THEN
NOWGovernment Of India , in its bid to give Pushkar ( Rajasthan ) a facelift , actually renders it lake-less and that too , all of this , in less than a year .
If anything , the lake has to make do with bath-tub-like pools in parts of lake which are filled with water daily basis . Ironically , the Pushkar Lake has run dry credit to the Rs 48.52 crore government project which was supposed to clean and deepen the water body . The project surely did half its job splendidly , that of cleaning the lake ; by cleaning it entirely off the surface .
Being the statistician : the lake had at least 5 feet water in 2007 before launch of the project , 4 feet 3 inch water at the commencement of the project .
UIT (Urban Infrastructure Trust) , a branch of Rajasthan Urban Development Department , is the nodal authority for the so called "beautification project " .
Rainwater is the primary source for the Pushkar Lake and the authorities did little in sync with this information . The "beautification project" continued with its desilting work , increasing the lake's depth from 15 feet to 25 feet and widening its cross-section too , as a consequence of which , the lake could not conserve rain water even for a week .
The 48.52 crore project was to ensure adequate water storage , check water disposal and regulate sanitation . What better sanitation when there is nothing , at all , left to santize!
Now they sermonize as they always do that the initial work has been done and .................. they are hopeful for a plentiful rainfall in the desert out of the blue . It costs nothing to dream !
To worsen the cause , Pushkar fair , the economy booster for the region , is just round the corner and Karthik Purnima , when a visit to Pushkar is even more important for a dip-in, is all set to receive its pilgrims water-void unless , ofcourse , it pours down too soon .
