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Faridabad News: The historic Dhonj lake of Faridabad, which was once filled with water, has completely dried up today. Due to indiscriminate mining and stone crusher plants, the natural waterways have been disrupted and both the lake water and ground water have been depleted, due to which this natural heritage is now reduced to just a piece of land.
Faridabad: Dhonj Lake located in Faridabad district of Haryana is now becoming history. This lake, which was once filled with water, is now just a dry piece of land. The situation is such that now people can walk on foot on the bottom of Dhonj Lake. The surprising thing is that this lake is also mentioned in the gazetteer of the British period, which shows its historical and natural importance.
According to experts, Dhonj Lake was once filled with so much water that a check dam was built here. The water of the lake was used for agriculture and for this there was a systematic water management system in which it was decided how much water would be released. The last time this lake was completely filled was in the year 2003. Earlier the water level of the lake used to be between 30 to 50 feet.
Researcher Sunil Harsana says that the rampant mining in Dhonj area has completely blocked the natural water routes leading to the lake. Apart from this, a stone crusher plant was set up in the same area, for which large water pumps were installed in the lake. These pumps not only sucked water from the lake, but also reduced the surrounding ground water reserve to a very low level.
Mining activities destroy lakes
Sunil Harsana tells that once upon a time there used to be 8 to 10 lakes in the Faridabad area, the largest of which was Badkhal Lake and then Dhonj Lake. Mining activities completely destroyed the natural wealth here. Surajkund lake has dried up, while another lake near Surajkund was destroyed by filling it with soil. The water visible today in Badkhal Lake is not natural but water treated by STP.
Damdama lake saved from treated water
He raised the question that on one hand the government is ignoring the natural resources, while on the other hand, efforts are being made to turn natural lakes into lakes by filling them with treated water. There used to be rock climbing on the mountains of Dhonj Lake and tourists from far and wide used to come here, but the entire ecosystem was destroyed due to stone crushers and drawing water through borewells. At present, only Damdama lake has some water left in Faridabad district, and that too is now only seasonal. The lakes of this area, which were once filled with water throughout the year, have today become victims of administrative neglect and indiscriminate mining.
