The colour of Lonar lake water in Maharashtra's Buldhana district turned pink due to a large presence of the salt-loving 'Haloarchaea' microbes, a probe carried out by a Pune-based institute has concluded.
Reportedly, in June, the state forest department acquainted the Bombay High Court last month about gathering the water samples of the lake and sending them for investigation at the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEER) as well as the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune.
News has it that after examination, they found that the water turned pink because of the presence of the Haloarchaea population, as told by Agharkar Research Institute Director Dr. Prashant Dhakephalkar. Haloarchaea produces pink pigment, and hence, a pink coloured mat was formed on the lake surface.
On further investigation, it was also discovered that the pink colour of the water was not permanent. Once the biomass of the microbes settled at the bottom, the water became transparent during one such experiment at the labs.
One of the scientists told a news website that the water of the lake is returning to its normal colour due to the dilution by monsoon rain.
Dhakephalkar reportedly told the website that they have also discovered that the pink plumage of the flamingos visiting the lake is due to the carotenoids-rich food they had eaten at the lake.
Lonar Lake is a famous site formed after a meteorite hit thousands of years ago. Now, it is a tourist place.
