Imphal, July 7: Loktak lake has always been the biggest fish bowl of Manipur. Now the state government has taken up an ambitious project to make it a rich source of biofertilisers and compost. The aim is not only to clean up the lake but also help farmers. Launched by the Loktak Development Authority (LDA) with active assistance from scientists of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal, the project for production of biofertilisers from floating biomass has become a success.
The LDA started sale of the product on Friday. The compost is being sold at Rs 37.50 for 50 kg. J.S. Laishram of the university, the man behind the endeavour, said ?We tested our product last year on several paddy fields in Bishenpur district. The result is more than satisfactory. Rice production can be enhanced considerably by using the biofertiliser. It is far superior to other chemical fertilisers.?
The main goal of the project is to clear the lake of the growing biomass.
Over the year, the ecosystem of the lake has worsened. One of the reasons is the rapid extension of the biomass.
Extensive use of chemicals by farmers on paddy fields on the lake?s fringes has also polluted its waters. As a result, several indigenous fish varieties have become extinct as far as the lake is concerned, experts said.
As a first step towards preserving the lake, the LDA decided to launch the ?Clear Phumdi Operation? by setting up a microbiology laboratory at Ningthoukhong, on the fringe of the lake, in June 2002.
This laboratory converts the phumdis (biomass) into biofertilisers.
Before setting up the lab, the LDA took assistance from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Tata Environmental Research Institute, New Delhi, to conduct the research.
However, the technology was finally formulated by the biotechnology laboratory of Imphal?s Central Agricultural University in 2001.
LDA officials say further research is on to improve the product. ?If farmers can use the biofertiliser properly, the productivity can be increased,? said LDA project director Th. Manihar Singh. Farmers? training programmes are also being arranged.
Loktak lake is said to be the largest freshwater lake in eastern India. A large chunk of the people in Bishenpur district depends on the lake for their livelihood.
Fish farmers live inside huts constructed on the biomass. Paddy cultivation has also begun on the phumdis in some parts of the lake.
Thanks to the ever-increasing human activity on the lake in addition to the contamination of the water, the fish population has come down drastically. Besides, the number of migratory birds visiting the lake during winter has also dwindled. LDA minister W. Leima Devi said a survey is on to count the number of phumdis and identify those that have to be cleared.