To cover-up the deplorable condition of South Nagpur’s iconic Sakkardara lake, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started desilting of the lake bed by draining out the water from the water body. The lake, which is struggling for its survival, is now completely dry, for second time in its 200 years of existence. The civic body received Rs 100 crore from the State Government for rejuvenation work of Gandhi Sagar, Sonegaon and Sakkardara lakes last year. However, instead of initiating the rejuvenation work of the Sakkardara lake, NMC first completed the beautification work on the bank beside the road in the Phase I. NMC got Rs 10 crore for rejuvenation work of the lake and the work was divided in two phases. In Phase I, construction of two parapet walls, walking track near the road and some beautification work took place. “We have initiated the second phase of the project in which we have started draining out water for desilting of the water body.

 

In Phase II, we are constructing parapet walls on the Bollywood Centre Point side and on the residential area side of the lake,” Dr Shweta Banerjee, Superintending Engineer, Environment Department, NMC told ‘The Hitavada’. Apart from desilting and construction of parapet walls, some murals will be painted and decoration work will also take place, said Dr Banerjee. She also said that NMC stopped dumping of sewage by nearby residents in the water body. The construction of a new parapet wall will also curb the anthropogenic activities that have been taking place for years in the lake premises. The city has 11 lakes. Of these, the rejuvenation of Sonegaon, Sakkardara and Gandhi Sagar lakes was taken up many years ago but could not be completed due to various reasons. Slow pace of work also escalated the project cost of rejuvenation works of the lakes and Sakkardara is also among them. The State Government sanctioned Rs 10 crore for Sakkardara lake under its Amrut Scheme.

 

The work was delayed due to delay in release of funds by the State Government. But the work will be completed by February this year, claimed another senior officer of NMC. However, the pace of work is telling a different story, raising questions over the claim. In Phase II, the draining out of water work is underway, thereafter the deepening of the lake and construction of parapet walls will be carried out. Initially, ‘The Hitavada’ reported that the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government had been accused of holding up funds allotted by the previous regime for rejuvenation of Sakkardara lake.

 

“In 2019, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis allotted a fund of Rs 13 crore for rejuvenation of the lake. But after a change of guard in the State, the MVA Government released only Rs 2 crore for the project while remaining funds were blocked,” stated Mohan Mate, MLA, South Nagpur. NMC constructed a boundary wall on the back side of the lake to avoid dumping of solid waste by the slum-dwellers. Now, NMC is again constructing the same parapet wall on the back side in this Phase II work. While everyone is talking about beautification of the Sakkardara lake, environmentalists and experts have been calling for conservation first. “The Government should first think about the lake’s conservation and then its beautification. Rejuvenation of the water body should be the priority for the civic body as it has an historical importance for Nagpur,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, Founder, Green Vigil Foundation. “Draining out of water from the water body is just a waste of existing water resources. In 2021, during the summer season, Sakkardara lake had dried-up. That was the time when NMC should have initiated deepening work in the lake,” Chatterjee added.