Naini Lake polluted by sewage and construction waste

BIDISHA KUMAR

Samrat Mukherjee / CSE

Pollution hazard: Nainital's b
NAINITAL town’s Naini lake is shrinking and its water becoming increasingly
murky. The quality of water in the lake, which is the sole source of drinking
water for the people of the town, has deteriorated alarmingly. The discharge of
sewage into the lake and inappropriate construction activity in the lake’s
catchment area are the villains of the piece. The lake is fed by rainfall (2,220
mm-2,500 mm annually), and rainfed springs.

Monsoon overflow from the lake passes through the Balia nullah, which empties
into the Balia ravine. It is central to Nainital’s existence. “The Balia nullah
controls the stability of the entire lower portion of the town between the outfall
of the lake and the Brewery…,” say geologists G C Kandpal and G Pant in their
paper ‘The Geological Evaluation of Instability Along Balia Nullah’ (1999). The
ravine is now subject to continuous erosion. According to geologist K S Valdiya,
the nullah is in an unstable zone with multiple faults. “If this nullah caves in,
the onrush of water from the lake will sweep away towns and villages
downstream,” says Ajay Rawat, head, department of history, Kumaon
University.

Choking
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the lake range from 13 mg/litre to 23
mg/litre (permissible limit: <3 mg/litre) on the surface and are increasing, says
a Nainital Lake Region Special Area Development Authority study (2002). The
lake has also shrunk: “…from an average depth of 29 m in 1871, the depth has
dwindled to 13 m in recent times,” says A K Sharma, professor, geology
department, Kumaon University. The phosphate content in the lake has
increased, leading to eutrophy, says a 2005 study of the Centre for Advanced
Study in Geology, Punjab University. It says the lake has a high rate of
sedimentation, 11.5 mm/year. “Rapid population growth, unrestricted building
activities on the slopes, frequent landslides, dumping of solid and liquid waste
and uncontrolled expansion of tourism in the catchment and forest areas, has
taken its toll on the lake,” says Rawat. “Pumps for drinking water were
installed in 1923 for a population of 8,000. Now the population has increased
by five times, but infrastructure has not been upgraded,” says P K Pande,
assistant engineer, Jal Sansthan.

Hoteliers and individuals pump water from the lake illegally, and drain
wastewater and tip garbage into it. “Of the 2,000 registered houses in the
town, only 1,100 are connected to sewer lines,” says A K Saxena, executive
engineer, Jal Nigam. Wastewater from 900 registered houses and illegal houses
enters the lake untreated.

Pipe nightmares
Unplanned growth has a long history and affects the entire area around the
lake and Nainital town. The main sewer line of Nainital, built by the British,
passes through geologically unstable areas. “Due to a landslide, this pipeline
has broken which has resulted in free flow of water (sewage) from the pipe,”
states a June 2006 study by the civil engineering department of the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee. Sewage from the snapped sewer line is
polluting villages downslope and undermining the hill. “The slope has already
cascaded some 20 m in some patches. If the hillock caves in further, it will
affect the stability of the Balia and Nihal watersheds, which are critical for the
geological stability of the Nainital area,” says Rawat.

Housing projects are being promoted in eco-fragile areas and slopes. The most
risky project is being planned on an unstable debris hillock. Land sharks and
the building mafia are moving in to develop forested slopes. A hillock, the
Hanuman Garhi Forest Park, is being developed by the government. These will
destroy Himalayan oaks, which store water and release it for springs that feed
the lake. Rawat says the town had 250 springs before 1950. Out of these, 30
remain.

The judiciary provides hope. In response to a petition filed by Rawat in 1993,

the Supreme Court had passed directions in 1995 to stop sewage discharge
into the lake; maintain Balia ravine; and ban new building complexes. But
authorities have okayed new projects.

Rawat has filed another petition in the Uttaranchal High Court on May 16,
2006, seeking a ban on building in eco-fragile areas. The public also protested.
As a result, a panel chaired by the state’s chief conservator of forests directed
that construction at Hanuman Garhi Park be stopped. No action has been taken
to stop construction elsewhere.