Nainital schoolchildren to clean Bhimtal lake

Nainital, Dec. 11 (ANI): Concerned with polluting water streams in Uttarakhand, schoolchildren in Nainital have pledged to clean the Bhimtal lake during their holidays.

Nainital's renowned lakes attract thousands of tourists from all over the country every year.

But increasing pollution, usually caused by tourists, has become the main cause of lower levels and filth-ridden waters.

Concerns over the state of these lakes, which are also sources of fresh water for the surrounding towns, brought together school children to take up the challenge to clean the Bhimtal Lake during their holidays.

"People are involved in cleaning the environment, and the rivers, and the lakes. So we thought that Bhimtal is known for its lake and in the summer time, natural resources get choked because of pollution, which has been created by man. Therefore, we thought of creating awareness, starting with our children and engaging them in the cleanliness of the lake, and we approached the lake development authority," said S.S. Negi, Principal, Lake International School, Nainital.

The students were also involved in other social activities as a part of their curriculum, but they have vowed to clean the Bhimtal Lake.

"We do social activities also but when we saw that our lake, which is the main (water) source of Bhimtal is getting deteriorated, we thought of cleaning it first and then (doing) the other social activities," said Meenasha Kadpal, a school student from Nainital.

Students went into the water and cleaned the lake by removing algae and plastic bags, which blocked the mountain stream feeding the lake.

"In summer time, the lake water dries up and tourists return disheartened. We thought of cleaning the lake to maintain the water level, as the stream from the mountains gets choked. That is why we decided to clean the lake during our holidays," said Akashdeep Singh, a student of Lake International School, Nainital.

India's water bodies have been getting polluted for years. The government, on its part, has created several laws to protect water sources but they are not implemented . (ANI)