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Pipliyahana is a lake that is dear to many Indorians who have spent a significant part of their lives growing up in the city. Spanning over 15 acres, this lake is now excessively polluted by algae, duckweed and azolla plants that are affecting not only quality of water, but also endangering the plant and animal life that call the lake home.
On the occasion of their marriage, Priyanshu Kumath (IIT Bombay Alumnus) and Shaleen Jain (IIM Raipur Alumnus), a young couple from Indore, donated all the money that they would have otherwise spent on lavish wedding celebrations, as well as the gifts they received, towards restoring and beautifying Lake Pipliyahana.
Lake Pipliyahana is located right off Ring Road at Pipliyahana Square, Indore. The city’s municipal corporation recently set up a sewage treatment plant near the lake which treats the sewage water coming in from nearby colonies and discharges the treated effluent in the lake.
The water coming in from the sewage plant is under the norms as specified by the Pollution Control Board, but traces of nutrients such as nitrogen & phosphorus in its various forms are still present in the water, leading to algal blooms covering the entire surface of the lake.
If algae continues to cover the surface of the lake, it will inhibit transfer of oxygen to the water which happens at the surface. Reduced oxygen will further deplete water quality, causing fishes and other life forms to die and be catastrophic. The lake might also become breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes. Furthermore, the groundwater of the surrounding areas might also start to get polluted.
The couple intends to solve the problem by setting up floating islands and aerators at the lake. Floating islands would uptake all the nutrients in the water, thus leaving no food for the algae, which would starve and eventually recede from the lake.
Besides improving water quality and reducing algal blooms, floating islands would also help in beautification of the lake and provide habitat to all life forms, thus helping restore ecological balance, foster healthy aquatic life and biodiversity in and around the lake.
But with a lake this big, the restoration is a rather ambitious project requiring a lot more funds. As of late, 5 floating islands have been installed to kickstart the project, but they plan to install at least 30-50 more floating islands to distill the lake and remove the sludge that has been rotting at the bottom of the lake.
But with a lake this big, the restoration is a rather ambitious project requiring a lot more funds. As of late, 5 floating islands have been installed to kickstart the project, but they plan to install at least 30-50 more floating islands to distill the lake and remove the sludge that has been rotting at the bottom of the lake.
“The lack of funds is a problem that we are facing right now, and we are trying to address this by fundraising through Milaap. We want the lake to become an asset for the entire city and its people, so they can enjoy it, and also so that this lake remains perennial and clean for years to come.” - Priyanshu
Priyanshu and Shaleen aim to execute the Pipliyahana lake restoration project themselves, in a time span of about 6 months. They will take care of the operation and maintenance of the work done post-restoration for a period of one year, after which they expect the government to take over.
Furthermore, the couple has tied up with the NGO, Vibhavari, which has delivered impact in sectors such as water, sanitation, livelihood, agriculture, etc. The funds raised would be credited in the NGO’s account and disbursed to vendors from there.
Priyanshu and Shaleen, who wed on 25 December, intended to start a chain reaction with their initiative and truly create a positive impact on society. They hoped to inspire and encourage people to forgo spending lavishly on one-time celebrations, and instead donate towards noble causes.
Priyanshu, through his firm Clean-Water (registered as Sustainable Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) has been setting up sewage treatment plants and also restoring lakes and rivers across the country. For a lake restoration project carried out in Indore, he was conferred with the award and title ‘Water Hero’ by Jal Shakti, Water Resources Ministry, Government of India.
Join Priyanshu and Shaleen in their mission to restore lake Pipliyahana.
