Uttarakhand’s irrigation department will now have the responsibility to revive the Naini Lake in Nainital. Earlier, state’s Public Works Department was looking after the lake, but on Monday, state government took the decision to shift responsibility.
In the past few days, many prominent personalities, including cricketer Mohammad Kaif, Atul Kasbekar and Pushpesh Pant, have raised concerns over the decreasing water level in Naini Lake.
On Monday, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, during a review meeting of the irrigation department, asked officials to give priority to revival of rivers and lakes in the state.
The irrigation officials presented a three-year plan for revival of Kosi river as other water bodies in Bhimtaal and Naukuchiatal.
An online petition has also been initiated by people to save the lake. The petition has been signed by over 13,00 people including Shubha Mudgal.
Update: 26 May 2017: Water Level at Nainital’s Naini Lake Drops 18 Feet below Normal
Naini Lake, the only water source of the charming town of Nainital, is continuously shrinking, and the current water level in the lake has dropped by unprecedented 18 feet below the normal level.
Nainital gets its name from the Naini Lake. The quaint town emerged as a popular shooting destination for Bollywood movies in the 1970s. The crescent shaped Naini Lake is a natural freshwater body, and is one of the four lakes of Kumaon hills; the other three lakes are the Bhimtal Lake, Sattal Lake, the Naukuchiyatal Lake. Naini Lake has snow view peaks to its north, the Tiffin Top to south west, and steep Naina peak towards the North West side. The annual rainfall in the basin area of the lake is 1294.5 mm. Naini Lake gets flows from the surrounding catchment basin. The hydrologic studies have suggested that the subsurface inflow and outflow range from 43 to 63% and 41 to 54%, respectively, of the total inflow and outflow.
According to Vishal Singh, a research scholar from the CEDAR, the water level in the lake reaches 12 feet above the zero mark during monsoons. However, the current level is 18 feet below the normal mark.
According to local residents, the shoreline of the lake has receded in recent months, and the situation has got worse in the month of May. Last year in May, the water level in the Naini Lake was two feet below zero. Experts blame deforestation, illegal construction, and destruction of natural springs as main reasons for this situation. Earlier, the lake was recharged by 60 natural springs, of which only 30 exist today, and even those springs are experiencing reduced water flow. Sukhatal, which recharges more than 50% of the Naini Lake, has also been neglected by the authorities in the past years.
In 2012, a PIL was filed in the Uttarakhand high court requesting court to convert Nainital into an eco-sensitive zone. In 2016, the court asked IIT Roorkee to study the area and submit a detailed project report possibilities of beautification and recharge of the Sukhatal area.
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