Not even a week after it was inaugurated, Guru Dronacharya Sarovar at Dadumajra village has turned murky.

Plastic bottles, discarded wrappers and polythene bags can be seen floating in water, besides the accumulation of algae on the surface.

The sarovar was claimed to be a facility for promoting rural tourism as a village pond was converted into a lake to provide recreation for residents and tourists, besides maintaining the water level in adjoining areas. Fountains were installed and boats were provided for boating to attract tourists.

However, the maintenance of the lake is poor. A local resident said before the pond was converted into a lake, it was primarily used for bathing cattle.

“These days, there is a huge rush in the evening but people throw wrappers and bottles into the lake. Even while boating they tend to discard everything into the water,” he said.

Worse, without any outlet water has become stagnant and algae have come up on the surface, especially along the edges. Built at a cost of Rs 35 lakh, the lake was inaugurated with much fanfare in the presence of Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and Tourism Kumari Selja and Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Dr G C Dhillon, former Chief Engineer of Irrigation Department, Punjab said a survey should be conducted about the feasibility of providing natural source of water to the lake.

“The water from Patiala ki Rao and Janta ki Rao can be used to feed this lake as well the one in Sector 42. Instead of flooding low-lying areas water from the choes should be diverted. The Administration and Municipal Corporation are building lakes everywhere without any natural source of water for them,” he said.

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