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It appears that the UT Administration’s plan to make the Sukhna Lake weed free has disaster written all over it. Efforts made in the last few years bear testimony to this.
From manual de-weeding to introduction of Grass Carp fish, the initiatives have been futile so far. It’s been years since the plan to restore the lake to its pristine beauty was launched, yet higher authorities continue to struggle with the menace of growing weeds.
A recent study about weeds from the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) at Lucknow also remains ineffectual. The only succor that the study brought out was the types of weeds that the NBRI identified during their survey. Thanks to the study, the Administration now knows what it is dealing with.
Since long, the Administration has reposed its faith on the physical de-weeding exercise in the Sukhna Lake. However, the physical de-weeding has barely proved effective as the weed grows back soon after this procedure.
Another initiative of Administration to introduce Grass Carp fish to counter the weed problem has been ineffective. Nearly 30 kg of Grass Carp fish was introduced in the lake last year.
Though Grass Carp was introduced in the lake as a way of controlling weed growth, it did not eat weed and its population continued to increase with the passage of time. In the cascade of failures of UT Administration, a study from the NBRI is the latest one. The Administration had sought assistance of NBRI to end the menace of the weeds from the lake.
In their preliminary report submitted to the Administration, the NBRI experts proposed to be given a study period of a year or more to further study the types of weeds and the methods to control their growth. They had identified five types of the weeds namely Vallisneria spiralis, potamogeton crispus, hydrilla, ceratophyllum and typia that grows in the Sukhna Lake. Now, the Administration is in no mood to confer a year-long study to the NBRI and is thinking of an alternative to control the growth.
Lately, members of a committee constituted to save Sukhna Lake had visited Srinagar’s Dal Lake to study the state-of-the-art harvesters that are being used by them to control the unbridled growth of weeds in Dal Lake. The high-tech harvesters were imported from US to remove the weeds from Dal Lake.
“We have recently visited Dal Lake to study method used by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to control the weed growth there. Now, we would deliberate over the prospects of the machinery if used in Sukhna Lake,” said Santosh Kumar, UT Conservator of forests-cum-wildlife warden and director.
From manual de-weeding to introduction of Grass Carp fish, the initiatives have been futile so far. It’s been years since the plan to restore the lake to its pristine beauty was launched, yet higher authorities continue to struggle with the menace of growing weeds.
A recent study about weeds from the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) at Lucknow also remains ineffectual. The only succor that the study brought out was the types of weeds that the NBRI identified during their survey. Thanks to the study, the Administration now knows what it is dealing with.
Since long, the Administration has reposed its faith on the physical de-weeding exercise in the Sukhna Lake. However, the physical de-weeding has barely proved effective as the weed grows back soon after this procedure.
Another initiative of Administration to introduce Grass Carp fish to counter the weed problem has been ineffective. Nearly 30 kg of Grass Carp fish was introduced in the lake last year.
Though Grass Carp was introduced in the lake as a way of controlling weed growth, it did not eat weed and its population continued to increase with the passage of time. In the cascade of failures of UT Administration, a study from the NBRI is the latest one. The Administration had sought assistance of NBRI to end the menace of the weeds from the lake.
In their preliminary report submitted to the Administration, the NBRI experts proposed to be given a study period of a year or more to further study the types of weeds and the methods to control their growth. They had identified five types of the weeds namely Vallisneria spiralis, potamogeton crispus, hydrilla, ceratophyllum and typia that grows in the Sukhna Lake. Now, the Administration is in no mood to confer a year-long study to the NBRI and is thinking of an alternative to control the growth.
Lately, members of a committee constituted to save Sukhna Lake had visited Srinagar’s Dal Lake to study the state-of-the-art harvesters that are being used by them to control the unbridled growth of weeds in Dal Lake. The high-tech harvesters were imported from US to remove the weeds from Dal Lake.
“We have recently visited Dal Lake to study method used by the Jammu and Kashmir Government to control the weed growth there. Now, we would deliberate over the prospects of the machinery if used in Sukhna Lake,” said Santosh Kumar, UT Conservator of forests-cum-wildlife warden and director.
