Pollution in the lake ecosystem is harming over 100 species of fish, mangroves and coconut trees.
Kollam:
Kerala’s once scenic Ashtamudi Lake, described as the gateway to the state’s backwaters and favored by tourists from all over the world for houseboat rides, has become a dump site for sewage, the state’s According to an oversight by the Legal Services Authority KLSA is slowly killing it. On the directions of Kerala High Court.
“Very pathetic” how the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KLSA), reported to the High Court, described the condition of the lake spread over an area of about 1,700 sq km, surrounded by coconut groves and palm trees , and several smaller islands.
The report also noted that sewage from nearby homes and government establishments was the main cause of the lake’s pollution and the risk of permanent damage to its unique wetland ecosystem.
According to the Kerala tourism website, the cruises will give “an in-depth look at the heart and soul of the backwaters”.
“The eight arms or channels of the Ashtamudi Lake give it its name. It is the gateway to the famous backwaters of Kerala and the houseboat rides here are extremely famous. The Kollam to Alappuzha route is considered the best in the backwaters. Deeply see the heart and soul of the backwaters,” claims the tourist destination.
However, the ground reality is different, according to local resident KM Saleem, who told PTI that no one would want to walk along a “highly polluted” lake, let alone go for a “cruise” on it, when it smells Decades’ worth of municipal solid waste and sewage are seeping through.
Incidentally, based on their letter sent to the Kerala High Court, it decided to investigate the issue, launched a PIL and asked the KLSA to inspect the water body which is the second largest lake in the state.
Mr Salim further said that tourism has also contributed to the pollution of the lake as the waste from the house boat is also released into the water body.
District judge who inspected the lake and KLSA member secretary KT Nisar Ahmed told PTI that the filth and garbage floating in the lake is affecting its ecosystem, which includes thousands of years old mangrove trees. there in the past several years.
Asked if the lake’s filth is being termed as such because it is the legacy we are leaving for generations to come, he laughed and said, “Maybe”.
The judge further observed that people do not realize that polluting the water body can affect the ground water in the area and ultimately the general public health in the long run.
“This condition is not limited to Ashtamudi lake only, it is prevalent in many other places in the state. People do not realize that digging of mountains and dumping of filth in rivers and lakes will have serious environmental consequences. It has to happen. awareness on the issue,” he said.
The judge further observed that the corporation could have cleared some part of the lake with little effort, especially the part close to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus stand where the situation is really bad, but no one, including the local body, appeared upset.
He said that a few years back the government had sanctioned funds for cleaning the lake, but it never worked and now another project worth over Rs 100 crore is underway for the same purpose.
Mr. Salim said that over the years garbage and filth were being dumped in this area and as a result more than 100 species of fishes, mangroves, coconut trees and palm trees which are part of that ecosystem are getting adversely affected. She was
A resident of the area for decades, he remembers his younger days, when he used to take a dip in the lake with his friends.
“Now you can’t even dare to dip your hand in water, if you do, you might get rashes or blisters or any other infection,” he said.
He said that even the fishes like Karimin found in the lake are no longer what they used to be in their childhood days, when Ashtamudi was not as polluted as it is at present.
“You can’t walk along the lake without overwhelming your olfactory senses with the stench emanating from there,” he said.
The photographs attached to the KLSA report, filed through advocate Santosh Mathew, show all kinds of garbage and garbage floating in the lake along with the house boat, its color changing to a green.
In some of the photographs, which according to the judge “speak volumes”, the water body looks more like an open creek and less like a lake, with its borders also littered with waste in many places.
What is more painful about Ashtamudi apart from the inaction of local bodies and their contribution to polluting the lake is that despite being a Ramsar site – a wetland site designed for international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as Both the judge and Mr. Salim said, “as a convention of the wetlands” – nothing was being done by anyone to rectify the situation.
The Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty adopted by UNESCO in 1971 and which came into force in 1975, provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands and the wise sustainable use of their resources, according to the KLSA report.
The KLSA report further stated that inspection of the lake revealed that the main cause of its pollution was the direct dumping of sewage from nearby government institutions, residences and a public toilet, which was very close to the water body, which could be used for incoming was for the passengers. Near KSRTC Bus Stand.
It also said that while the secretary of the district panchayat denied dumping sewage waste from the nearby district hospital into the reservoir, the fact remains that the lake is highly polluted and its present condition is very pathetic.
The report said that pollution of water bodies like Ashtamudi lake in this way was a “common scenario” across Kerala.
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