STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Wular Lake in Kashmir, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, is proposed to be developed and beautified with an “eco-friendly” Boulevard Project along its periphery at a cost of Rs 700 crore.
According to the plan, various look-out points, wooden Ghats, Tourist Information Centres and parking areas would be built and many other initiatives undertaken.
Conservation of Wular and other lakes and water bodies in the State is the top most priority of the government and all necessary measures would be taken in this regard, said State Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, Chaudhary Lal Singh.
“We are working on a Boulevard Project along the periphery of Wular Lake which will cost around Rs 700 crore,” he said during a meeting to review the measures taken for conservation of the lake.
The perimeter of Wular Lake, situated in Bandipore District, is 83.6 km and the proposed Wular Boulevard would be from Garoora to Sopore, covering around 34.58 km of its periphery, the minister said.
Dal Lake in Srinagar already has a boulevard along its perimeter which adds immensely to the beauty of the water body.
“The project will be completely eco-friendly and only battery-operated cars will be allowed to ply on the road,” Singh said.
The meeting was informed about the progress of desilting operation under the comprehensive Wular Conservation and Management Plan (WCMP).
Singh stressed on expediting the work to increase the water holding capacity of the lake and underlined its importance in protecting Kashmir Valley from floods by acting as a huge water reservoir.
The minister was informed that under the 13th Finance Commission, Rs 120 crore was sanctioned for conservation and protection of Wular Lake, out of which Rs 60 crore has already been allotted. Also, its entire periphery has been demarcated as per the revenue records which indicate a lake area of 130 sq km.
As many as 1,159 geo-tagged boundary pillars have been erected delineating the lake boundary from the adjoining areas. Also measures to check soil erosion in the catchment area have been taken by constructing check dams, protecting the banks and planting over three lakh trees, Singh was told.
