A German tourist, who was “shocked” by the levels of “pollution” in the world famous Dal Lake here, on Sunday joined NGOs in cleaning up the water body.
“I am shocked to see the pollution in the lake ... Last time when I visited Srinagar and stayed in a house boat, the condition of the lake was not so bad,” said Marc Stollreiter, 30, who hired 60 labourers to clean the Nehru Park part of the lake.
This part was once a favourite place for youngsters to swim. Once, even former chief minister Farooq Abdullah had jumped into the lake here during his regime in 1996-2002.
Stollreiter said the plan to clean the lake was chalked out by him and his friend Birgit Lenger in collaboration with the House Boat Owners Association, Valley Citizen’s Council and Dal Zamindar Union.
By noon, volunteers took out tonnes of garbage, including polythene carry bags and plastic bottles, from the lake into boats for proper disposal.
A concerned Stollreiter said, “This lake is dying ... It needs proper maintenance and urgent measures to ensure that coming generations are not deprived of the beautiful water body.”
A visitor to the city since his “childhood”, the tourist said that on every trip he observed an “increase” in the level of pollution in the lake.
His efforts were lauded by the general secretary of the Valley Citizen’s Council, Imdad Saqi. “We are very concerned over the deteriorating health of the lake and failure of authorities to save it,” he said.