Call to clean up garbage in Ooty lake, while desilting work is in progress

The Nilgiri Natural History Society has asked the district administration to collect the accumulated garbage from the lake bed, as otherwise, it said, waste will be dumped on the lake bank to rot during the desilting process

The Nilgiri Natural History Society (NNHS) has called on the Nilgiris district administration to clean up garbage that has collected inside Ooty Lake.

Secretary of the NNHS, Ajay Ludra, in a letter to the district collector, S.P. Amrith, applauded the efforts of government departments in the Nilgiris in the facilitation of the bird count, and in ensuring that wildlife underwent the least amount of disturbance during the desilting of the Ooty lake, which has been ongoing for more than a month.

“However, it is felt that while a wait is being undertaken for the water levels to recede more, so that most of the lake bed is dry, the garbage could be collected from the lake bed in the meantime,” said Mr. Ludra. The secretary of the NNHS pointed out that the water flowing into the Ooty lake carries a lot of domestic and commercial effluents that are polluting the lake body. “A concerted effort is requested from the municipality and other agencies related to garbage disposal. Without such efforts being put in now, one can only envisage that in the process of desilting, the solids will be dumped on the lake bank to rot and degrade,” he said.

Mr. Ludra urged the District Collector to harness all the agencies at the disposal of the district administration to ensure that this year’s clean up of the lake is “one to emulate for years to come.”

The clean-up will help showcase Ooty in a new light to tourists, he said.