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Lonar Lake, India is in danger of becoming unrecognisable. Each day, some man-made activities and some natural threats like high-temperature environments can lead to significant threats to Lonar Lake (crater) and the surrounding biodiversity.
Lonar Crater, which is famous all over the world, is under threat. In this blog post, we will learn about some of these problems and dangers today. We will also discuss how to get rid of these threats to its surroundings from locals as well as tourists who do not follow the guidelines properly.
Unnatural (artificial) Threats to Lonar Lake
Many of the animals and birds that depend on natural resources are found in the Lonar Lake area. But due to overcrowding and an increase in residential areas, the annihilation of biological resources is progressing.
Following are some threats that we’ll discuss in detail
- Fertilizers and Pesticides of Farming
- Excessive Borewell work
- Bathing & Washing Clothes
- Washing Cattles & Household Sewers
- Festivals and Pilgrimage
This can lead to problems such as depletion of lake water, and mixing of wastewater with various chemical elements. In addition, farming is done in the surrounding lake area. The lake is threatened by a variety of fertilizers, pesticides, and poisons.
No construction of any kind or borewell is allowed near the lake; still, some people do not appear to follow such instructions. The most important thing that endangers Lonar Lake is the disillusionment of the locals about Lonar Lake with its natural and national significance!
There are perennial streams like Ganga Bhogwati Dhara, Sita Nhani in the temples around Lonar Lake. The water from these streams continuously flows and merges into the lake, but some tourists and locals use this water for bathing and washing clothes. Therefore, this bad water goes into the lake and pollutes the lake.
Detergents, various chemicals, household sewers, etc. are also frequently released into lake water illegally. Cattle are also brought to the lake for washing. Also, some amateur tourists use the lake water for bathing or other household chores. Due to all these important reasons, the lake water is being severely affected.
In addition, the groundwater resources of the lake are depleted due to excessive borewell work, but the locals do not seem to care. Various types of signboards are put up by the local administration to prevent damage to the lake. But since people are not educated enough about such signboards, they do not seem to be following the instructions.
This type of signboard contains instructions to avoid littering in certain places, not to use certain things, and to use the things sparingly to preserve the beauty of spots. But local administrations also seem to fall short in precisely implementing and following such instructions strictly.
Often tourism activities are celebrated in the area. But such activities are causing a lot of damage to the land and alternatively, the environment. During the Navratri festival in the Sarovar area, the famous Kamaladevi temple area gets very crowded. At that time a large number of tourists and pilgrims came here. Also, some shops and food stalls are set up around the lake.
All kinds of leftover food items from these shops and stalls get dumped in the area. Often these substances are also mixed in the lake water, ultimately polluting the lake water. All these types of pollution are affecting local residents, plants, and animals. But the causes and effects of all these types of pollution are not visible to the public.
Bad effects of these activities
A variety of local and migratory birds visit the Lonar Lake area every year. But due to all kinds of pollution and danger, the number of all these birds has decreased significantly.
The lake is home to a wide variety of birds, including herons, shelducks (migratory birds from Europe), robins, and other species.
Researchers have found that all of these pollutants are causing problems such as drying up seepage ponds and dams, slowing down or stopping flows in lakes.
Pollution in the area has led to problems such as contamination of lake water, the stench in the lake area. The effect of all this is more on tourists coming from far, especially foreign tourists.
Natural Threats to Lonar Lake
There are some natural threats also available to Lonar Lake. Like the overgrowth of aquatic plants, the growth of various types of algae can lead to problems such as depletion of lake water.
Low rainfall is the leading problem and due to this sometimes water of lonar lake gets depleted drastically.
Usually, this area is hot in temperature, therefore it can also lead to lake water depletion. These are the natural things we cannot do much into that except that planting trees often.
How to get rid of these threats to Lonar Lake?
Following are some practices we can avoid in the Lonar Lake nearby area.
- Stopping the unimportant constructions.
- Avoid excessive borewell work.
- Follow all the instructions from the administration.
- Stop washing clothes, cattles and bathing.
- Most importantly understand it’s imporatance.
- Support the “Save Lonar” initiatives.
Citation
Due to all these dangers, the local administration, with the help of researchers, has now started activities to take care of this historic lake. In such cases, timely action must be taken on local communities and religious festivals to avoid adverse effects.
It also includes various civic initiatives such as “Save Lonar” for the protection of Lonar Lake. Locals, as well as tourists, should help the administration in every possible way. Only then it will be easy to preserve all such natural resources and pass on this rich heritage to the next generation. Thank you!
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