UDAIPUR: Expressing dissent on the latest move of the Urban Improvement Trust and municipal corporation inviting tenders for operation of boating activities for tourists at Fatehsagar Lake , activists have sent a legal notice to the collector on environmental grounds.The notice has been sent on behalf of Jheel Sanrakshan Samiti (JSS), a voluntary organization working for the wellness of water bodies in and around Udaipur. The NGO’s demand is to review the tender requisites of diesel/petrol-run boats to solar or pedal boats so that water quality is not affected by the recreational activities in the lake. It may be noteworthy that Fatehsagar Lake is a major source of drinking water for the city people. Water department supplies drinking water from lake Pichhola, Fatehsagar and Badi. Anil Mehta, secretary JSS said, “There are several studies that prove health hazards associated with boating. Administration is perhaps ignorant of the side effects of watercraft on the ecosystem around it. The presence of vessels increase the growth of algae and kick up sediments, both of which obstruct sunlight and spoil the water.” Experts claim, deposits left from boats can change the water's chemistry, adding too much of certain compounds, like zinc and copper, or making an environment overly alkaline or acidic. A fall in water quality is bad for both wildlife and humans, suggests activist Dr Mahesh Sharma.“Fouling water of public spring or reservoir so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used, is punishable under section 277 of IPC,” senior advocate and activist Ramesh Nandwana said.

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