The state government has spent Rs 25.15 crore in the past nearly two decades to purchase machines to clean the Dal Lake, the prime tourist attraction in the city.
The machines that have been purchased to clean the lake since 1997 include two sewer cleaning machines, two multipurpose lake cleaning machines, two weed harvesters and two cutter-suction dredgers.
The machines have been purchased for Rs 25.15 crore, according to official documents.
The Dal Lake has suffered immensely due to pollution, silt and weed generated from multiple sources and a massive cleanliness project has been launched to preserve the lake in the past decades.
The cleaning machines are used for de-weeding, dredging and skimming of the lake and the mechanical de-weeding is currently done in the central portion of the lake. The weeds are part of lake’s eco-system and re-occur after cleaning operation.
