up to 3 km, is now down to around 1,500 meters, with water hyacinth and other weeds occupying the rest of the portion.

With its natural charm fading, subsequent administrations have tried to impose their own ideas8212;installing a wind mill that consumes electricity instead of generating it, Kashmiri shikaras, organising parties in the lake club, setting up a restaurant, installing speakers, trampolines and other distractions.