Responding to the distress call on Sukhna Lake of City Beautiful, Haryana Forest and Environment Minister Ajay Singh Yadav has got going. He has directed his department to immediately prepare an action plan for afforestation of the catchment area of the Sukhna falling in Haryana.
These days the placid environs of Sukhna lake have been disturbed by the constant sound of an army of earth movers, trucks and tractors plying busily in and out of the dried up bed of the lake. The Regulator End, as it is called, of the lake has been cordoned off for walkers, as tonnes of silt is scooped out from the bed of the lake and then transported out.
The Sukhna lake, created for the pleasure of visitors, is soon turning into a big disappointment. Sand and cement on the pavement welcome visitors to the lake while a section of the promenade has been closed for repair work.
Sukhna, the landmark waterbody of the City Beautiful, is dying. The water level of the lake has receded from 18 feet in 1958 to approximately four-and-a-half feet today.
* Chandigarh Admn, Haryana Govt share the blame for its sorry state
* Much of lake catchment area denuded, check dams silted over
* Pernicious weed throttling Sukhna, poor rainfall another woe
Sanjeev Singh Bariana & Smriti Sharma Vasudeva
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today expressed its deep concern over the deteriorating condition of Sukhna Lake. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh directed the UT Administration to make all possible efforts to ensure that the lake was protected from deterioration.
The water-bearing capacity of Sukhna Lake has come down from 1074.4 hectare metre to 513.28 hectare metre in 47 years (from 1958 to 2005). This was submitted by the Chandigarh Administration in a detailed reply to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Chandigarh: The increasing silt deposits in the Sukhna Lake have gradually led to a decrease in its area and water storage capacity over the years. In the last few years, not much of water has entered the lake through the catchment area, which is supposed to be a vital channel for water.
