SRINAGAR: Around 10 kilometres of internal channels and waterways of Dal Lake and adjoining lake interiors have been cleaned and dredged over the past three years, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday.
Replying to a question by MLA Tanvir Sadiq during Question Hour, Omar, who also holds the Housing and Urban Development portfolio, said cleaning of the lake’s internal channels is being carried out regularly through manual deweeding and removal of solid waste.
He said mechanical dredging of priority channels was also being undertaken using departmentally owned water masters.
During the current financial year, dredging has been carried out in the channel from Dol Damb to Meena Bazar through Angraz Hut and in two main channels of Khushalsar, from Saidipora Bridge to Firdousabad Colony and Sazgiripora. Dredging and deepening of the main Gilsar has also been almost completed, he said.
On sewage inflows into Dal and Nigeen lakes, Omar said sewage from peripheral and adjoining areas, along with houseboats in the two lakes, is being treated through five sewage treatment plants (STPs).
These include the 16.10 MLD Brari-Numbal STP, 5.4 MLD Nallah Amir Khan STP, 7.5 MLD Hazratbal STP, 3.2 MLD Habak STP and 4.5 MLD Laam STP, catering to different areas around the Dal-Nigeen lake system.
The government is also augmenting sewage treatment infrastructure, with a 30 MLD STP coming up at Gupt Ganga. The facility is scheduled to be completed within two years and will cater to the northern side of Dal Lake.
On Khushalsar and Gilsar, Omar said the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority took up the two lakes in 2025, while the Urban Environmental Engineering Department has been assigned the construction of the sewerage network around them.
Regarding interior channels including Jogi Lanker-Rainawari, Chowdary Bagh, Naidyaar, Sabzi Market and Lamba Mohalla, he said these are being continuously cleared through manual deweeding and solid waste removal. The channels were also dredged during 2023-24.
Omar said cleaning of the channels would continue, while dredging would be undertaken through departmentally owned machinery on a priority basis.
The measures are aimed at maintaining the hydraulic capacity of the channels, improving water flow and strengthening sewage and solid waste management around Srinagar’s interconnected urban water bodies.
