Gaidahawa Lake in Gaidahawa Rural Municipality of Rupandekhi district is on the verge of extinction due to lack of conservation.
Local Baburam Mall of Gaidahawa Rural Municipality said the biological diversity of the lake has been destroying after the Rural Municipality rented out the lake for fish farming.
According to Shailendra Pokharel of Simsar area, the Gaidahawa Lake, which is proposed for enlisting in the International Wetland (Ramsar), is very important in terms of biological diversity and irrigation.
“We can find 200 species of birds, 20 species of lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles and other reptiles, Nilgai and tortoise in the lake and surrounding areas,” he said.
According to Pokharel, the Indian eyed turtles, a species of turtle endemic to South Asia, which are not found in any places of Nepal are found in Gaidahawa.
The Rural Municipality had rented out the pond for five years in Rs 8.5 lakh. This lake is a habitat of Bhundiphor and Saras among other endangered birds.
Malla said the number of birds that migrate to Nepal from Siberia and Mongolia, among other places, to escape the harsh winter has been decreasing in the recent time.
“The number of migratory birds has decreased due to growing human activities and decrease in water level in the pond,” Malla said.
“In the past the lake used to be covered by the migratory birds during winter season. We, however, rarely see the birds these days,” Malla said, adding, “The use of chemical fertilizer and feed in the name of raising fish has been destroying the lake and natural vegetation.”
Apart from that, the Gadahawa Lake is the collection of underground water.
Can be a tourist destination
This area, which is rich in terms of biodiversity, can be developed as a tourist destination.
Tourism entrepreneur Sagar Adhikari said the tourists who come to visit Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha, can be attracted to Gaidahawa. He said the infrastructure of the lake should be upgraded for the same.
Gaidahawa Lake can be made like Phewa Lake of Pokhara by bringing the boat service into operation round the year, said another tourism entrepreneur Harimani Sharma.
“Gaidahawa can be an attractive tourist destination for those who come to visit Lumbini. But we have to pay attention towards the infrastructure of this place,” he added.
Ram Awatar Yadav, who has been working for a long time to beautify the Gaidahawa Lake, said the government body has not paid due attention towards the development of this lake.
“We had taken a lot of initiatives to develop the lake, but nobody paid attention. The Rural Municipality only wants to rent out the lake for fish farming,” he said.
“We had tried to develop the Lake as a tourist destination in coordination with then District Development Committee and District Forest Office, among other government bodies, by making action plan, but to no avail. The five-year action plan was also made for the development of the lake.” Yadav said.
The area of the lake is being encroached day by day due to lack of attention towards the conservation. The area of lake, which originally occupied the area of 84 bigha, has now shrunken to 60 bigha due to encroachment.
Though the Rural Municipality has been collecting around Rs 1.5 million annually, it has not done anything for the conservation of the lake.
Misappropriation of budget
According to locals, the Rural Municipality has taken more than Rs 3 million from various government bodies for the conservation of lake. “But we have not seen any development in the lake,” said local Baburam Malla.
Gaidahawa Rural Municipality Chairman Bachhu Kewat said the Rural Municipality will carry out works for the development of the lake in the coming days.
Saying that they are also new in this area, he said the Rural Municipality will carry out works by taking suggestions from the experts related to the lake and biodiversity for the conservation of the lake.
