See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/266012052

Assessment of Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Suggested Restoration

Measures for Pushkar Lake, Ajmer Rajasthan (India)

Article · January 2007

CITATIONS READS

30 1,876

3 authors, including:

Praveen Mathur
Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University
23 PUBLICATIONS 406 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Praveen Mathur on 09 September 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Sengupta, M. and Dalwani, R. (Editors). 2008
Proceedings of Taal2007: The 12th World Lake Conference: 1518-1529

Assessment of Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Suggested

Restoration Measures for Pushkar Lake, Ajmer Rajasthan (India)
Praveen Mathur, Saurabh Agarwal and Mudita Nag
Department of Environmental Studies, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer-305 009 India

ABSTRACT

Lakes are the most fertile, diverse, productive and interactive ecosystems in the world. The
present work was conducted on the Pushkar Lake in the historic holy city of Pushkar, Ajmer.
This lake comes under the category of sacred lakes and is unique in terms of religious and
ecological significance. Eutrophication, anthropogenic pressures, holy rituals and tourism
have been the major factors which have contributed to its damage, deterioration and
degradation with a consequent adverse impact on the lake water quality. Bio-remedial
measures alone now can no longer be effective to restore the lake equilibrium. For the present
research work four sampling sites were identified and the lake water quality was analysed for
physico- chemical characteristics on a monthly basis over a period of six months. Every water
sample was analysed for temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total
alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, total
chlorophyll, biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. The study revealed that
the lake water was alkaline. The chloride & conductivity concentrations were high in all the
four sites chosen. The sites which showed greater pollution had lower levels of dissolved
oxygen. The water quality was found to be hard which was due to excess addition of calcium
and magnesium through surface run-off. Every parameter showed a significant correlation
with increased lake water pollution during the period of the Annual Pushkar Fair. The
remedial measures suggested for the restoration of this prestigious lake include increasing the
water levels in the lake, increasing the ground water level and improving the lake water
quality. Checking of soil erosion, desilting the lake, establishing a water treatment plant and
creating public awareness can be some of the constructive efforts to revive this ancient,
religious and renowned lake of Pushkar.

Keywords: Eutrophication, Lake Restoration, Sacred Lake

INTRODUCTION and ultimately deteriorated the water quality and

Water is one of the most essential components for the
existence of life on the earth. Rajasthan the largest
state of India, is famous for its great "Thar Desert",
with low rainfall; therefore no doubt, water is the
most precious, vital and important commodity in the
region. From ancient times the rain water is being
stored in small lakes in some area.
These lakes work as a reservoir throughout the
year. In Pushkar city, there is a big stagnant lake
known as "Pushkar Lake". Pushkar Lake has
mythological significance and is a tourist's delight, a
holy place where people come from all over the
world. Easy access to Pushkar increases the number
of floating population day by day, which requires
more development of infrastructure and consequent
settlements that’s why the catchment area of Pushkar
Lake is degrading rapidly. Eroded soil from nude
catchment area comes with run-off into Pushkar Lake
and causes rapid siltation. In recent years these
anthropogenic activities and environmental stress
have surpassed the carrying capacity of Pushkar Lake
accelerated the cultural eutrophication.
Several studies have been conducted so far to
understand the physico-chemical properties of lakes,
ponds and reservoirs in India (Jain et al. 1996,
Sreenivasan et al. 1997, Mohanraj et al. 2000,
Srinivasa and Kotaiah 2000, Thorat and Masarrat
2000, Datta and Sharma 2001, Shastri and Pendse
2001). Little work has been done on Pushkar lake of
Pushkar city.
The ever increasing importance and threats to
long term sustainability of this lake due to
anthropogenic activities makes the present study
extremely relevant. In the present investigation an
attempt has been made to assess the physico-
chemical aspects and suggest applicable restoration
measures for Pushkar Lake.
STUDY AREA
The area under investigation, Pushkar is situated 12
Km North West of Ajmer, which is centrally situated
city of Rajasthan. It is located at latitude 26029'14"N
and longitude 74033'18"E, at an elevation of 530m
above mean sea level. Aravalli hillocks, sand dunes,
agricultural fields, and tourist's facilities and fresh
water bodies like Pushkar and Buda Pushkar,
represent diversity of the region. The total catchment
area of Pushkar lake is 36.71 sq. Km. Map of the
study area shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Map of Pushkar Lake
In the study area Physico-chemical and bio-
chemical weathering is predominate. Climatic
features of Pushkar are characterized by dry climate,
uncertain rainfall pattern and great variation in
temperature during different seasons of the year.
Humidity is low even in rainy season. The area under
investigation represents different soil types ranging
from sandy loom to sandy clay and yellowish brown
to dark in color. Demographic characteristics shown
unlike other towns population of Pushkar in the last
five decades have grown very slowly from 5934 in
1951 to 14789 in 2001. Apart from the resident
population, the city has a high floating population
(average 4400 persons/ day), which is 25% greater
than of the resident population.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Physico-chemical analysis of water samples was
done on four selected sites of the Pushkar lake in the
following steps: -
Step I: Selection of sites & collection of samples:
The water samples were collected from four
different sites (S1, S2, S3, S4) depending upon the
nature of disturbance viz pollution load, pilgrims and
human activities, sewage in the lake. These sites
covered almost all four direction of the lake which
was helpful for the analysis of lake as whole.
Satellites view of lake with all four sites shown in
Figure. 2
Figure 2. Satellite view of Pushkar Lake
The water samples were collected from surface
zone from the depth of 0.3m on the last day of each
month from September 2006 to February2007,
including the festival of Kartik Poornima in month of
November. Therefore in November sampling was
carried out twice i.e. 5th November (day of Kartik
Poornima) and 30th November (on regular intervals).
The collection of water samples was done during
evening hours (4 pm to 7 pm) on a fixed date in acid
washed two litre capacity plastic bottles with
necessary precautions (Brown et. al. 1974).
Step II: physico-chemical analysis of samples: -
Physico-chemical analysis of water was carried
out referring the 'standards methods' (APHA 1992).
Various methods used are listed in table 1. The
temperature, turbidity, pH and dissolved oxygen
were determined in the field. The collected samples
were brought to laboratory and analyzed within 24
hours, except the biological oxygen demand, which
require a period of five days for incubation at a
temperature of 200 C using standard methods (APHA
1992).
Table 1. Physico-chemical analysis by different
method:
Parameter Mathod/Equipment Used
Temperature Digital Thermometer
pH Digital pH meter
EC Digital conductivity meter
Alkanity, DO, Titrimetry method
BOD, COD, TH
TDS Filtration follwed by weighing
Phosphate, Nitrate, U.V. visible spectro-photometry
Total Chlorophyll
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results obtained by physico-chemical analysis of
all samples are given in Table -2. (Fig 3-18) Marked
1519
differences in various parameters were observed due
to the climatic conditions and pressure of
anthropogenic activities.
Temperature of water is one of the most important
factor in an aquatic environment. During the
investigation, the temperature varied from 18.30 C to
27.50C. The highest temperature value was recorded
in the September month (Fig 3).
Turbidity in natural water is caused by clay, silt,
organic matter, phytoplankon and other microscopic
organism etc. Turbidity in lake water restricts light
penetration for photosynthesis. During the study
period, turbidity in the lake water varied from 54 to
89 NTU (Fig 4). The higher value of turbidity was
noted during Pushkar Fair due to higher
concentration of suspended solid load coming
through anthropogenic activities (mass bathing,
offering flowers, garlands and other religious
matter).
pH regulates most of the biological processes and
bio-chemical reactions. Scuthorpe (1967) has
reported that pH, free CO2 and ammonia are more
critical factors in the survival of aquatic plants and
fishes than the oxygen supply. Fluctuations in pH
values mostly depend upon ingredient input in the
water bodies. In the present investigation, the
Pushkar lake water was found to be slightly alkaline
where pH varied from 7.0 to 8.4 (Fig 5). According
to Spence (1967) the pH of a typical eutrophic lake
ranges from 7.7 to 9.6. The present findings are in
support with of observation made by Spence (1967)
that the Pushkar lake is eutrophic on the basis of its
pH range. High pH value during Kartik Poornima
may be due to mass bathing, over feeding to fishes
and other anthropogenic activities.
Dissolved oxygen in water is of great importance to
all aquatic organisms and is considered to be the
factor which reflects physical and biological process
taking place in a water body. It is important in the
production and support of life. It determines the
nature of an entire aquatic ecosystem to a great
extent. Water body receives the supplies of oxygen
mainly from two sources directly from atmosphere
and during the process of photosynthetic activity of
chlorophyll bearing plants. Concentration of
dissolved oxygen also depends on surface agitation
due to temperature, respiration rate of the living
organisms and decomposition rate of dead organic
matters. In the present investigation, dissolved
oxygen concentration varied from 4.1 mg/l on the
day of Kartik Poornima (that's why many fish die due
to suffocation) to 7.3 mg/L in month of September
(Fig 6).
Biochemical Oxygen demand determines the
amount of oxygen required for biological oxidation
1520
of organic matter with the help of microbial
activities. In the present investigation the value of
biochemical oxygen demand ranged between 5.5 to
12.6 mg/L (Fig 7). The highest value was recorded at
the day of Kartik Poornima. It may be due to the over
loaded input of organic matter by human activities
like offering flowers, garlands and other religious
matters, offering food for fishes, birds and other
animals, mass bathing etc.
Chemical oxygen demand determines the amount of
oxygen required for chemical oxidation of most
organic matter and oxidizable inorganic substances
with the help of strong chemical oxidant. In the
present investigation the value of COD ranged
between 31.7 to 39.1 mg/L which show its high
pollution status (Fig 8). The sources of COD in
Pushkar Lake may be due to input of domestic drains
and the use of soap and detergents for washing and
bathing during pushkar fair by the common man as
well as by pilgrims. Though the lake is regarded
sacred, human activities in the form of washing and
sewage disposal are strictly prohibited but it is very
difficult to control these activities during festivals
and religious fairs.
Total Alkalinity of water refers to the quality and
kinds of components present such as bicarbonate,
carbonate and hydroxide. According to Durrani
(1993) withdrawal of CO2 from the bicarbonates for
photosynthesis by algae may increase total alkalinity.
Total alkalinity may be used as a tool for
measurement of productivity. Spence (1967)
classified the lakes into three categories based on
alkalinity (i) 1-15 mg/L is nutrient poor (ii) 16-60
mg/L is moderately nutrient rich and (iii) > 60 mg/L
is nutrient rich. On the basis of this classification,
Pushkar lake could be broadly considered as nutrient
rich lake because during the present investigation
total alkalinity ranged between 125-151 mg/L (Fig
9). In the present investigation higher values was
observed at the day of Kartik Poornima during
Pushkar fair, which may be due to higher input of
nutrients in water through human activities.
Table 3: The monthly average of physico-chemical parameters in various samples collected from different
sites at Pushkar Lake, during Sept 2006 to Feb 2007 including the day of festival of Kartik Poornima.

Kartik
S.No. Parameters Units 30th Sep-06 31st Oct-06 Poornima 30th Nov-06 31st Dec-06 31st Jan-07 28th Feb-07
5th Nov- 06

1 Water Temperature 00C 27.5 26 25 19 18.6 18.3 19.5

2 Turbidity NTU 54 59 89 75 70 66 65

3 pH 8.1 7.8 8.4 7.9 7.4 7 7.1

4 Dissolved Oxygen mg/L 7.3 7.2 4.1 5.1 5.5 5.9 6.1

5 BOD mg/L 5.5 5.9 12.6 9.4 8.6 7.4 7.3

6 COD mg/L 31.7 32.5 39.1 34.9 33.9 33.1 32.7

7 Total Alkalinity mg/L 149 144 151 140 134 125 128

8 Electrical Conductivity mohs/cm 274 245 252 238 227 218 215

9 TDS mg/L 172 215 396 306 275 251 249

10 Total Hardness mg/L 144 138 140 134 128 118 113

11 Phosphate mg/L 1.18 0.89 2.03 1.2 0.69 0.52 0.4

12 Nitrate mg/L 21.51 18.32 27.79 22.7 16.68 14.55 13.29

13 Chloride mg/L 36.4 33.1 42.8 40 36.7 28.6 25.1

14 Nitrite mg/L 0.14 0.18 0.2 0.19 0.13 0.1 0.9

15 Salinity mg/L 0.12 0.24 0.51 0.34 0.23 0.18 0.19

16 Total chlorophyll mg/L 413.72 389.73 398.49 440.39 410.64 366.39 343.1

Pre Pushkar Pushkar Fair Post

Fair Pushkar Fair

1521
 Water Temperature 00C

30
28
26
24
22
O C

20
0

18
16
14
12
10
30th Sep-06 31st Oct-06 Kartik 30th Nov-06 31st Dec-06 31st Jan-07 28th Feb-07
Poornima 5th
Nov- 06
Period

Figure 3: The monthly average of various Water Temperature 0oC at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during
sept. 2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Turbidity

100
90
80
70
NTU

60
50
40
30
20
10
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 4: The monthly average of various Turbidity at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to
Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

pH

9
8.5
8
7.5
pH

7
6.5
6
5.5
5
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 5: The monthly average of various pH at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to Feb
2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

1522
 Dissolved Oxygen

8
7
6
5
mg/L

4
3
2
1
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima -
2006
Period

Figure 6: The monthly average of various Dissolved Oxygen 0oC at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during
sept. 2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

BOD

14
12
10
mg/L

8
6
4
2
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 7: The monthly average of various BOD at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to Feb
2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

COD

45
40
35
30
mg/L

25
20
15
10
5
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 8: The monthly average of various COD at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to Feb
2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

1523
 Total Alkalinity
160
150
140
mg/L
130
120
110
100
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06
Poornima -
2006
Period
Figure 9: The monthly average of various Total Alkalinity at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept.
2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.
Electrical conductivity values mainly depends on
ionic concentration or dissolved inorganic
substances. In present study the value of electrical
conductivity of Pushkar lake fluctuated from 215
to 274 μmhos/cm (Fig 10). The highest electrical
conductivity was recorded in the month of
September was (Just after rainy season) while
during the Pushkar fair value of conductivity
almost similar because during the study period
mainly organic matter were introduced by
anthropogenic activities not inorganic substances.
Total dissolved solids are simply the sum of
cations and anions concentration expressed in
mg/L. A high content of dissolved solids elevates
the density of water, influence osmoregulation of
fresh water organisms, reduces solubility of gases
(like O2) reduces utility of water for drinking
purpose and result into eutrophication of the
aquatic ecosystem. TDS in this lake fluctuated
between 172 to 396 mg/L (Fig 11). The highest
value was recorded at the day of kartik Poornima
due to mass bathing, offering food, flowers,
garlands, lamps other religious matter etc.
During the period under study the total
hardness of Pushkar lake varied from 113 to 144
mg/L. Kannan (1991) classified water on the basis
of hardness values in the following manner. (i) 0-
60 mg/L: soft, (ii) 61-120 mg/L: moderately hard,
(iii) 121-160 mg/L : hard and (iv) > 160 mg/L :
very hard. On the basis of Kannan's classification,
Pushkar Lake may be placed under moderately
hard to hard categories (Fig 12). The source of
hardness in Pushkar Lake is mainly due to the
addition of calcium and magnesium through
surface run-off from agricultural and other
catchment areas during rainy season. So the
1524
Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
highest value of total hardness is observed in
September (post monsoon season).
Basic nutrients like phosphate and nitrate,
determine the productivity of lake water. In the
present investigation Phosphate was present in the
range of 0.40 mg/L to 2.03 mg/L (Fig 13).
According to Saxena (1998) lakes with phosphate
concentration > 10.0, 10.0 to 20.0 and > 20 mg/L
are oligotrophic, mesotrophic and eutrophic
respectively. Hence, Pushkar Lake may be
classified under eutrophic category. The nitrate
and nitrite values fluctuated between 13.29 to
27.79 mg/L and 0.09 to 0.20 mg/L respectively
(Fig 14 & 15). Thus we say that Pushkar Lake is
eutrophic in nature. The highest values of
phosphate and nitrate were recorded at the day of
Kartik Poornima due to immersion of ash & dead
bones and high rates of decomposition of organic
matter. The present results are in conformity with
other studies carried out elsewhere by Nawange
(1993).
Chloride is found widely distributed in nature in
the form of salts of sodium, potassium and
calcium. The chloride status in water is indicative
of pollution, especially of animal origin. In the
present study chloride concentration in Pushkar
Lake was found ranging between 25.1 to 42.8
mg/L (Fig 16). The highest value of chloride was
observed at the day of Kartik Poornima which
could have resulted due to large amount of organic
matter, mass bathing activities, urination and waste
of animals. These results are in conformity with
the study of Zutshi and Khan (1988). They
attributed high chloride values due to bathing
activities and urination in the Dal Lake.
 Electrical Conductivity ( mhos/cm)

300

250
mhos/cm

200

150

100
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima -
2006
Period

Figure 10: The monthly average of various Electrical Conductivity (μmhos/cm) at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer
District during sept. 2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

TDS

450
400
350
mg/L

300
250
200
150
100
Nov-06
Sep-06

Oct-06

Feb-07
Dec-06

Jan-07
Poornima
- 2006
Kartik

Period

Figure 11: The monthly average of various TDS at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to Feb
2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Total Hardness

150
145
140
135
130
mg/L

125
120
115
110
105
100
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima -
2006
Period

Figure 12: The monthly average of various Total Hardness at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept.
2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

1525
 Phosphate

2.5
2
1.5
mg/L

1
0.5
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 13: The monthly average of various Phosphate at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006
to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Nitrate

30
25
20
mg/L

15
10
5
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 14: The monthly average of various Nitrate at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to
Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Nitrite

1
0.8
0.6
mg/L

0.4
0.2
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 15: The monthly average of various Nitrite at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to
Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

1526
 Cholride

45
40
35
30
mg/L

25
20
15
10
5
0
Sep-06 Oct-06 Kartik Nov-06 Dec-06 Jan-07 Feb-07
Poornima
- 2006
Period

Figure 16: The monthly average of various Cholride at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to
Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Figure 17: The monthly average of various Salinity at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during sept. 2006 to
Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

Total Chlorophyll

460
440
420
400
mg/L

380
360
340
320
300
30th Sep-06 31st Oct-06 Kartik Poornima 30th Nov-06 31st Dec-06 31st Jan-07 28th Feb-07
5th Nov- 06
Period

Total chlorophyll mg/L

Figure 18: The monthly average of various Total Chlorophyll at Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District during
sept. 2006 to Feb 2007, including the day of Kartik Poornima.

1527
Salinity of water is found due to excess of salts
present in water. In the present investigation,
salinity of lake varied from 0.12mg/l to 0.51mg /L
(Fig 17). The higher value of salinity was noticed
on the day of Kartik Poornima. It may be due to
some religious activities & mass bathing.
Total Chlorophyll of any aquatic body is direct
indication of plant (algal) growth in it. The major
factor affecting the algal growth in aquatic
ecosystem is nutrient enrichment, mainly due to
rise in phosphate and nitrate concentration.
Although the highest concentration of phosphate
and nitrate were noticed on Kartik Poornima, but
the growth of algae were observed after some days
from Kartik Poornima. In the present study, the
total chlorophyll was noticed in the range of
343.10 mg/L to 440.39 mg/L.
Siltation is the one of the most important problem
of this lake. Technically pushkar lake has a
capacity of 56000 m3 water with the depth of 12m.
But present investigation found that out of this 5 m
of lake has been silted due to continuous filing of
the lake by following reasons :- (i) Water run off
from three main feeders of Pushkar lake named -
kharkheri, Savitri and Gorinadi / Pushkar drain
with high amount of eroded soil., (ii) the summer
winds bring sand particles from the plains in the
west and deposit them in the lake region and (iii)
addition of matter related to faith i.e. flowers,
food grains, flour & immersion of huge amount
of ash & dead bones in the lake because of
religious faith of salvation . High concentration of
various physico-chemical parameters and high
degree of siltation shows heavy pressure on this
lake for its existence. So there is an urgent need
for restoration and rejuvenation of this prestigious
lake with following objects: Improvement of lake
water quality, increase water level in the lake and
increase the ground water level in and around
Pushkar.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION FOR
RESTORATION
The study shows that Pushkar Lake's water
exhibits low DO, high BOD, COD, turbidity,
hardness, chloride, phosphate, nitrate etc. Higher
pH value indicates slightly alkaline nature of
water. The remarkable point is that the pollution
load is significantly high during Pushkar fair,
especially on the Kartik Poornima due to excess of
religious activities of Hindu community on that
day. The analysis shows that turbidity, COD,
BOD, hardness, chloride, phosphate, nitrate were
above the permissible limits. It is observed that
1528
siltation is one of the key causes responsible for
the degradation of the lake.
Based on the aforesaid, following suggestions are
being proposed for consideration which might be
helpful in Restoration of this lake.
• Canalization of streams, which carry run-off,
is needed so that the inflow is diverted
towards the lake. Further, to minimize the
seepage and leakage of run-off, part of
streams need complete lining.
• Construction of Check Dams at appropriate
location and regular clearance of the
accumulated materials to far off location,
which will not return into the streams.
• Aforestation in the catchment area and
measures for stabilization of active sand dunes
should be taken up.
• Withdrawl of excessive groundwater should
be stopped. The water should be pumped out
very judiciously. There should be certain laid
down policy for tube wells and bore wells.
• For ashes and dead bones immersion - a
specific area in the Ghat must be year marked
and the amount of ashes should be in limited
(10-50 gm) at the most.
• Regular pollution monitoring has to be
undertaken to note down environmental status
and a water treatment plant should be
established.
• Removal of sediments upto 5m should be
taken on priority from the bottom of the lake
since desiltation has two major benefits as
follows: (i) Depth of lake increases so that
water storage capacity increases and (ii)
Highly nutrient rich sediments get removed.
• Deweeding / dredging at regular intervals
should be practiced to control the nutrients
level and silt deposition.
• Feeding of food to fishes should be
discouraged and stopped because this activity
increases the amount of organic material
which results in decrease of the dissolved
oxygen .
• Entry of Stray animals should be stopped by
means of "cow catcher " on the Ghats.
• Ozonization by diffusion bubbling system
should be implemented in which atmospheric
oxygen gets converted into ozone by the rate
of 8 gm/min and aerate the lake water.
Ozonization has two major benefits as
follows:
(i) Ozone has more capacity to decompose
organic matter than oxygen.
 (ii) We cannot add chlorine in holy sarovar, so we
can use ozone which act as disinfectant like
chlorine .
Encroachments from all three feeders should be
removed.
Seepage in lake should be reduced so that loss of
water can be prevented .
Farmers should be encouraged to use organic
fertilizers instead off chemical fertilizers.
Public awareness regarding benefits of not using
plastic bags should be undertaken on priority basis.
Pilgrims and Brahmins conducting poojas
should be convinced through imparting
environmental education so that they stop offering
flowers to lake or to offer only one or two flowers
in a particular area of lake which is yearmarked by
local authority and after definite intervals these
flowers should be removed through net.
REFERENCES
phytoplankton. Ph.D. Thesis, Barkatullah
University, Bhopal.
Sculthorpe, C.D. 1967. Biology of aquatic vascular
plants. Edward Arnold Pub. Ltd., London: 610.
Shastri, Y. and D.C. Pendse. 2001. Hyrobiological study
of Dahikhura Reservoir. J. of Environmental
Biology 22 (1): 67-70.
Spence, D.H.N. 1967. The Zonation of Plants in fresh
water lakes. Adv. Ecol. Res. 12: 37-125.
Sreenivasan, A., Pillai, V.K. and T. Franklin. 1997.
Limnological study of a shallow water body
(Kolovoi Lake) in Tamilnadu. Indian
Hydrobiology 2 (2): 61-69.
Srinivasa, G.S. and B. Kotaiah. 2000. Seasonal
Variation of water quality in a tropical Kalyani
reservoir, near Tirupati. Indian J. Environmental
Protection 20 (6): 452 - 455.
Thorat, S.R. and S. Masarrat. 2000. Pollution status of
Salim Ali Lake, Aurangabad (M.S.) Poll. Res. 19
(2): 307 - 309.
Zutshi, D.P. and Khan, A.V. 1988. Eutophic gradient in
the Dal lake, Kashmir, Indian J. Envir. Hlth. 30
(4): 348 - 354.

APHA. 1992. Standard methods for the examination of

water and waste water. 18 th Edition, Washington,
D. C.
Brown, E.; M.W. Skougstad and M.J. fishman. 1974.
Method for collection and analysis of water
samples for dissolved minerals and gases. Dept. of
Interior, Book No. 5.U.S.
Dutta, A. and K.C. Sharma. 2001. Nutrient release
potential of some macrophytes of a shallow lake
of Ajmer, Rajasthan. Bulletin of the National
Institute of Ecology 11: 43-48.
Durrani, I.A. 1993. Oxidative mineralization of plankton
with its impact on eutrophication of Bhopal. Ph.D.
Thesis, Barkatullah University, Bhopal.
Jain, S.M., M.sharma and R. Thakur. 1996. Seasonal
variations in physico- chemical parameters of
Halali reservoir of Vidisha District. India. J.
Ecobiol. 8(3) : 181-188.
Kannan, K. 1991. Fundamentals of Environmental
pollution. S.Chand and Company Ltd., New Delhi.
Mohanraj, R., S. Kumar, P.A. Azee and S.R. Kumar.
2000. Pollution status of wetland in urban
Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Bull. Environ.
Contam. Toxicol. 64: 638-643.
Nawange, S. 1993. Limnological studies an new mean
Surwari reservoir (Sagar District ) and old upper
lake reservoir of Bhopal with special reference to
macrophytic vegetation. Ph.D. Thesis, Barkatullah
University, Bhopal.
Saxena, A. 1998. Primary productivity studies in a
sewage polluted lake with special reference to

1529

View publication stats