Launch of “Save Lake Campaign” in Bhopal on 5th January 2009 for cleaning and desilting of Upper Lake is no doubt laudable. The campaign was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In this way the city is trying to solve the water crisis through public participation.
The Upper Lake was constantly in news for the past ten years due to its deteriorating state. This lake acts as the life line of the city supplying 40 % of the total potable water. The Upper Lakes is facing twin problem of deteriorating water quality as well as reduction of storage capacity. This year the problem has been compounded with less rainfall. The water level in this 11th Century lake has started to go down day by day and in no time would reach the dead storage.

The municipality reduced the hours of water supply to cope up with the problem. The residents have no alternative but to depend on the tanker supply. They have to purchase water from private parties at high rates of Rs. 350/5000 litres wherever BMC is failing to supply it free. The price goes up as high as Rs. 500/5000 litres in the industrial areas. Newspaper daily “Dainik Bhaskar” launched a campaign in the city in October to make the people aware of the situation so that they use the water wisely. The government tried to improve the situation by adding water from the Kerva dam. But that failed to improve the level of the lake.

Environmentalists and the engineers of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) feared that the situation will be alarming in the month of March-April. Fear of agitation has forced the civic amenities to consult the scientists of Central Ground Water Authority for new sites of tube wells. “The ban on tube well digging has been lifted since September” says Mr. Brijesh Namdeo of Association for Motivation of Biosphere and Environmental Resolution (AMBER). The BMC has identified about 24 new sites around the lakes for tube well installation. Few drives have been taken by the government to free the lake beds from encroachment. The Bhopal Municipality Corporation along with police force removed illegal farming of wheat and gram from the lake beds to stop further drying up of the lake beds.

It is really a great relief for the city dwellers that the government has taken such initiative for cleaning the Upper Lake. The Chief Minister appealed to the citizens from all the levels of the society to participate in “Apna Sarovar, Apni Dharohar-Bada Tal Sanrakshan Abhiyan” (Our Lake, Our Heritage: Upper Lake Conservation Campaign) through shramdan (free labour). Mr. Chouhan wants to spread similar drives to other parts of the state. The present campaign will continue till July. During this campaign the problem of encroachment will also be addressed.