Srinagar: A massive project to clean up Dal Lake, a major tourist attraction, has been undertaken.

The lake, which covered an area of 74 square kilometers 30 years ago, has now shrunk to less than half its original size.

A major part has been converted into farms for growing vegetables and now the lake covers just 24 square kilometres. Unchecked growth of weeds has also led to its degradation. Backed by a $ 75-million budget, dredgers are being used to de-weed the lake under the "Clean Dal Project".

"This time we are focussing on de-weeding process because this lake is an important tourist attraction," said Tanveera Jahan, vice-chairman of the project.

However, labourers are also employed where the dredger cannot be put to work.

"Machine (dredger) can work better than human labourers. Around 9-10 people could take out only one truckload of weeds whereas the machine could take up to 9-10 truckloads a day. This is an advantage. But the disadvantage about it is that it cannot go into areas where the lake is not deep and there the government had to engage labourers," said Ali Mohammad, a labourer.

One of the world's finest natural lakes, the Dal is also facing constant degradation due to man-made pollutants. It is estimated that there are over four tonnes of phosphorous and around 31 tonnes of nitrogen compounds in the lake, apart from a huge quantity of silt and garbage.

Experts say if the degradation of the Dal continued at the same pace, it would disappear in another 60 years.

ANI