Built in 2008 for Rs 3 croore to host religious events and collate rainwater for the city’s soutn sectors, the man-made lake today lies for most of the yesar. With no natural water source and dependent on tube wells that deplete the water table, it has become a symbol of the city’s falltering water management.

Staff at the site say the lake servs little purpose beyond being filled briefly during festival season. “Even when it is filled for chhat Puja, it is empty soon after the festival,” Said Balkar, a worker at the site. Another staffer, anil, added that internal complaints are met with threats. “We ‘told officials about the problem times.

This year, the lake has not been filled even on. Power supply to the area was cut off on june 3 over a pending electricity bill of Rs 2.5 lakh.

‘A waste of resources’

Environmentalists have questioned the practice of pumping potable groundwater in a structurally inadequate artificial lake. “It makes no senses to keep pumping water from Tube well an artificial lake that does not serve any real utility,” Said Rahul Mahajan, Founder of the Organic Sharing Foundation. “It’s not just a waste of taxes – it is a waste of natural resources.”

Swadesh Talwar, Veteran Photo Editor, Point Out That A Seasonal Drain, The N-Loe, Flows Past The Site. “That rainwater is discharged out of the city, unused, while spent extracting groundwater for a lake meant to be temporary. Residents with Houses over 500 square yards must install rationwater harvesting systems.” Said.

Talwar also highlighted a fundamental design flaw. “The bed of the lake has been cemented over, which goes against basic ecological principles. No natural

Infrastructure overhaul sharededed

A Senior Technical Expert, WHO REQUESED ANYMITY, Said Converting The Site Into A Function Rainwater Harvesting Basin would Require Major Redsign. “You can just divert stormwater into the lake. Without probening, filration, and stormwater lines that are not connected to sewage, Silt and trash will collact, redempacting new processing new processes.”

Pallav Mukherjee, a former Member of the Municipal Corporation’s Water and Sewage Committees, Said He had proposed such lakes as stormwater buffers 15 years ago to Counter Falling Groundwater Levels. “Sector 42 was meant to do that. But it is filled with tube well water, not rainwater, which defeats the whole purpose. Rainfall.

Currently, there is no system to channel runoff from surrounding sectors or roads into the lake. “This lake is not designed to collect rainwater, and so it doesn’t,” Said Mahajan. “Instead, it functions as a yearly ritual site at a massive environmental cost.”

Repeated Atempts to Contact CB Ojha, Chief Engineer with the Chandigarh Administration, for comment unanswered.

(Aisharani Chauhan and Divyanshi Thakur are interns with the Indian Express)