Nagpur: The condition of Sakkardara Lake is the worst among lakes in Nagpur City, and it has even deteriorated compared to last year, reveals a study conducted jointly by Green Vigil Foundation and Earth Echo International on Sunday.
Water quality of Futala, Gandhisagar, Sakkardara and Sonegaon Lakes was tested during a pre-immersion water monitoring programme. Every year, the organization tests the condition of lakes before and after immersion of Ganesh and other festivals. The lakes are tested for different parameters including turbidity, dissolved oxygen and pH value.
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Mon 20 Oct. 2024
According to the study, the acidic value (pH) of Sakkardara Lake and Gandhi Sagar has gone below the permissible limit due to presence of rain water in both lakes. The pH value of Sakkardara Lake and Gandhi Sagar has been 7.8 and 7.2 respectively. It is less than the pH value present in any water body naturally. “The pH value of any lake water must be 8 and above. But both, Sakkardara Lake and Gandhi Sagar, have the value less than what it must be naturally. The drop in pH value of these lakes is due to the presence of more rain water than the water received from aquifers (natural streams contributing to lake water),” said Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder Green Vigil Foundation. For development of the water bodies, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is draining out water completely.
The civic body had de-silted the lake bed of Gandhi Sagar in summer this year. Excessive construction work and concretisation in nearby areas of the lake has decreased the ground water level in the vicinity. For the last few months, the work has affected regeneration through ground water sources.
When asked whether the findings of the study raise questions over the existence of developing the lakes by NMC? Chatterjee denied saying, “Both lakes are filled with just rain water following heavy rains in July and August. Due to rains, the groundwater level will definitely increase in the vicinity, but both lakes have huge quantities of rain water as of now. It will take time to come to any conclusion about long-lasting water in the lakes,” said Chatterjee.
Expressing concern over degradation of Sakkardara lake, Chatterjee said,“We are losing a page of history as Sakkardara Lake is fighting for its survival. It is high time the civic body takes corrective measures to ensure survival and conservation of the water body. The lake, which is filled with rain water, has a large quantity of weeds and debris. Sakkardara Lake may dry completely again next summer as it has no strong source of water like aquifer,” he said.
Every year, Green Vigil Foundation conducts pre-Ganpati Visarjan lake monitoring programme at four major lakes — Futala, Gandhi Sagar, Sonegaon and Sakkardara. For the last 10 years, the NGO along with Earth Echo International has been holding a lake monitoring campaign. As per the findings of the study, pH of water in Sonegaon and Futala lakes is 8.2 each. This reveals that water in both the lakes is a bit alkaline. The study found that Turbidity of Sakkardara Lake was 65 – 70 JTU, whereas that of Sonegaon, Futala and Gandhi Sagar was between 60 and 65 JTU.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level of Sakkardara lake has been 3.0 mg/l only, whereas, that of Gandhi Sagar lake has been 4.0 mg/l, and that of Sonegaon and Futala 4.5 mg/l.
