Kolkata: As a part of its detoxification process, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has completed spraying quicklime on the 72-acre Rabindra Sarobar. To further clean up the Lake, authorities have planned to take up manual dredging to clear the silt deposits on its banks.
It was earlier last month, when KMDA personnel had started spraying quicklime at the Lake’s surface to purify and improve the water quality.This process of restoration was suggested by experts after they conducted a joint inspection. KMDA officials along with fisheries and pollution control board scientists conducted the inspection when there was a large number of fish deaths in the water body.
“The process of quicklime spraying using boats has been fully completed. Next, we have plans of taking up manual dredging to further purify the Lake,” said an official.
According to the Lake’s custodians, since quicklime spraying was taken up, the number of fish deaths has gradually decreased. “ Earlier, on an average, 15 to 16 fish were dying daily. However, now the number has drastically come down,” said an official.
In the long run, officials also plan to increase the water body’s vegetation which in turn will help in improving the Lake’s dissolved oxygen levels. “This move will be implemented according to the recommendations provided by experts,” officials said.