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| Mansar lake shrinks, tourism deptt caught off guard | | |
BHARAT BHUSHAN
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 17: The famous Mansar lake, which is on the national and state tourist maps, has shrunk and the water level in it has dropped over 15 ft or so. The lake, situated in the midst of lusting greeneries surrounded by forested Shivaliks, falls in Samba district and is visited by thousands of domestic and outside tourists every year, though it sans the basic facilities.
It is popular among tourists, boating enthusiasts and daily morning and evening walkers. It is also visited by rare migratory birds from colder regions in winters.
Mansar lake is seen as an embodiment of Sheshnag. It is the largest natural lake in the region, and is shrinking due to the supply of water from it to the nearby villages.
It is a fresh water lake without any inflow or outflow, and a lot of tourists from different parts of the country visit it every year to enjoy its natural beauty.
It is primarily fed from rains and underground springs. It is considered as a very holy site known from mythological periods sharing the sanctity and legacy of Mansa Sarovar. People are very concerned over its shrinking and have even formed Mansar Bachao Andolan (MBA) committee to fight for its protection. Earlier, the filthy household water and fertiliser-mixed rain water from the nearby fields also flowed into the lake, but after the death of hundreds of water-breathing fishes nearly five years back, all these entry points were plugged.
It was felt that time that the fishes had died due to the lake water contamination.
Now, possibly due to the government's apathetic attitude towards it, it size has shrunk in the past four years. Despite protests by MBA, the PHE department has not stopped its supply to Mansar villages, said Mohinder Sharma, who runs a coffee shop close to the lake.
He looked worried when he said the water body had shrunk and reduced in size. "We will not let it happen and if need arises, we will adopt agitational path to ensure that government takes requisite steps for its protection," he said.
Pointing towards the stairs at the bathing ghat for women, he said at least five stairs were immersed in water earlier, but now the water level had dropped over 12 ft and all the stairs had become visible.
MBA president Bal Krishan said due to its shrinking, the lake had reached the point from where the danger level started. He attributed the three deaths in the lake in the last 10 days to the reduced size of the water body.
He said people earlier bathed on stairs and never dared to go deeper. "Since it has shrunk now and already reached the danger level, a step or two into it can lead to death," he added.
On February 2 last, a function was held at Mansar in which union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh, chief minister Omar Abdullah and state forest minister Mian Altaf had committed to the protection of Mansar lake and all other lakes, besides other water bodies and wetlands, in the state.
But no step was taken by them or the authorities concerned to fulfil their commitment, said Dewan Singh, ex-Mansar sarpanch. He said deputy commissioner's commitment with them not to supply Mansar lake water to people had also not come true.
PHE Chief Engineer Dalip Bakshi said supplying water from lakes to people for drinking purposes was an age-old tradition. "The Mansar lake water is being supplied for drinking purpose only and not for any other purpose," he added.
"We understand the gravity of the situation and some schemes are already underway to ensure adequate potable water supply to the Mansar villages," Bakshi added.
He said once the schemes were completed and implemented in an year or so, Mansar lake would be relieved of the burden on it.
When contacted, a senior tourism official said he was not in knowhow of the matter and did not know the reasons behind the shrinking of the lake.
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