Water hyacinth invasion makes boating difficult in Phewa Lake

By Santosh Subedi,Kaski, June 29: Locals, elected representatives, security personnel and social organisations gathered at Dhalkebar of Phewa Lake on Saturday on the initiative of the Batabaran Samrakshanka Lagi Mahaabhiyan Kaski (BSLMK) (Great Initiative for Environmental Conservation Kaski). They came together to clean the famous lake and remove water hyacinth covering its waters.

They succeeded in clearing a part of the lake but the Hallanchowk-Barahighat section, that sees the greatest number of tourists, still lies covered. Every monsoon, rainwater brings the undesirable plants from the upper parts of the lake to Hallanchowk. This makes it difficult for tourists to boat and causes the beautiful lake to stink. Community and non-government organises organise clean-up campaigns from time to time but their efforts are merely a drop in the ocean. The freshwater weed returns before long.

In January 2018, Pokhara Metropolitan City bought a water hyacinth removal machine that cost Rs. 12.5 million. For this, the metro used Rs. 7.5 million of its own money while the remaining Rs. 5 million came from the Constituency Infrastructure Development Programme. However, that machine currently lies idle.

Ram Bahadur Poudel, coordinator of the BSLMK, said that this year’s hyacinth build-up could have been avoided if the metropolitan had acted on time. “We support and facilitate but the Lake Authority, local government and tourism entrepreneurs must take the lead,” he told The Rising Nepal.

Laxman Subedi, president of the Western Regional Hotel Association, said that they had removed the plant many times and had not been able to stop it from coming back. “The Harpan River keeps filling the lake with hyacinths during the monsoon,” he said, adding that tourism businesses were actively making efforts to clean Fewa.

Balram Giri, chairman of the Boat Operators Committee, said that the plants had made boating difficult. “They have wreaked havoc from Barahighat to Khahare,” he complained.

Motilal Timsina, spokesperson for Pokhara Metropolis, admitted that they had not used the hyacinth removing machine but said that it was because it was broken. “We hope to get it repaired from Mahabir Pun’s National Innovation Centre,” he shared. Timsina emphasised though that the lake had been cleaned for the recent Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Race.