Adequate measures will be taken to rejuvenate the pristine glory of the famous Dal Lake at Naddi Lake in Dharamshala stated Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, while chairing a marathon meeting with the officers of Tourism and Forest Departments here today. He said that on the directions of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, it is proposed to reach out to the world renowned conservationist’s and geological experts for conducting the study of the Lake which was fast depleting affecting the aquatic life and beauty of the place.
He said that so far since 2004, a sum of Rs. 31 lakh has been spent on the beautification of the Dal Lake by both the forest and the IPH department till date. Efforts were made to find the fault of water seepage which has a huge catchment area. Besides affecting the economy of the locals it now was giving a deserted look, stated he. The local activists have also stepped in to save aquatic life by shifting them to other water bodies nearby.
He stated that even the Kangra Deputy Commissioner was in touch with Lake Man of India Anand Malligavad to find a permanent and long lasting solution to prevent the lake from drying. Apart from this, few other experts will be reached out to find the reason behind its drying said Sh. Pathania.
Sincere efforts will be made to revitalize both the Dal Lake and the famous Khajjiar Lake in Chamba situated at an altitude of 1951 meters. The experts will be asked to conduct a scientific study of Khajjiar Lake as well, which is named after the local deity Khajji Nag. Both the lakes apart from being the tourist’s attractions hold religious prominence as well as both domestic and International tourists arrive in numbers.
The locals even worship these lakes and have religious sentiments attached with these water bodies. Sh. Pathania said that soon a proposal would be discussed with the Chief Minster and experts would be invited soon to carry out the studies.
Present in the meeting were Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Vivek Bhatia, Joint Secretary Forests Praveen Kumar Tak, DFO Dharamshala Dinesh Sharma amongst others.