Environmental considerations for developments around urban water bodies

Abstract

The lake systems in an urban area are a boon to that area. A lake supplies a lot its surroundings and end up being an eminent contribution to the day to day functioning and the look of that whole catchment. It generates a unique ecosystem within the urban features of that setting. That fragile ecosystem must be maintained to the state of environmental equilibrium with the existing surroundings. Major concerns are human encroachment, pollution and set up of informal activities around it. It is the responsibility of the city authorities and people to check environmental degradation as faced by these urban lake systems as a result of encroachment, sedimentation, weed infestation, land reclamation, untreated sewage and industrial effluent discharges and deforestation around them. After all this awareness and realization, the condition of these water bodies is still distressing in India. The above mentioned problems leave adverse impact on the physical quality of life in the city and on the natural environment. Ecosystems and natural cycles are disturbed by these human interventions to the level that neither of the side receives anything from the other. The balance between human dominated urban system and the natural cycles in the lake catchment are completely destroyed. A study in this context has been made for the case of Shahpura Lake Bhopal. This research is an attempt at presenting a comprehensive view of the typical problems experienced in the better known lake Shahpura, its present environmental status and efforts being made to make them environmentally sustainable by suggesting possible solutions.