Locals pitch for its restoration
Srinagar, Feb 20, CNS: Due to alleged official apathy Anchar Lake is dying its own death while locals blame that authorities have miserably failed to restore its pristine glory. According to them encroachments by surrounding residents are going on war footing basis with illegal constructions and if these conditions persist and no strict measures are taken for its restoration, then the lake will perish very soon.
A delegation from Soura and its adjacent areas told CNS that Anchar Lake is on the verge of extinction as the government is in no mood to preserve it. “For the past many years there has been much deterioration and its peripheries are witnessing rapid illegal encroachments without any check by the concerned authorities. In the interior of the lake, marshlands have been created directly from the Lake Basin and large scale cultivation of water weeds as cash crops are grown on large tracks,” they said.
The locals also blamed SKIMS administration for the mess and alleged that
liquid and solid biomedical wastes of SKIMS directly pour in lake. “A single furnace installed by State Pollution Control Board is insufficient for the disposal of solid wastes.
The population of surrounding areas is suffocating as the amputated human body parts are directly thrown in the lake without following any proper disposing methods. The smell after their decay suffocates the entire area besides, attracting scavengers and other predators, causing nuisance,” the delegation said.
They said that some vested interest elements after land filling in the river body convert the patches into permanent lands and use it for the cultivation of vegetables and other cash crops. “Discharge of untreated effluents, sewage from surrounding human settlements is directly pouring in it. Putrefied domestic animals are seen floating in its waters, making the lake water extremely polluted and filthy.”
“The successive governments bothered least about this lake and now we appeal Governor Administration to stop encroachments in and around it and restore its pristine glory,” the conscious citizens said. (CNS)