State mulls to use bio-tech solutions to maintain water quality at Lake
KOLKATA: Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of Rabindra Sarobar, is exploring bio-technological solutions for ensuring that the water quality of the Lake is best maintained.
“We have a technical committee which will hold a meeting within 10 days and identify the technology that can be adopted for retaining the good water quality of Rabindra Sarobar,” a senior official of KMDA said.
A number of stakeholders illustrated various technologies like nano bubble, cownomics, liquid oxygen intake etc at the seminar in presence of senior officials of KMDA, including its CEO Antara Acharya. Firhad Hakim, chairman of KMDA inaugurated the day-long workshop on further improvement of limnological and environmental aspect of Rabindra Sarobar at Nazrul Manch.
Kalyan Rudra , Chairman of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) emphasized that periodic testing of the water quality by the Board has revealed that the water quality of the lake has not deteriorated in the recent past.
The monitoring of nine parameters of water conducted by the WBPCB in the year 2020 and 2021 has revealed that the BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) has remained in the threshold limit during the entire period . It was only in August 2020 when BOD fell to 1.1 slightly below the permissible limit. However, there has been some sporadic reports of fish deaths reported from the waterbody in the recent past.
Experts speaking at the workshop called for undertaking bathymetric surveys that measure the depth of a water body as well as map the underwater features of a water body. Considering the fact that there no waste water outlet leading to the lake, Rudra called for survey of the quantity of the groundwater that comes to the lake and a proper database associated with the waterbody. He also said that the Board that has already installed air quality monitoring station in the Rabindra Sarobar lake campus will also come up with a meter to measure the wind speed velocity considering the fact that overcast conditions and low windspeed may result in drop in the level of dissolved oxygen in water.
Experts further suggested testing of the rate of siltation and sludge accumulation of the lake particularly of the water close to the bank which is the best biodiversity hotspot.