This refers to the news ‘Nigeen Lake has turned Eutrophic’. There is nothing new in that. Almost all the water bodies of Kashmir are Eutrophic for the last two-three decades, and that is the reason why the Government is taking the conservation measures for the Dal and Nageen Lakes and other water bodies of the State. The Detailed Project Report prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India for Conservation and Management of Dal-Nageen Lake also mentions that these lakes are Eutrophic.  The news story also mentions that there has been an increase of orthophosphate level to 2.9 mg/litre, which is not true. The tests carried out by the State Pollution Control Board, LAWDA and University of Kashmir suggest that the Total Phosphate level of the lake was less than 1 mg/litre on the first day and the level has gone down to 0.4mg/litre due to the installation of surface aerators and other measures taken. The death of fish in hot summers is because of scorching heat that leads to decrease in oxygen levels. In lakes that have good depth, fish can flee the hot water for cooler water in the depth. It has happened before, in 1992 and 1997, in Nigeen and in Mansar Lake falling in Jammu region. It is happening in the foreign lakes also like Pigeon Lake in Edmonton and in Winconsin, Midwest.

Khursheed Ahmad
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Lastupdate on : Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST