Manage Fewa Lake

A major tourist destination in Pokhara is Fewa lake. Pokhara Sub-metropolis said that the responsibility of protecting and managing Fewa Lake. The water of Fewa Lake is quite polluted.

To protect and manage the lake, the sub-metropolis today formed Fewa Lake Conservation and Management Office at the Lakeside. 

Mahesh Baral, Executive Officer at the sub-metropolis, said that they had established the office to study the past as well as present efforts made to protect the lake and devise a sustainable solution in coordination with several NGOs and INGOs. 

“We have allocated a budget of Rs 1.3 million to run the office as well as to protect the lake for now,” Baral said. He informed that they have proposed a budget of Rs five million for the project in the next fiscal. 

“Several organisations including UN Habitat and Hariyo Ban have pledged to lend their support for the conservation of the lake,” Baral added. 

The office has been authorised to carry out a study on all the past reports prepared on protection, development and encroachment control and formulate a comprehensive work plan for the protection of the lake. The office has been authorised to launch a sanitation campaign in collaboration with various organisations along with removal of water hyacinth, among others, to beautify the lake. 

Likewise, the office can take initiative to collect fund for conservation of the lake from home and abroad, according to Baral. 

Although several organisations are involved, efforts made so far to conserve the lake have failed to yield positive results. 

The Nepal Electricity Authority has been generating power from the lake, the Department of Irrigation is operating a canal, Nepal Agriculture Research Centre is breeding fish in the lake while the District Development Committee collects tax from boatmen.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya the Administrator of Western Region said that the sub-metropolis is taking the responsibility of conserving  the Fewa lake. Within two years tangible results can be expected.

The condition of Fewa Lake has deteriorated over time. The area of water body has shrunk from 10 square kilometers to half. The average depth of water is 8.6 meters while the maximum depth is 19 meters. Sand and boulders have accumulated on the ground of the lake and water hyacinth has contaminated it, making it unsuitable for drinking.