But for the state's politicians and local villagers

But for the state's politicians and local villagers, this forest-flanked lake is a space to dump their sewage, carry out farming, bathe and construct roads. Decades of destructive human activity and government apathy are threatening this sanctuary. "This is a living, ecological system, not a tomb like the Taj Mahal and has been totally neglected. It's a researcher's, scientist's and tourist's delight," says environmentalist Nishikant Mukherjee.
Pollution and contamination of the 1,710-metre wide lake has gone unchecked for decades. Untreated sewage discharge seeps into parts of it through the Nabi Khadda, a 10-cubic metre pond. A burgeoning 300-house slum nearby has worsened the sewerage problem as well as percolation from a nearby reservoir. About 105 farmers have been tilling 22 hectares of dry land in the crater, harming it with pesticides and fertilisers. The most sensitive parts of the crater, the rim and the Ejecta Blanket, have been ruined by the Lonar Mantha Road that cuts through it and a nearby highway under construction. All this has been allowed despite the local council declaring the 500-metre zone from the rim a no development zone. "Because of the meteoric impact, a lot of rock material has been thrown out of the crater hole into the 1-km area known as the Ejecta Blanket. These rock deposits need to be preserved and human activity should be restricted," says Senthil Kumar of the National Geophysical Research Institute.