Uttarakhand HC-appointed panel suggests capping on tourists in Nainital, conservationists agree

DEHRADUN: After a High Court-appointed district level COVID monitoring committee recommended limiting the number of visitors to Nainital to 500 per day, experts and environmentalists said that this can ease pressure on local ecology of the lake town.

Vishal Singh, executive director Centre for Ecology Development and Research (CEDAR), Dehradun said, "In 2019, more than nine lakh tourist visited Nainital and in a peak season in just one week numbers crossed 81,000. This much pressure on such a fragile hill station will eventually result into a disaster. Nainital and other high load hill stations not only in Uttarakhand but across the country should implement capping system to conserve the ecosystem."

The committee also suggested to roll back the decision of alllwing tourists without a COVID-19 negative report. 

Earlier On Wednesday, the bench of acting Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe directed the state government to look into suggestions of the Nainital committee as well as those presented by other districts.

The directions came after the COVID monitoring committee in Nainital pointed out that over 20,000 people had visited Nainital last weekend while no safety protocols such as masks and social distancing was observed. 

Shekhar Pathak, a Padma awardee environmentalist said, "Capping should be definitely done for all highload hill stations in Uttarakhand which have already exceeded thie carrying capacity. Unchecked inflow of human population puts load on resources such as water and air. With capping, a concept of sustainable tourism will come into play which will benefit all stakeholders involved for long-term."

A study done by Centre for Ecology Development and Research (CEDAR), Dehradun points out that anthropogenic activities such as construction, dumping of debris in Nainital lake and others have resulted in a significant decline in water quality. 

Nainital Lake surrounded by seven hills is situated at an altitude of almost 6000-feet is threatened by various factors including water extraction, pollution and climate change.

The lake has lost over 10-meters of its depth in the last 39 years due to illegal construction, sewerage and waste disposal, according to a study. In 1979, the Geological Survey of India had measured the lake at 27 meters, but a survey conducted by the state irrigation department last year revealed that the water body's depth has shrunk to 17.25 meters. 

Various other causes behind the dire state of the lake are pointed out as encroachment in catchment areas as well as increased pressure on the lake to fulfill water requirements of the rising number of residents and tourists are the factors responsible for the decrease in water levels. 

Water extraction from the lake, often termed as lifeline of the hilly town, touches 18-20 million liters per day (MLD) during peak tourist season from May 1 to June 30. In 2017, after the water level dipped to dangerous levels (18 feet below ground level), the district administration had introduced water rationing in winter. 

In November 2018, the district administration's decision to cut water supply from 16 million litres daily (MLD) to eight million litres daily caught both hotel owners and residents by surprise with most of them struggling to cater to the needs of the tourists holidaying in the lake town on the occasion of Diwali.

Officials of the district administration decided to reduce the water supply from 16 MLD to 8 MLD keeping in view the critical condition of the lake.