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Nature’s Gift to Kashmir-Erakina

March 8, 2022 4 Mins Read
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Introduction

Wular Lake is one of every of the foremost important freshwater lakes in India and also the full subcontinent, situated within the district of Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Wular Lake basin may well be a result that was formed due to tectonic activity, and thus the source of water is the Jhelum River. this scenario of Wular Lake is drained due to the toe of willow plantations, initially built on the shore during the 1950s.

About Wular Lake

Wular Lake is the second-largest freshwater lake within the complete of Asia that’s located in an exceedingly small District of Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir. the dimensions of the Wular lake differ seasonally from twelve to 100 square miles or 30 to 260 square kilometers.

Wular Lake basin will be a formation because of the active tectonic activities and thus the primary source of water that feeds the Lake is the River Jhelum. it’s situated at the foothills of Harmukh Mountain. Wular Lake lies between Bandippore and Sopur in Sangrama.

walur lake

It is the largest freshwater lake in India

Wular Lake is purported to be a remnant of Satisar Lake, a lake of the traditional times and thus the premises of this lake was a famous sunset point. At the doorway of the Wular Lake, a project called the Tulbul Project was constructed to stay the navigation during a lock-cum-control structure.

However, the foremost important freshwater lake has considerably shrunk over the eight decades and records state that about 27 square meters of the lake has silted up and has become a landmass.

Wular Lake History

Wular Lake is the second-largest freshwater lake within the full subcontinent, and it’s the foremost vital tributary of the Indus basin. Wular lake plays an enormous role in regulating the discharge of the floodwaters produced thanks to the glaciers within the surrounding region of the Himalayas.

According to Hindu mythology, Wular lake is claimed to be the remnants of the Satisar lake, a prehistoric lake that existed at this site.

During the 1980s, the Central Government of India proposed to construct the Wular barrage to dam water inflow; however, the project was shelved after the increase of militancy within the state.

The closer look of the lake

It is quite an important water body

Due to its hydrological, biological, and socio-economic values, the lake falls under the council as a Wetland of National Importance for its intensive conservation and management purposes under the Wetlands Programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India within the year 1986.

In the year 1990, the Wular lake was given the designation because of the Wetland of International Importance which falls under the Ramsar Convention.

Wular Lake has played a significant role in supporting biodiversity and livelihoods for several years. thanks to the widespread reclamation and drainage of the lake and its marshes for agriculture, settlements, and plantations the lake produces much numerous silt each year.

The rivers Erin, Bohner, and Madamati, arising and channeling their way from the mountain ranges and thus the rivers Vetasta and thus the Ningal from the south are the muse explanation for the uprising silting problem experienced at things of the Wular Lake.

Wular Lake Location

Scenic beauty of the lake

It is located in Bandipora

Wular Lake is one of the foremost important freshwater lakes within the whole of the Asian subcontinent and is situated at the Bandipora district, Jammu and Kashmir. it’s located 50 kilometers away from the central Srinagar city in Northwest India.  The Wular Lake basin is additionally a structure that was formed supported the results of tectonic activities, then the primary source of water that feeds the lake is the Jhelum River.

The Wular Lake is 24 kilometers long, 10 kilometers broad, and also the foremost depth of the Lake is 14 meters. 

The Wular Lake controls the channel of the flow of its transverse, River Jhelum. On the South-West of its shore, a town of Sopur is present, and to the Northeast, exists an island.

Wular Lake System

Wular Lake, the foremost important lake within the Jammu and Kashmir territory then the whole subcontinent is present within the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Lake is found within the Indian-held sector of the environment and is 10 miles or 16 kilometers long and 6 miles or 10 kilometers wide.

Wular Lake lies at the North end of the  Vale of Kashmir, which is about 20 miles or 32 km North to Northwest of Srinagar city. the earth of the Wular Lake varies from 12 to 100 square miles or 30 to 260 square kilometers in line with the season.

Wular Lake Pollution

This beautiful lake has met its end due to the high levels of silting, encroachment, massive plantation and extension of agriculture fields. These activities have contributed to the shrinkage of the Wular Lake area and also the degradation of its natural resources.

During the amount between 1911 to 2008, because of the water spread and marsh areas, the Lake shrunk by over half, reducing almost one-fifth of the area’s water storage capacity. the number of the ever-increasing populations, encroachments around the Wular Lake has led to the killing of its aesthetic beauty.

Another huge contributor to Wular Lake’s pollution and shrinkage is the plantation of about two million willow trees. The willow trees were the first source of wood for several insects like crickets, bats, a source of fruits, and also the primary contributor of fires.

The only because to save the freshwater lake is through abounds so that human intervention is stopped shortly.

Arpit Mangal

01.03.22

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