Sagar (Madhya Pradesh): Sagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) has taken up the task of rejuvenating the 437-acre Lakha Banjara Lake in Sagar.
This is the biggest project of lake conservation- not only in the state but in the country- taken up by a smart city project.
As far as information is considered, no smart city project across the country has identified such a large water infrastructure for rejuvenation in its SCP (Smart City Proposal).
Lakha Banjara Lake was once a water body of more than 437 acres, but it has been divided into two parts, as of now. A part of the lake has been recovered by hyacinth.
According to SSCL, desilting of the lake has been completed. On an average, 0.9 metres depth of the lake has been increased, improving water storage capacity of the lake.
The officials said that the capacity of the lake was 4.40 million cubic meter, which will be 5.40 million cubic meter after rejuvenation. They said that around 23% capacity of the lake has been increased.
Besides, Kaneradeo canal and its catchment area are also being cleaned. Officials said that the canal had been choked as people used to throw garbage into it. Ever since the Kaneradeo Canal came into existence, no maintenance work was done. The canal is the main source of water for the lake.
With an aim to keep water of Lakha Banjara Lake completely clean, works of drain trapping has also been done by SSLC.
Along with the lake, SSCL has also included two famous Bawdi of the city. In this, work had been done on different schemes in the past on Laxmipura Bawdi, but for the first time work is being done on Model School's Chopda. Its rejuvenation is almost 60 percent complete. Along with this, many wells in the city are also being protected under the Smart City Mission.
‘Quality will not be compromised’
Collector Deepak Arya who is the chairman of Smart City, many agencies are working under this project. The Collector has given strict orders to all that the quality will not be compromised in the construction works. Engineers are reaching out to check the quality and quality of construction works by holding constant meetings with the contractors.
Time limit
SSCL CEO Rahul Singh Rajput said that it is a matter of luck that we have such a large water structure. Everything will be done on time. It took a lot of effort to get the lake included in the project. No smart city in the country is working on such a large water infrastructure.
