Land sharks ready to gobble aquatic life - Real Estate India

??|?? November 10, 2012 ?? 08:33am ??|Contributed by manoja

LUCKNOW: The court rulings and initiative from the revenue department may not be enough to save the old Kathauta jheel in the city from land sharks which are ready to raise a residential building on the water body. Besides killing the aquatic life, the move will also displace scores of seasonal Indian birds.

Located in Chinhat, Kathauta jheel?s extinction is more than the loss of source of water. It would also mean significant loss of biodiversity as well.

A study undertaken by Lucknow University?s zoology department compared the presence of biodiversity on the newly made artificial Kathauta with the natural ones. Associate professor Amita Kanaujia, who is heading the research, said, ?The presence of seasonal Indian birds was negligible on the new lake. It may appeal to the eye but serves little purpose. On the older jheel we spotted more than 15 types of birds and common amphibians.? (See info)

The reason, she said, is that birds need marshy places to live and procreate. ?The concretised and tiled base of the new lake doesn?t have mechanism for the growth of underwater life such as small fish, insects and micro-organisms. Therefore, the birds will not get anything to eat. So, they will migrate to better places and greener pastures,? she stated.

The Kathauta jheel was a massive water body in Gomtinagar which was acquired by the development agencies for building homes. This was besides the encroachment by land grabbers. In 2006, a report from the state revenue department revealed that Lucknow had lost a colossal part of its water bodies (about 150 hectares) to encroachments and development.

Figures showed that there was 368.799 hectares of water bodies in 1950. The report was prepared by the then commissioner Amit Mohan Prasad. His voluminous 500-page reports scanned some 124 small and big villages in Lucknow between January 26, 1950, and October 15, 2006, and open the Pandora?s Box which caught the attention of the court. It also revealed that the records of water bodies in some 31 villages were missing. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court took note of the matter and directed the state government to act immediately to save and restore the water bodies.

Kathauta benefited from the court?s whip. The larger part of the Kathauta lake was re-made as a massive water body opposite the Manyavar Kanshiram Institute for Tourism Studies housing certain fish today. The surrounding pockets were, however, left untouched. One of them, located about 25 meters from the Lucknow-Faizabad highway, is being levelled these days.

When TOI visited the spot, it found that more than half the lake had been filled up while quarrying for the remaining part was underway. Though the labourers remained tightlipped, a fruit vendor said a multi-storied building is coming up at the spot. ?Yaha par flat bana rahe hain,? he stated. When contacted, administrative officials said to look into the matter.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Land-sharks-ready-to-gobble-aquatic-life/articleshow/17164422.cms

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