Rabindra Sarobar Lake to undergo water-quality study

Kolkata: The 72-acre wide Rabindra Sarobar Lake is all set to undergo a thorough testing for assessment of its overall water quality for the first time in several years.

The study will involve sediment testing and bathymetry for determining the exact depth and condition of water at different levels. “Rabindra Sarobar Lake has not witnessed proper desilting for at least for two-three decades. It is only the sides of the waterbody from where the accumulated sludge was removed on multiple occasions but the central area hardly underwent a similar exercise. The detailed testing to ascertain the depth of the lake in different levels will give us an idea how much dredging is essential,” said an official of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of Rabindra Sarobar.

Recently, an NGO filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) flagging the deteriorating condition due to lack of desilting. The expert committee that works for curbing the pollution of the waterbody recently held a meeting deciding to conduct an overall quality survey. The School of Water Resource Engineering of Jadavpur University is expected to be roped in by KMDA for the study.

“Once we are armed with the findings of the survey, we can discuss with NGT how we can execute dredging without affecting the ecosystem. Currently, use of any machinery that causes pollution is prohibited in the Lake’s water,” the official added. The survey process is expected to take time as the sediment analysis will involve collection of water samples at various places for measuring the level of toxicity and other important parameters. KMDA is hopeful of starting the exercise by next month.

Morning walkers at Sarobar often complained of fish deaths and attributed the same to the water turning toxic.

The KMDA has recently purified the water body by spraying quicklime.