Trash left by visitors ruining Rawal Lake

Islamabad: The visitors continue to pollute the water of Rawal Lake by throwing trash and litter without caring about the natural environment and millions of people who use its water for drinking purposes.

A group of young students voluntarily initiated a cleanliness drive a couple of weeks back to remove trash from the banks of the Rawal Lake. It was an effective effort on their part but once again some of the visitors showed their stony insensitivity and filled its water with empty bottles, food scraps, and even shoes and diapers.

Now there is so much contamination in the water that can not only cause the death of water species but also pose danger to the lives of the residents of Rawalpindi who are supplied this water for household purposes.

“The trash and garbage usually left by the visitors ruin the Rawal Lake that is considered one of the finest recreational spots in the capital city,” said Saira Aziz, a visitor.

The Lake View Park attracts thousands of visitors as it offers a range of facilities to them including strolling tracks, lovely gardens with various varieties of blossoms, playing territory with amusements and rides, angling, sailing, and shake climb.

The dam is maintained and operated by Punjab Irrigation Department and residents of Rawalpindi are its beneficiaries as they are supplied 23 million gallons of water daily from this reservoir.

When this correspondent approached relevant civic authorities it was revealed that Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), and Punjab Irrigation Department launched a cleanliness drive early this year and removed four truckloads of garbage from the lake.

In August last year, the ICT and MCI had also collected debris and other garbage from the shore and shallow waters of the lake to protect aquatic life and clean the environment.