The Asian Junior Rowing
Championships at Chandigarh, held from November 24
to 27, took a cruel toll of trees.
The organisers found that
the heavy inflow of silt and seepage of water from the lake
posed problems for rowing. Three draglines were
requisitioned from the Punjab government's irrigation and drainage department to de-silt the lake
and to work on the embankments of the rowing
channel.
As the draglines were driven along the channel,
several trees had to be chopped or clipped to make
way for the heavy machinery. Trees along the
embankments also got the axe for the same reason.
Interestingly, when Maneka Gandhi was the Union
minister of state for environment and forests,
instructions were issued to the Chandigarh administration to ensure no rowing activity was allowed at
the Sukhna lake, so that its ecological balance was not
disturbed. The lake was also accorded the status of a
wetland, bringing it under the wetland development
programme of the Indian government. But
for the present, the Chandigarh administration
appears more interested in sports than environmental conservation.
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