Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, May 5: High Court today pulled up the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWWDA) for allowing flow of sewage, manure and fertilizers to enhance growth of weed in the Dal Lake.
“LAWWDA spends millions of rupees on de-weeding operations, manual as well as mechanical. And on other hand thousands of tons of manure and fertilizers in shape of urban and agriculture runoffs are allowed to flow into the Lake to promote and enhance growth of weed on lake bed,” observed a Division Bench of the court comprising Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Bansi Lal Bhat after hearing a PIL on Dal Lake.
The court expressed its concern over the excessive and uncontrolled growth of weed on the lake bed and observed “it has contributed in big way the decay and degradation of Lake.”
The court further said that the free flow of untreated discharges, like sewage, urban and agriculture runoffs, waste water from residential and commercial buildings into the lake, as we are aware that urban & agriculture runoffs are rich in nitrogen and phosphorus acts as fertilizers for weed growing on the lake bed.
With regard to operation of about 5 STPs around the Lake which are without their optimum operational capacity, the bench reiterated: “We cannot restore quality of lake water and help lake regain its glory unless and until we have clear idea about points at which untreated urban and agriculture runoffs and other discharges and average volume of such effluents flowing into Lake per month.”
The court directed Vice Chairman LAWWDA, Shafat Noor, to survey the Lake to find out such points.
The court also suggested VC LAWWDA that he may include the faculty and students from department of environmental science Kashmir University and volunteers from other NGOs with this exercise.
The court sought a comprehensive report from LAWWDA authorities within three weeks indicating therein average volume of untreated discharge added to Lake per month with a detailed map of identifying source of aforesaid water pollution in the lake with necessary precision.
Earlier, the court directed the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir to provide at least one personnel security officer (PSO) to Chairman Court Committee Abdul Wahid so that he could carry out the directions passed from time to time without any hindrance or security concern as the area is fraught with risk.
Additional Advocate General Reyaz Khan who is representing the Home Department assured that services of PSO would be provided to Wahid within one week.
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