The Mooknayak's investigated the growing concerns over the future of the existence of Bhopal's lakes. Read the full report below.

Bhopal— A crisis is unfolding for the lakes in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, because of which is also famously known as the City of Lakes. There are in all seven lakes in the city, out of which five are of historical significance. Which were built for different reasons at different times. Due to the increase in built-up encroachments and illegal felling of trees the continued existence of the larger lakes of city is under threat.

The situation at present is that the encroachments have extended up to 20 square kilometres of the wetland area, which means reaching within 50 metres of its full tank level (FTL). Big wedding halls and commercial buildings have been erected within the green belt. Municipal officials are not doing anything beyond simply issuing notices to these land mafia. Apart from this, no concrete action is taken to ensure the integrity of the lakes and forest!

The Mooknayak investigates

The wetlands surrounding Bada Talab [Bhoj Tal; Upper Lake], which is the lifeline of Bhopal city, is 31 square kilometres in area and its catchment area is 361 square kilometres. More than two dozen illegally constructed marriage halls, however, are doing business in the catchment area. People have encroached on this area and built pukka [brick and mortar] godowns and farmhouses. Along with the city's influential people and people in politics, senior officials of the government have also illegally built concrete constructions to occupy the catchment area. Due to this occupation by powerful groups, until now the Bhopal Municipal Corporation has not been able to take any major action apart from sending notices. In all this while, 26 square kilometres area of lake has dried up. Apart from the people from the neighbouring localities, the land mafia has also taken advantage of the opportunity and started farming in a large part of the area after illegal occupation. Pucca houses have been built after the takeover of a large part of the wetland.

Concerns about the lake raised in Vidhan Sabha too

The glory of Bhopal city, the Bada Talabis shrinking in area day by day. The reason for this is the encroachment in the catchment area. However, the 1958-59 Khasra-Khatauni [certified land records] has no entry related to the catchment area. That is, there is no entry in the government record of any possession of the catchment area of the Bada Talab. This information was only provided by Revenue Minister Govind Singh Rajput on 10 March 2022 in response to a question asked by MLA Pradeep Patel in the Vidhan Sabha.

Illegal occupation in Bhadbhada catchment area ​​

To determine the extent of the catchment of the lake, stumps have been put in place to mark the limits within which concrete constructions cannot be built. Despite this regulation, 59% of the encroachments on the Bada Talab are located just in the vicinity of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), while 41%, that is 157 encroachments, are located in different areas around the lake. There are about 227 illegal constructions near IIFM. Of these, 11 have been demolished, while there are still 157 illegal constructions between Khanugaon and Bhainsakhedi, which are due to be demolished. At the same time 31 of the constructions inKhanugaon are located within 50 metres of the lake.

The Municipal Corporation's report

A report on the illegal encroachments happening around the capital's Bada Talab was submitted by the Lake Conservation Cell of the Municipal Corporation to the NGT [National Green Tribunal] in 2021. According to this report, only 11 illegal encroachments have been demolished, while 373 illegal encroachments are still intact. The big question is that in the past 10 years, the Municipal Corporation has claimed to spend Rs.84 crores in the name of conservation and beautification of Bada Talab, even then this lake is shrinking. In the report of a survey conducted by the district administration in 2019, 321 encroachments were identified within a radius of 50 meters of the Bada Talab's FTL. Out of these, only four encroachments were demolished.

Committee set up for lakes' conservation

A District Level Committee has been set up under the chairpersonship of the Collector for the protection of all the large and small lakes of the district including Bhopal's Bhoj Tal (Bada Talab). This authority will prepare a database of all the lakes in the district and will be responsible for their conservation. It will regularly ensure conservation of the lakes from an ecological as well as environmental perspective. The committee, which will be under the MP Wetland Authority, will also prepare a long-term plan for the conservation of the lakes.

Municipal Corporation PRO unaware of conservation plans

The Mooknayak spoke to Prem Shankar Shukla, Public Relations Officer of Bhopal Municipal Corporation, in connection with the conservation and encroachment around the lakes in Bhopal. He said he was not aware of the actions being taken for conservation of the lakes. Shukla said that he would respond to us after obtaining the necessary information.

History of Bhopal's lakes

Bada Talab

Asia's largest artificial lake was built for helping with cure of skin disease. It was built by Raja Bhoj1,500 years ago. It is called Bada Talab because it is the biggest lake of Bhopal. According to one media report, Bhopal historian Syed Akhtar Hussain has said, "It was about 1,450 years ago. The kingdom of Dhar's Parmar Raja [King] Bhoj had a skin disease. Pus and blood used to ooze out of his skin. The ointment applied also caused him much pain. Raja Bhoj met a sadhu [monk]. There has been no reference to this sadhu until now. The sadhu told Raja Bhoj to collect water from nine rivers and 99 tributaries and to take a bath daily. Then the disease would disappear. The king entrusted his minister Kalyan Singh to carry out this task. Kalyan Singh was the greatest architect of his time."

Finding nine rivers

Hussain says, "Kalyan Singh started the work of constructing the lake. There were many sources of water between Shyamala Hills and Dahod Dam Mandideep, Obaidullaganj, Diwatia and Bhimbaithka mountains. Water was diverted from these water bodies, but the number of rivers fell short of the required nine. Then a river was dug from near Bhadbhada, and it was connected to Betwa. This river was named as Kaliasot. A dam was built in Bhojpur to divert the water of the Betwa river from Betwa to Bada Talab. Also, there was a gap of several feet between Shyamala Hills and Fatehgarh mountain. Here too, a dam was built to stop the water, and which today is known as Kamala Park. King Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty used to bathe here every day, and his skin disease also disappeared."

Bada Talab's first name was Bhimkund

Regarding the history of the lake, historian Syed Akhtar Hussain says, "In Indian tradition, great works are named after our ancestors. Raja Bhoj also did the same and the lake was thus first named Bhimkund. It was also named Bhojpal because of the dam that was built near Kamala Park."

Lake's water beneficial for skin disease

With the water of this artificial lake, sourced from the waters of nine rivers and 99 tributaries, Raja Bhoj'sincurable skin disease disappeared. Hussain says, that at that time, along with carrying soil, the water had many elemental minerals in it, including Sulphur and zinc oxide. Because of this, the king's skin disease disappeared.

यहाँ हिन्दी में भी पढ़ें– मध्य प्रदेशः भोपाल के तालाबों के अस्तित्व पर खतरा!

[Story Translated By Lotika Singha]