Locals irked as Dharamshala Dal Lake dries up again
Dal Lake's drying has sparked local outrage due to its cultural significance. Fish were relocated as seepage worsens, raising concerns over ineffective restoration efforts.
The city’s Dal Lake drying up has drawn strong reactions from locals given the water body’s religious significance for the community.

The fishes were first shifted, with the help of locals, to two artificial ponds near the lake. However, as the oxygen level in the ponds dipped, prompting the administration to shift around 1,200 kg fish to Machyal lake. The continuous seepage is said to be the reason for the drying up of the lake.
Located 1,775 m above the sea level amid thick cedar forest, the lake that once had crystal clear water is dying a slow death. The waterbody, which is situated 11 km from Dharamshala near the village of Tota Rani on Mcleodganj-Naddi road, has gradually lost its storage capacity due to rapid silting and continuous seepage. This has further affected the flora and fauna in its catchment areas.
Nestled among the lush green forests of deodar trees, the Dal Lake is famous for its scenic beauty and is a pilgrim centre due to the presence of a 200-year old Lord Shiva temple on its banks.
Addressing the issue, Dharamshala SDM Sanjeev Kumar said, “We have shifted around 12 Quintal fishes to Machyal after the oxygen level in the ponds constructed near the lake dipped. Our first priority was to save the fish from the drying lake. It has completely dried up now. We have conducted a survey so far but I will have to take up the matter with higher-ups to find some solutions to the problem.”
Last week, when the water level began dipping, students of the Tibetan Children Village (TCV) situated near the lake, locals and environmentalists started a campaign to save the fish in the water body.
The volunteers dug up a pit near the lake, filled it with water and shifted the fish from the lake to it. This is the second time in the past few years that the Dal Lake has dried up – an issue persisting for over a decade and a half, resulting in the death of hundreds of fish.
The lake holds immense significance for the locals, the community living around the lake has raised concerns over the situation of the lake and has questioned the steps taken by the administration to address the leakage problem in the lake.
Ashok Jaryal Andy, who lives in Naddi village near the lake, said, “We have been seeing this problem in the lake for nearly a decade now. No one is addressing this issue. Last week also a lot of fish died in the lake. Every year at this time, the lake faces this issue, the local community wants to save the lake and concrete efforts from the government are needed in this direction.”
The problem of silting and seepage first appeared in the mid-2000s. The local administration started desilting and restoration work in 2008, but it instead aggravated the problem as the lake completely dried up.
Locals have alleged that the lake started losing more water rapidly after desilting was done using earthmovers under a joint project carried out by the tourism and forest departments in 2008.
An amount of ₹40 lakh was spent on the exercise but it bore negative impact due to restoration work done in an unscientific manner and against the advice of geological experts from IIT-Roorkee, who had conducted a research on the lake.
Last year, the Jal Shakti department had used bentonite, also called drillers mud, to plug the leakage on the floor of the lake.
