Nainital Town Research Articles

Microplastic pollution in high-altitude Nainital lake, Uttarakhand, India

Microplastics (MPs) contamination has been reported in all environmental compartments, but very limited information is available at higher-altitude lakes. Nainital Lake, located at a high altitude in the Indian Himalayas, has various ecosystem services and is the major source of water for Nainital town, but the MP abundance is still unknown. This study presents the first evidence of the abundance and distribution of MP in Nainital Lake. Surface water and sediment samples were analysed from 16 different sites in and around the catchment area of Nainital Lake. The MP were observed in all the samples, and their abundance in surface water was 8.6–56.0 particles L−1 in the lake and 2.4–88.0 particles L−1 in hotspot sites. In the surface sediment, MP abundance ranged from 0.4–10.6 particles g−1, while in the hotspot sediment, the mean abundance was 0.6 ± 0.5 particles g−1. Fibers were the dominant MP, while 0.02–1 mm were the predominant size of MP particles. The results of chemical characterization showed the presence of six polymers, among which high-density polyethylene was the most abundant. The Polymer Hazard Index assessment classified the identified polymers as low-to high-risk categories, with a higher abundance of low- (polypropylene) and medium- (polyethylene)-risk polymers. Tourist activities and run-off catchments can be considered the major sources of MP, which can affect the ecosystem. Minimal concentrations of MP were observed in the tube well and drinking water, which depicts the direct risks to humans and, thus, the need for remedial measures to prevent MP contamination in drinking water. This study improves the knowledge of MP contamination in the higher-altitude freshwater lake, which can be the major pathway for the transport of MP to the rivers, and also emphasizes the need for waste management in Nainital town.

Physical vulnerability evaluation of buildings exposed to Balia Nala landslide using indicator-based approach and GIS: a case study of Nainital town, Uttarakhand, India

Physical vulnerability evaluation of buildings exposed to Balia Nala landslide using indicator-based approach and GIS: a case study of Nainital town, Uttarakhand, India

WITHDRAWN: Urbanization and Land-Use change in the hill town of Nainital

Abstract The current study shows the effects of rapid increasing urbanization on land use change / cover by humans due to technological progress in a tourism city situated in the central mountain range (central) of Uttarakhand province (India). This work tried to investigate the land utilization/land cover changes compared with the help of Google Earth from the year 2006 to 2019. Images of a different era are used as a base map to develop land utilization/cover. The study area is classified to 5 different classes as Open space, agriculture-land, Vegetation, Water -bodies & Built-up area for carrying out the study. The results shows that during the last fourteen years there is a significant decrease of Open space, Vegetation, Agricultural Land about 19% (i.e., 0.03 sq.km), 22% (i.e., 1.83 sq.km) and 18% (i.e.,0.03 sq.km) respectively and the built-up area of the Nainital town has been raised for approx 68% (i.e., 1.89 sq.km).This clearly demonstrates the continuous development and drastic land utilization/ land cover changes in the last 14 yrs in the town resulting urbanization which leads to decrease in open space, vegetation and agricultural land.

Runoff characterization and pollutant load estimation of Nainital lake, India

Lakes are the primary sources of drinking water in hilly regions, where the scope of boring tubewells, canals and lift irrigation is limited. Nainital Lake is the principal source of water supply for Nainital, a popular hill station situated around 1937 m above the mean sea level (MSL), in the foothills of the outer Himalayas. The Nainital Lake is the major tourist attraction and forms the economic backbone of Nainital town, India. Thus, the water quality of the lake, and the influent runoff characteristics are of critical importance. Eutrophication is the primary water quality issue. To reduce the excessive external nutrient loading, identification of the major influent drain and estimation of pollutant loads is a crucial step. We characterized various water quality parameters (pH, turbidity, BOD5, COD, PO4-P, T-P, NO3-N, Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu) and pollutant loads over a period of one year, which included a rainy season. The runoff drain contributing the major share of the pollutants to the lake was identified. Nitrogen and phosphorous budgets over the one-year period revealed that wet weather flow is the major contributor of nutrients to the lake. Phosphorous is the limiting nutrient, which controls eutrophication. The Phosphorous load into the lake during the wet weather season was twelve times more than that during the dry weather season.

Application of remote sensing and geographical information system for tourism planning and impact assessment of Nainital town, Uttarakhand

The beautiful and scenic natural surroundings of Nainital town is currently experiencing a bi-phase impact of increasing tourist activities. On one hand it has provide an impetus to employment and income generation and means of livelihood, on the other it has affected adversely the physiocultural surroundings and overall environment of the town in many ways. This presentation is an effort to elaborate these after effects which is well supported by adequate and relevant data-base and statistical figures of tourist inflow, number and increasing size of other facilities like hotels, travel agencies etc. it is quite clear from the analysis that there is an consistent rise in tourist traffic followed by a rise in number of other agencies and faculties which are providing them better services. Moreover emphasis is separately laid on various aspects of socio-economic and culture impact of ever-rising tourist pressure in the town.

Plant diversity and regeneration potential of three different forests of Central Himalaya

Plant diversity is essential for human survival and economic well-being and also for the ecosystem function and stability. The total number of accessible seedlings and saplings in a forest community indicates the regeneration status/potential of a species or a forest. In this study, composition, diversity and population structure of three different forests (Banj oak, Chir-pine and Mixed oak-pine) was assessed around Nainital town of Uttarakhand state. Species richness and diversity were maximum in Banj-oak forest (9 species and 1.970, respectively) and minimum in Chir-pine forest (4 species and 0.634, respectively). The total tree density ranged from 1670 (Chir pine forest) to 1830 ind.ha-1 (Mixed oak pine forest) and the total basal area ranged from 87.22 (Mixed oak pine forest) to 208.37 m2ha-1 (Banj oak forest). Population structure revealed dominancy of mature trees and less number of seedlings evidently indicated the poor regeneration across the forests type. Viability of seeds, disturbances brought by frequent fire incidence, erosion of soil and water, uncontrolled grazing by animals, lopping/cuttings of under canopy plant species by villagers for fuel and fodder are the possible causes of the poor regeneration of the forests.

Adventure Tourism in Nainital: An Evaluatory Analysis of Tourist Satisfaction and Safety against Involved Risks

The very paper gives an overview about adventure tourism in general. Next, the paper specially discusses on adventure tourism in Nainital town. The paper focuses on the satisfaction aspect of the tourist, who is not necessarily adventure tourist but participate in adventure activities offered in Nainital. The key issues discussed, are about the awareness among the tourist regarding adventure activities offered in Nainital. Whether the tourists who participate in adventure activities are aware of safety concerns, equipment standard and the level of expertise and essential certification required by the service provider. The paper is the first-hand query about the profile of the tourist participating in the adventure. Second, it is about the satisfaction level and third to probe about the service delivery system, standards and certification requirement of the service provider.

Effect of Biotic Disturbances on Herbaceous Vegetation in Cypress Mixed Oak Forests of Central Himalaya, India

Herbaceous layer remains an underappreciated aspect of forest ecosystem, which serves a special role in maintaining the structure and functioning of forests. It provides important information regarding the site characteristics of forests. Present study examined the effects of site on herbaceous vegetation in an oak-mixed cypress forest in Central Himalaya, India. The study sites are located near Nainital town between 29o36’56”-29o36’79” N latitude and 79o46’03”-79o46’19” E longitude between 1600- 1850 m above mean sea level in the Central Himalaya. Both lowly and highly disturbed sites were further subdivided into three sub-sites (hill base, hill slope and hill top). A total of 35 species represented by twenty families were recorded from the studied sites. Maximum herb species belongs to the Asteraceae family. The lowly disturbed site was more diverse than the highly disturbed one. Total herb density was 344.4 ind.m-2 at highly disturbed site, whereas 481.2 ind.m-2 at lowly disturbed site.

E-waste Constituents, Hazards and Assessment of its Awareness Among the People of Nainital Town, Uttarakhand, India

Electronic industry undoubtedly has played a significant role in making human life more comfortable. However, the accelerated obsolescence of electronic gazettes/appliance i.e., e-waste is rapidly growing and is a threat to environment. In the present study, the researcher attempt to review the hazardous constituents and hazards of e-waste on human health and environment along with the assessment of its awareness and willingness to recycle e-waste among the people of Nainital town. For review of hazards constituents and hazards of e-waste the researcher consulted wide sources of literature while awareness and willingness to recycle of e-waste among the people of Nainital town was assessed by informal interactions with the people of Nainital town. It was concluded that e-waste has highly hazardous effects on human and environment. However, people of Nainital have low awareness level of e-waste. The people of town are willing to recycle or donate their e-waste to needy but lack of opportunities is the major constraint for this recycle and unmanaged e-waste disposal in the town.

Prevailing Problems of Hoteliers in Nainital, Uttarakhand: A Case Study of Hoteliers of Nainital Town

The ‘Lake District of India’ as this small hilly town of Nainital is referred to, often, is always been appraised for its natural bounty and hospitality. But a different picture of the town is depicted once one visit and stays there for some time. The researcher got interested in knowing the town from the view point of the selected service providers of the town (the ones chosen here are the hoteliers because they are the ones who contribute maximum to the economy of the town). Some interesting facts are depicted through this small research work, and the researcher has also simultaneously attempted to give certain suggestions to the local bodies which if implemented could be of great help to one and all.

Capacity building of municipal functionaries for good governance in Uttarakhand, India

Capacity building of municipal functionaries is identified as an approach to strengthen municipal work practices and thereby improve the performance of municipalities in India. There is increasing evidence to show that orientation programmes are being conducted regularly for the benefit of municipal officials and elected representatives by State level training institutions situated in different parts of the country. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the practices followed by a prominent institution in the conduct of training programmes, and the impact of capacity building efforts in the north Indian hill town of Nainital. The findings of this research are based on the perceptions of trainers and the trainees, as well as personal observation of the ground realities. The study makes the point that the capacity building initiative is showing favourable results. Empirical evidence collected from Nainital town shows that the municipal council has awarded service contracts to various private and public entities for improving service delivery. Such public private partnerships have also helped in the generation of additional funds. Similarly, due to the weak financial condition of the council, some elected ward representatives have successfully mobilised funds from the community for providing basic civic services to the ward residents. The municipal functionaries have reported that new initiatives could be taken up mainly due to their participation in the training programmes, which helped in creating awareness on the efficient functioning of municipalities. It is concluded that the central and State government should make extra efforts to identify and address the growing needs of municipalities in order to have a greater impact of training.

Nainital: a landslide town of Uttarakhand (India)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that Uttaranchal is a hilly State, recently constituted in the Himalayan region. Over 80 percent of Uttaranchal state is prone to slope instability because of weak and highly folded and fractured rocks, steep slopes, high seismicity and unfavorable hydro‐geological conditions. In addition to this, unsystematic development construction activities contribute to the problem. Newly formed Uttaranchal state is in the process of development, required to expand the existing infrastructure.Design/methodology/approachThe paper gives a full description: Bending of rock beds, their disjointing, disruption and drag‐folding are characteristic features of a creeping mass. Tilted trees and poles are indicative of creep movement as seen on a number of hillslopes in and around Nainital town. The curvature of the tree trunks bears record to the rate of creep during the period of growth of the tree. It hardly needs stating that the rate of creep movement is quicker during the rainy season, and there may be long periods stretching over years when no movement at all takes place. The temporal span of this phenomenon stretches over thousands of years. The rate is accelerated by clear‐felling in forests and by construction on steeper slopes. The depth of the creep movement is variable, and depends largely on the nature and degree of weathering of rocks, the sub‐surface structure and amount of water present within.FindingsIt was found that, to meet the requirement, construction activities are in full pace, which have given rise to the new landslide problems or have aggravated the existing slope instability problems. In order to keep the landslide problems to a minimum, systematic studies are required on every aspect of the slope instability problems.Practical implicationsOn the basis of slope instability evidence, past occurrence of landslides, deformation of civil structures and geological conditions, three zones have been identified – safe, moderately safe, and very unsafe.Originality/valueThe paper describes the natural problems with which Uttaranchal is faced and proposes systematic studies which are required to deal with every aspect of the outstanding problems of slope instability.

Metal Fractionation Study on Bed Sediments of Lake Nainital, Uttaranchal, India

Lake Nainital in the heart of Nainital Town in the State of Uttaranchal (India) receives toxic substances through various open drains through the catchment of the lake. The toxic substances of particular interest are heavy metals derived from urban runoff as well as municipal sewage and industrial effluents. Heavy metals entering the lake get adsorbed onto the suspended sediments, which in turn settle down in the bottom of the lake. In this study fractionation of metal ions has been studied on the bed sediments of lake Nainital with the objective to determine the eco-toxic potential of metal ions. Comparison of sediments with average shae values indicated anthropogenic enrichment with nickel, lead, cadmium and zinc. The risk assessment code as applied to the present study reveals that 4-13% of manganese, 4-8% of copper, 17-24% of nickel, 3-5% of chromium, 13-26% of lead, 14-23% of cadmium and 2-3% of zinc exist in exchangeable fraction and therefore comes under low to medium risk category and may enter into food chain. The association of these metals with exchangeable fraction may cause deleterious effects to aquatic life. The present database will help in formulating guidelines for carrying out dredging operations and/or restoration programmes in the Nainital lake.

Facilities at ARIES for the Nainital-Cape Survey

A collaborative programme searching for mmag pulsations in chemically peculiar stars in the northern hemisphere was initiated in 1997 between Nainital, India, and Cape Town, South Africa. It was therefore named as theNainital-Cape Survey programme. The detection limits imposed by the observing conditions (including atmospheric noise and telescope size) at both Manora Peak and Devasthal sites are described. The scintillation noise on the best photometric nights is≈ 0.1 to 0.2 mmag for these sites. Both places allow one to detect few mmag variation in bright stars(B ≤ 12 mag), and are therefore particularly well-suited for carrying out the proposed survey work. The main characteristics of the three-channel photometer developed at ARIES for carrying out the observations are also presented. This excellent instrument has been used extensively since 1999 at the f/13 Cassegrain focus of ARIES’ 104 cm telescope. In particular, it allowed the survey to result in the discovery of δ Scuti like pulsations in four Am stars, in one rapidly oscillating Ap star, and in a number of probable variables so far. The future prospects are then presented, which regard the acquisition of a high speed time series CCD photometer, a project to build a 3-metre class telescope at Devasthal, and collaborative observations with Indian and foreign astronomical sites.