Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified the clean-up drive of lakes and ponds under the Jal-Ganga Sanvardhan Abhiyan in the capital city, as the pre-monsoon rain over the past 10 days has triggered a rapid increase in growth of water hyacinth. The corporation is taking out over 12 dumpers of water hyacinth from the lakes daily.
According to officials from the BMC’s lake conservation department, initially 2–3 dumpers of water hyacinth were being removed daily since the campaign began on March 31. However, due to accelerated plant growth, 12–15 dumpers of vegetation are now being extracted each day.
Currently, the cleaning operation is underway in nine major water bodies, like upper lake, lower lake, Shahpura lake, Motiya Talab and Saryu Sarovar Talab. Water hyacinth, known for its rapid spread and threat to aquatic ecosystems, is not only harming native flora and fauna but also reducing oxygen levels in the water.
The campaign, which will run till June 30, includes the cleaning and restoration of water bodies, construction of new water storage structures, renovation of existing ones and plantation around water sources.
Pond-wise cleaning
Executive engineer Pramod Malviya told the Free Press that the cleaning was being done pond-wise on different days to ensure thorough removal of water hyacinth. Malviya further said that this initiative was aimed at restoring and preserving Bhopal’s water bodies ahead of the monsoon season.
Converted into compost
Hydraulic platform machines are used to remove the invasive plant. The collected biomass is then transported to the Adampur Cantonment landfill and some of it is dried and converted into compost.
