Srinagar's Dal Lake shrinks by 36% in the last 37 years

Study shows half of Srinagar's water bodies have disappeared in the past century

Per a study by Srinagar’s Directorate of Environment, Ecology and Remote Sensing, more than 50% of water bodies in and around Srinagar have disappeared during the past century. The State Water Mission has attributed this to human interference and rapid urbanisation which is taking a heavy toll on Kashmir's water bodies. Lakes in the region get silted due to massive erosion in the catchment area and thereby turn into land masses.  Estimation has also shown that Dal Lake, a major tourist attraction in Srinagar, has shrunk from 2,547 hectares in 1971 to 1,620 hectares in 2008.

Centre clears water and sewerage plans worth Rs 2,786 crore in AMRUT cities

Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Union Development Ministry has approved state-level action plans for providing water supply and sewerage connections for 89 cities in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The plan involves 143 projects across the three states. 47 schemes pertain to water supply while 31 schemes are for expanding sewerage network services, and the rest are related to storm water drains, urban transport and green spaces and parks. 

Activists demand cancellation of green nod to two hydel projects in Uttarakhand

Locals and activists have sought the cancellation of the environment nod of 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad and 444 MW Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydro electricity projects on the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers, respectively. The activists have alleged that the project proponents are dumping muck and debris in the rivers which is in violation to the environmental norms. Also, per the claims, the Environment Ministry has also failed in taking any action against the violation as it has not evolved a monitoring system for such projects.

Ford, Colgate, Toyota perform well to mitigate corporate water risk: Report

Per a report titled, 'Accelerating Action', Asahi Group Holdings, Colgate Palmolive Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are among the global corporations with an ‘A’ rating for their efforts to improve water security. The report has been prepared by CDP, an international not-for-profit organisation. Also, the report has mentioned that nearly 53% of the companies have failed to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment despite the ongoing water crises.

Thane cleanses its lakes in an environment friendly way

The Thane Municipal Corporation, under the guidance of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), has initiated the use of Floating Wetlands or 'Florafts' to clean three of its polluted lakes--Siddheshwar, Datiwali and Owla. The method involves planting certain varieties of plants in rafts that help fight pollution. The project has shown positive results with an improvement in water quality of these lakes and reduction in the foul odour from them.  

This is a roundup of important news updates from October 20 - 26, 2015. Also read last week's policy matters update.

Lead image source: McKay Savage via Wikipedia.