At the foot of the Shakarparian Hills, the spot where Islamabad’s famous Lotus Lake once greeted visitors has long been replaced by a cemented structure.

The lake, its pink and white flowers and its surrounding greenery were a pleasant sight in the capital, but the site has lost its natural beauty, and people who once might have stopped by for the view are now welcomed by bushes and piles of mud.

In fact, across the Potohar region, such lakes have been shrinking due to neglect on the part of local horticulture and irrigation departments. Many lotus lakes, particularly those next to temples, have dried up.

Before partition, lotus lakes were established around Hindu temples due to the religious significance of the lotus flower, which is also used in Hindu rituals.

There are such lakes near temples from Attock to Jhelum, in Sohawa and even on the G.T. Road. People also visit the lakes to collect fresh flowers, which are used in several medicines and are said to be good for stomach-related ailments.

The lotus flower is also used in cooking in several areas, but in the Potohar region it is used to decorate homes, where lotus flowers can be spotted in wood carvings on furniture, doors and even on the walls.

For agriculturists, meanwhile, lotus flowers are good for farming fish.

“If lotus flowers are planted in a fish farming pond, it will make the fish healty,” said Dr Nadeem Abbasi, dean of the agriculture department at the Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi.

He said the plant and flower clean water and improve the level of oxygen in a pond. Dr Abbasi added that lotus flowers usually grow in still water ponds, and should be planted in fish farms.

He said that while the lotus flower is not a regional flower from the Potohar region – it grows in tropical areas – there were many lotus lakes and ponds in the Potohar region, due to the prevalence of Hindu and Buddhist culture in the area.

Dr Abbasi added that while lotus flower root is used in cooking in many parts of the world, such as Thailand, it is not used in Pakistani cooking.

Across the Potohar region, such lakes have been shrinking due to neglect on the part of local horticulture and irrigation departments

The lotus flower is also used in Hindu religious rituals, explained Pandit Chana Lal from Rawalpindi.

“According to our beliefs, the lotus is a symbol of beauty, prosperity and purity. The human is the spirit of the lotus flower,” he said.

He said that in the past, a lotus lake was a necessary part of town. Now, however, people obtain lotus flowers from other areas, since the flowers are no longer available in the Potohar region.

Residents of the twin cities also miss the lakes for their scenic beauty.

“I used to go to the Lotus Lake in Shakarparian, and I enjoyed the serenity, but things have changed,” Naeem Ahmed said.

He said the small pond, filled with white lotus flowers and surrounded by walkways and flowering trees, is now a barren site.

Mandra resident Malik Abdullah said there were many ponds in and around the small town that had dried up and been converted into marketplaces without irrigation and horticulture departments to look after them.

He said a pond and tree near the G.T. Road had dried out, and a local farmer had leveled his farm and started growing wheat there instead.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2017