Udaipur, On World Cleanup Day, lake conservationists and volunteers on Sunday undertook a cleanliness drive at the Fatehsagar lakebed along Rani Road and removed a large quantity of plastic, polythene, disposable items, food waste, liquor bottles, firecracker shells and other solid waste.
The volunteers expressed concern over the growing commercial and tourism-related activities around the lake, saying these appeared to be placing increasing pressure on Fatehsagar’s environmental carrying capacity.
The lake lovers also reiterated their appeal to the Udaipur Municipal Corporation and Udaipur Development Authority to drop the proposal for a night market on Rani Road. They cautioned that further commercial activity along the lakefront could increase waste generation and put additional pressure on the wetland and its biodiversity.
Lake expert Dr Anil Mehta said waste entering Fatehsagar posed concerns for water quality, drinking water safety and the aquatic ecosystem. He said the decomposition of food and other organic waste could promote the growth of algae and aquatic weeds, potentially reducing dissolved oxygen levels and increasing stress on aquatic life.
Mehta said expanding commercial activities along a wetland such as Fatehsagar needed careful environmental consideration. He added that establishing a night market in the area could aggravate the ecological pressure on the lake and would also need to be examined in the context of existing court directions.
Former member of the Lake Development Authority Tej Shankar Paliwal said the lakebed should not be treated as a dumping ground. Plastic and other waste reaching the lake, he said, posed concerns for both drinking water safety and biodiversity.
Paliwal stressed the need to protect Fatehsagar as a biodiversity heritage area and said citizens also had an important role to play in keeping the lake clean and ecologically healthy.
Social worker Nand Kishore Sharma said increasing commercial activity along the lakefront could adversely affect water quality. He said the lake edge should not become a dumping zone and should instead be treated as a natural protective buffer for Fatehsagar.
Educationist Kushal Rawal said increasing traffic and crowds on Rani Road were adding to air and noise pollution and putting greater pressure on bird habitats around the lake. He said the growing activity needed to be viewed in the context of the area's environmental carrying capacity.
Young lake enthusiast Vinod Kumawat and senior citizen Drupad Singh said Udaipur's economy, public health and identity were closely linked to its lakes. Keeping Fatehsagar free from waste and pollution, they said, was not only an environmental responsibility but also important for safeguarding the city's future and its tourism economy.
The cleanup drive on World Cleanup Day highlighted a simple message: protecting Fatehsagar requires not only periodic cleanliness drives but also responsible management of activities around the lake.