00:00This is the first time I was going to be able to do it.
00:06I'm going to be able to do it.
00:10I'm not going to be able to do it.
00:15I'm not going to be able to do it.
00:17So cadmium and chromium,
00:18these are two metals which are the most concerning ones.
00:25What can we do in Indijvali?
00:27I can see the water in the lake.
00:29But the untreated sewage that comes in the water,
00:33can't clean the local community.
00:45Shortly after sunrise, Shama's day on the water begins.
00:49Then, along with her sister and mother,
00:51she gathers water chestnuts,
00:53like generations of women before them.
00:56But each year, the three of them are harvesting less and less.
01:00Shama has a hunch as to why this is happening.
01:11Lake Bullar is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia.
01:15It is located about 35 kilometers northwest of Srinagar.
01:20Some 32,000 families live in the villages along its shores.
01:25Many of them make their living from fishing.
01:28If something were to go wrong with the lake,
01:30they would all face a problem here.
01:33An international team of scientists has studied four large water bodies in Jammu and Kashmir.
01:39In addition to Woolar Lake, they have studied Dal Lake, the Hockersar Wetland and Manaspal Lake.
01:49The scientists took water samples and analyzed the sediment as well as edible water chestnuts harvested from the lake.
01:56They wanted to know how severe the water contamination here is.
02:00They tested for eight heavy metals.
02:03Cadmium, copper, chromium, cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel and tin.
02:09So, cadmium and chromium, these are two metals which are the most concerning one.
02:15Those two are the ones the plant has no use for.
02:19The plants don't require them for the growth and any kind of biological function.
02:25So, finding them points to the surrounding environment rather than the plants on need.
02:31That's the problem with heavy metal contamination.
02:34Unlike organic substances, metals do not simply break down.
02:38In the study, the scientists detected elevated levels of contamination
02:42not only in the sediment but also in the chestnuts from the water bodies under investigation.
02:48Cadmium, for example, can cause kidney damage and is considered a carcinogen.
02:53As Dr. Mohsen from Paris Hospital in Srinagar explains.
02:57We should be concerned about the accumulation of toxic metals but we should not be alarmed.
03:04In this particular study, they studied contamination of the water bodies and the edible food
03:10but they did not see what was the concentration of these toxic metals in the human body.
03:16So, a clear established link is difficult and needs more studies.
03:22There are several reasons for severe water contamination
03:25and the vast majority are caused by humans.
03:28It can come from discharges from houseboats, agricultural runoff and urban effluence.
03:37Anchar Lake lies northwest of Dal Lake to which it is connected by a canal.
03:42The lake is considered to be particularly polluted and biodiversity has declined sharply here.
03:47No government agency or local authority feels responsible for the lake.
03:53But Nazi Rehmad does.
04:15Once a year, volunteers come together to clean the lake.
04:20Otherwise, lotus stems, one of the most important sources of income here, wouldn't stand a chance.
04:25This process is then repeated on a smaller scale every few weeks.
04:30Abid, a software engineer, has also been volunteering here for four years.
04:34What can we do in the Indian village?
04:35What can we do in the lake?
04:38We can clean the lake.
04:39But the untreated sewage is not in the water.
04:43The local communities cannot clean the local communities.
04:45The government will set any parameters to the government.
04:49They will have to enforce it.
04:51And the local communities can do it in the water.
04:54The plastic pollution is not in the water.
05:00Back to Woolar Lake.
05:02Shama has returned home with her water chestnuts.
05:05On a good day, their daily harvest brings in between 200 and 300 rupees.
05:11Less than 3 euros.
05:13Harvest season lasts just 3 months.
05:16She isn't satisfied with today's yield.
05:19I have no idea what to do.
05:21I have no idea what to do.
05:23I have no idea what to do.
05:28On a lot of the people living along the lakes.
05:30Yields of water chestnuts, lotus and even fish are declining.
05:35As the water pollution increases,
05:37so does the uncertainty about what the long-term effects will be
05:42on people's food security and their health.
05:46You
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