Less than two years after massive clean-up op, water hyacinth takes over large swathes of Ooty lake
Ooty lake is suffering from a severe water hyacinth infestation less than two years after a multi-crore desilting project. Conservationists attribute the failure to poor ecological planning that destroyed natural filtration systems like reed beds.
Why it matters
It highlights the failure of expensive government environmental projects and the long-term consequences of ignoring local ecosystem dynamics in urban planning.
Less than two years after ₹7.51 crore was spent on desilting and “cleaning” the Ooty lake in the Nilgiris, pollution in the waterbody remains rampant, leading to a vast tract of the lake being taken over by water hyacinth – a telltale sign of eutrophication.
In addition to the ineffectual exercise, local bird watchers have noted a drastic reduction in the bird population in the lake due to the unscientific clean-up that led to the destruction of sand banks and reed beds on which the birds had become dependent.
The project to clean the lake was inaugurated in October 2024, with ₹7.51 crore being sanctioned for the exercise across 24 hectares, as well as to modernise the sewage treatment plant with additions to keep debris, including solid waste, from entering the waterbody.
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