War on terror notwithstanding, Army has embarked on a new mission to clean the world famous Dal Lake in Kashmir.
Increasing habitation, lack of waste management, massive sewerage flow and increasing human pressure is silently killing the world famous lake.
Waking up to the crisis, the Jammu and Kashmir government launched ‘Save Dal Project’ to conserve the lake. Over Rs 759 crore has been spent by different governments to save the Dal Lake since 2002, but the health of the water body continues to deteriorate.
Enter 2018, the army has chipped in to help in cleaning the lake and restore the pristine glory of the water body which attracts lakhs of tourists every year.
“Army feels that Dal being the pride of Srinagar and Kashmir valley, as such how the health of the lake can be restored. At the moment some initial reconnaissance is being done to see what could be done so that enormity of the task could be tackled. The team is doing a pilot project to know what can be the best solution if we can contribute to the conservation of lake”, said an army spokesman at Srinagar.
Around eight to ten boats with troops have been pressed into service to clean the Dal presently. Cruising through the lake, the troops are helping in the de-weeding process to clean the waters.
“They started the work two-three days back. They (troops) have got some specialization. They are people who are commissioned in water. It is a combined effort of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), state administration, municipality and us”, said the spokesman.
