Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, Choudhary Lal Singh took review of the Wullar Lake conservation project and construction of the Boulevard around the lake. The Minister took detailed review of the project, seeking various suggestions and recommendations from the concerned officials. He directed the officials to expedite the project work. The Minister said that Government is mulling to create 34.58 kms Boulevard project, costing around Rs 700 crore for revamping the Asia’s largest fresh water lake and it would help the State to boost the tourism sector. “The project will be completely eco-friendly and we won’t allow any vehicle alongside the proposed road, as only battery cars would be plying on the road,” Mr Singh said, adding “conservation of this lake besides many other lakes and water bodies is the top most priority to the Government and we will take all necessary measures to create an impact in this regard,”. The officials apprised the minister about the project and stressed that the de-silting launched under the comprehensive Wullar Lake Conservation and Management Plan (WCMP) is on. They informed the meeting that the work needs a greater impetus to increase the water holding capacity of the lake. The officials said that the proximity to the road network is 42.3 kms, while as total perimeter of the Wullar Boundary is 83.6kms. The proposed Wullar Boulevard project is supposed to begin from Garoora to Sopore, covering around 34.58 kms. The Minister underlined the importance of Wullar Lake in protecting the Kashmir valley from floods by acting as a huge water storage reservoir. He said the de-silting effort launched under the comprehensive Wular conservation and management plan needs greater impetus to increase the water holding capacity of the lake.
