Srinagar’s Dal Lake cleaned in accordance to Covid-19 guidelines

Forgoing machines, around 1,000 labourers remove weeds from Dal and Nigeen lakes

The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) has initiated a mission to clean the Dal Lake in view of revised Covid-19 induced lockdown guidelines.

Kashmiri labourers are cleaning the Nigeen Lake in Srinagar. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT)

The manual cleaning of the lake provides employment to hundreds of residents. After multiple drives using machines to clean the Dal Lake, the LAWDA has now started relying on human power to clear the lily pads within the lake.

Kashmiri labourers cleaning the Dal Lake in Srinagar.

The mission, therefore, aims to clear weeds like lily pads, creepers, algae, water plants and other waste material present in the water body.

“We are engaging around 1,000 labourers every day in Dal and Nigeen lakes. They take out the weeds from the root while machines can only cut the upper layer,” LAWDA official Shabir Hussain told ANI.

Kashmiri labourers removing weeds from Dal Lake in Srinagar.