Sweet Wular turns poisonous
Listen To Article
Save Article
Print Article
Send Article To Friend
Write To Editor
Comment On Article
Large quantity of fungicides, pesticides and chemicals used in orchards and agricultural land is getting washed into various rivers, streams, brooks and other aquatic bodies directly or indirectly draining into Wular Lake thus making it poisonous, reports MIR TARIQ
Wular Lake once the famous tourist destination and what people called Asia's largest sweet water lake located in foot hills of Bandipore 60 km from Srinagar city is now turning into poisonous lake.Being at the terminus of the drainage system, Wular has become a dumping pool of pollutants, carcasses of dead animals, heavy dosage of fertilizers and pesticides through various rivers like Jehlum, Madhumati and Arin channel, streamlets, and other water bodies. This discharge of solid, liquid and other wastes flowing downstream from urbanized area of Bandipore, Sumbal and Srinagar has transformed the sweet Wular into a poisonous one.
"On entering the Lake one can come across the hundreds of animal carcasses and Skeletons, heaps of plastic bottles and polyethylene bags, which is causing bio-chemical process (reaction) and disturb the natural hydro ecosystem in Wular Lake" said Ghulam Rasool Kuchhay, adding "Heavy dosages of fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural fields besides spraying chemical in orchards for pest control are ultimately washed into Lake, which should be immediately check" "Municipality Bandipore is dumping tones of the garbage in Zalwan area which is part of Wular Land, when the water level increases all the garbage is washed out into the lake" said Muhammad Ramzan Shaida, adding "There are no regulations or guidelines for disposal of solid wastes including carcasses throughout District; there is also lack of sewerage system. The worst part of it is that even dead dogs are dumped on the bank of Wular" "The growing population in the environs of the lake has polluted it to a large extent" said Mushtaq Ahmed, adding, "Nitrates, phosphates and what not have got deposited from the surrounding landmasses, which have led to the excessive weed and plankton growth""Accumulated garbage prevents the sunlight to penetrate through the dense phytoplankton and water crops which results in the death and destruction of the aquatic fauna" Mushtaq added. Chemicals worth about Rs 50 crore find their way into Kashmir's apple orchards and eventually into the local water bodies annually. Scientists feel the per capita fungicide consumption exposes Kashmir to alarming levels of toxicity since it consumes these chemicals at the rate of eight kg per hectare.Large quantity of fungicides, pesticides and chemicals used in orchards and agricultural land is getting washed into various channels (Jehlum major), streamlets, and other aquatic bodies directly or indirectly draining into Wular Lake."Orchard owners in Anantnag, Shopian, pulwama, pinjura, Spore, Bandipora, Sumbal, Gander bal and Srinagar are using chemicals in orchard or in agriculture land which either indirectly through Jehlum enters Wular or directly pours down into Lake incase of Bandipore, Spore and Safapora" said Parvaiz Ahmed president Kashmir Social and environmental Organization NGO (KESCO), adding "Fish, Lotus, Nadroo and other productivities like caltrops etc are now vanishing due to pollution in Wular waters"Water quality deterioration was also mentioned in a report submitted by Wetlands International-South Asia as underWater quality changes in Wular Lake during 1992 to 2006 Water quality changes in Wular Lake during 1992 to 2006 Parameters Units 1992 2006water temperature 0C 3.1 - 25 6.3 - 27.3Transparency m 0.1 - 1.3 0.16 - 0.73 PH 7.1 - 9.8 7.2 - 7.7Conductivity s/ cm, 57.0 - 429 118 - 3.5Dissolved oxygen mg/l 1.3 - 15.2 4.5 - 8.0Chloride mg/l 11.0 - 81.0 11.8 - 28.0Calcium mg/l 4.6 - 73.8 20.5 - 62.3Magnesium mg/l 0.8 - 35.6 12.2 - 30.1Ammonia _g/l 1.0 - 205 64.0 – 101Nitrate nitrogen _g/l 9.0 - 580 205 – 419Ortho phosphate _g/l 0.0 - 31.0 79 - 131.7Total phosphorus _g/l 0.0 - 103 180.0 – 292.5 Despite a rapid increase in human population, there has been no up gradation of the civic infrastructure leading to an increasingly higher proportion of wastes being dumped into the water bodies. Presently none of the settlements have been provided with sewerage treatment facilities, the result is the discharge of wastewater directly in the water body leading to poor and unhygienic water quality.However the fishermen said "The production of fishes in the lakes is falling down day by day as the concerned departments have failed to check the growing pollution in the lake""We are apprehensive that the fish might get extinct in the lake, due to entrance of poisonous material in the lake through Jehlum and other streams" they added.While talking to Rising Kashmir Nazir Ahmed Mir Chef executive Officer Wular development Authority (WDA) said "We have sent a project for the conservation of Wular Lake to central government and in coming months the work for conservation will be initiated""Presently the conservation work is being done by the Forest department "Added Mir.However, denying the responsibility of Wular Conservation, D.F.O Bandipore Altaf-ul-Rehaman Gillani said "We have nothing to do with the conservation of Wular Lake; we are following the orders of WDA not more than that"
"On entering the Lake one can come across the hundreds of animal carcasses and Skeletons, heaps of plastic bottles and polyethylene bags, which is causing bio-chemical process (reaction) and disturb the natural hydro ecosystem in Wular Lake" said Ghulam Rasool Kuchhay, adding "Heavy dosages of fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural fields besides spraying chemical in orchards for pest control are ultimately washed into Lake, which should be immediately check" "Municipality Bandipore is dumping tones of the garbage in Zalwan area which is part of Wular Land, when the water level increases all the garbage is washed out into the lake" said Muhammad Ramzan Shaida, adding "There are no regulations or guidelines for disposal of solid wastes including carcasses throughout District; there is also lack of sewerage system. The worst part of it is that even dead dogs are dumped on the bank of Wular" "The growing population in the environs of the lake has polluted it to a large extent" said Mushtaq Ahmed, adding, "Nitrates, phosphates and what not have got deposited from the surrounding landmasses, which have led to the excessive weed and plankton growth""Accumulated garbage prevents the sunlight to penetrate through the dense phytoplankton and water crops which results in the death and destruction of the aquatic fauna" Mushtaq added. Chemicals worth about Rs 50 crore find their way into Kashmir's apple orchards and eventually into the local water bodies annually. Scientists feel the per capita fungicide consumption exposes Kashmir to alarming levels of toxicity since it consumes these chemicals at the rate of eight kg per hectare.Large quantity of fungicides, pesticides and chemicals used in orchards and agricultural land is getting washed into various channels (Jehlum major), streamlets, and other aquatic bodies directly or indirectly draining into Wular Lake."Orchard owners in Anantnag, Shopian, pulwama, pinjura, Spore, Bandipora, Sumbal, Gander bal and Srinagar are using chemicals in orchard or in agriculture land which either indirectly through Jehlum enters Wular or directly pours down into Lake incase of Bandipore, Spore and Safapora" said Parvaiz Ahmed president Kashmir Social and environmental Organization NGO (KESCO), adding "Fish, Lotus, Nadroo and other productivities like caltrops etc are now vanishing due to pollution in Wular waters"Water quality deterioration was also mentioned in a report submitted by Wetlands International-South Asia as underWater quality changes in Wular Lake during 1992 to 2006 Water quality changes in Wular Lake during 1992 to 2006 Parameters Units 1992 2006water temperature 0C 3.1 - 25 6.3 - 27.3Transparency m 0.1 - 1.3 0.16 - 0.73 PH 7.1 - 9.8 7.2 - 7.7Conductivity s/ cm, 57.0 - 429 118 - 3.5Dissolved oxygen mg/l 1.3 - 15.2 4.5 - 8.0Chloride mg/l 11.0 - 81.0 11.8 - 28.0Calcium mg/l 4.6 - 73.8 20.5 - 62.3Magnesium mg/l 0.8 - 35.6 12.2 - 30.1Ammonia _g/l 1.0 - 205 64.0 – 101Nitrate nitrogen _g/l 9.0 - 580 205 – 419Ortho phosphate _g/l 0.0 - 31.0 79 - 131.7Total phosphorus _g/l 0.0 - 103 180.0 – 292.5 Despite a rapid increase in human population, there has been no up gradation of the civic infrastructure leading to an increasingly higher proportion of wastes being dumped into the water bodies. Presently none of the settlements have been provided with sewerage treatment facilities, the result is the discharge of wastewater directly in the water body leading to poor and unhygienic water quality.However the fishermen said "The production of fishes in the lakes is falling down day by day as the concerned departments have failed to check the growing pollution in the lake""We are apprehensive that the fish might get extinct in the lake, due to entrance of poisonous material in the lake through Jehlum and other streams" they added.While talking to Rising Kashmir Nazir Ahmed Mir Chef executive Officer Wular development Authority (WDA) said "We have sent a project for the conservation of Wular Lake to central government and in coming months the work for conservation will be initiated""Presently the conservation work is being done by the Forest department "Added Mir.However, denying the responsibility of Wular Conservation, D.F.O Bandipore Altaf-ul-Rehaman Gillani said "We have nothing to do with the conservation of Wular Lake; we are following the orders of WDA not more than that"
No comments:
Post a Comment