The Dal Lake here has started losing water once again. It has become cause for concern among locals and environmental activists of the region. Dheeraj Mahajan, an animal activist from Dharamsala, said in the recent past he had noticed that the lake was losing water and fish were dying. “I informed the authorities of the Jal Shakti Department and the district administration about the phenomena. The Dal Lake is a tourist destination and it is unfortunate that it is losing water and the fish are dying,” he said. A few months ago, the Jal Shakti Department had used bentonite to plug the leakage at the floor of the lake. The lake lost its water retention capacity after the Public Works Department removed silt from its bed to increase its depth in 2011.
Sodium bentonite or “drillers mud” was often used to seal leaking ponds. When moistened, bentonite swells 11-15 times its original size, plugging spaces between soil particles as it expands. Because of high cost, bentonite is best used in spot applications on small leaks. It is applied at a rate of one to three pounds per sq ft. The actual amount depends on soil type and severity of the problem. After using the bentonite, the Jal Shakti Department had claimed that the problem of water leakage in the Dal Lake had been resolved. However, it has again started losing water.
Deepak Garg, Superintending Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, said the cause for the lake losing water was man-made. “We had created scour valve in the lake before its floor was cleaned to apply bentonite. Some miscreants opened the scour valve due to which it started losing water. We are now in the process of permanently plugging the scour. We have also added about 1 lakh litres of water artificially in the lake to save the fish. Another 1.5 lakh litres of water will be added soon,” he said.
The mid-altitude Dal Lake, located around 11 km from Dharamsala in Tota Rani village near Naddi, though very small as compared to the Dal Lake in Srinagar, is a natural water body vital for the ecosystem of surrounding hills. The lake, at a height of 1,775 metres from the sea level and surrounded by deodars, is a tourist attraction. Locals consider it sacred and there is a small Shiva temple also on its banks. However, persisted silting from the adjoining mountains had reduced the depth of water in the lake. About half of the lake area has been filled with silt and converted into grass land.
As per revenue records, the area of lake was about 1.22 hectares or 12,200 sq mt. However, due to silting it has been reduced to half. The depth of the lake, which was about 10 feet, has also been reduced. A massive operation with the help of locals was launched in 2011 by the local administration for resurrecting the lake. The silt taken out was used to create a parking near the temple area. Since then, the lake has dried rapidly. According to geologists, unscientific digging is likely to have created aqueducts at the base of the lake, leading to draining of water.