Surinsar, July 16 The ambitious plans of developing Surinsar Lake has not only run into rough weather but also the fresh water body has been shrinking alarmingly, thanks to a standoff between the Tourism and the Wildlife Department. After the directorate of tourism had spent Rs 1 crore in the past one year, the Wildlife Department has restricted the former from undertaking further developmental works. Consequently, the fresh water lake continues to shrink and its aquatic life faces threat of extinction. "Not only its area has shrunk considerably but its rich flora and fauna has also suffered a major loss over the years,' said Pawan Singh, a native of Surinsar. Leave aside a Public Health Engineering (PHE) station that continued to lift water from the lake, villagers were also responsible for its deteriorating condition, he said. The lackadaisical attitude of the villagers and a row between both departments has been responsible for the ill health of fresh water body. Official sources said, after taking up the lake under the Tourism Village Scheme of the Union government and spending a whopping sum of Rs 1 crore, the Wildlife Department had played spoilsport prohibiting the Tourism Department from further taking up further works. Though the directorate of tourism renovated a tourist bungalow, constructed shelter sheds, four wooden decks, installed plastic dustbins and electricity poles, the lake continued to die gradually, they added. The PHE pumping station definitely reduced the water level, said a senior official of the Tourism Department, who added that after repeated reminders the PHE authorities had started exploring other alternatives. However, it has been reliably learnt that the PHE Department from the last three years has been pondering over the much-awaited alternative. Talking to The Tribune, CEO of the Surinsar-Mansar Tourism Development Authority Soujanya Sharma said: "We have several plans up our sleeves to implement them in right earnest but the Wildlife Department had certain objections.'