GREATER NOIDA: The future of Hasanpur lake hangs in balance as the water body struggles to survive amid encroachment, industries along its banks and waste water pouring into it almost on a daily basis.
Spread over 82 hectares, the wetland on the Noida-Hapur border at a distance of 28 kilometers from Greater Noida, that is known as the largest natural lake in north India and the largest wetland in NCR, is not even protected.
Over fishing and untreated water from nearby villages have been threatening the water body for some time now. To make matters worse, fishermen often burst crackers to keep birds away from the lake. As a result, once a hub of several migratory birds, it hardly has any such visitors now.
“Some birds can only be seen early in the morning,” said a fisherman, who was on his way home with his fresh catch.
Environmentalists have been demanding that the wetland be conserved and protected before it is too late.
“Fishermen burst crackers to keep birds away so that they don’t eat up the fish. But birds help keep the water clean and free on hyacinth. Most fishermen spread their nets wide. So, there is hardly any scope for the birds to swim here,” said Vikrant Tongad, a Greater Noida-based environmentalist.
He, along with a few others, have been seeking protection for the lake.
“Birds eat the fish and their dropping becomes food for fish and manure for water vegetation. It is a beautiful cycle. If people scare away birds and think that they will be able to cultivate more fish, then let me say that it will not only lower the quality of the water but also damage the entire cycle,” said Ritesh Kumar, the head of Wetlands International South Asia.
He added that Hasanpur lake is being studied as a water body connected to the Ganges through canals. “We are conducting an intensive study on the Ganga river and this water body is part of it. It is one of the important water bodies in this part of the country and plays a significant role in ground water recharge,” said Kumar.
Tongad says if the lake is notified, then protection measures can be implemented. “We have been demanding conservation under the Wetland rules. The area should be notified so that there are laws in place. There are several industries along the boundary of the lake and local villagers also try to encroach into the lake. If we do not start protecting it now, the lake will meet the same fate as several other wetlands in NCR,” Tongad said.
The Union ministry of environment and forest had notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules on December 2, 2010, in an attempt to conserve and manage wetlands. The rules ban activities like industrialisation, construction and dumping of untreated waste on and near wetlands.