Lakes

CASES ON PROTECTION OF LAKES

Churning Still Water - Briefing Paper on Urban Waterbodies

Urban waterbodies play an important role in flood control, groundwater recharge and water supply to help cities adapt to climate change effects.

Lake protectors

Old Mirrors Traditional Ponds of Kolkata

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has come up with a book on ponds of  Kolkata called "Old Mirrors-Traditional ponds of Kolkata" in the begining of this year. The author of the book is Mohit Ray. Ray is the founder director of a Kolkata based non profit organization, Vasundhara. He has documented 48 ponds of Kolkata. The age of some ponds is 250 years and 24 of them are 200-300 years old.  He had studies all the 48 ponds in details. He gave an elaborate history of the ponds and along with that he researched out the present conditions of these water bodies.

Environmentalists fighting to save the Ousteri lake

Ousteri lake (Osudu lake) is one of the examples in the history of deterioration of wetlands where a long wait for the final judgment is taking the lake towards a slow death process.

Sanjay lake -- dying silently

Nine years have passed since Vinod Kumar Jain had filed a public interest litigation to save the water bodies of Delhi. The case is still in the court but meanwhile some lakes in Delhi, have actually turned into cesspools. One such lake is the Sanjay lake of east Delhi.

Lake under scanner

Construction of a new housing project adjacent to the Khurpa tal by the Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO) has caused afresh hue and cry among the villagers in the surrounding area when Dr. Ajay S. Rawat, Professor of History in Kumaon University filed a PIL against the illegal boring of groundwater in the area this January.

Database on threatened lakes

Traditionally, water was seen as a responsibility of citizens and the community collectively took the responsibility of not only building but also of maintaining the water bodies. Since independence, the government has taken control over the water bodies and water supply.