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| '''Wular Lake''' (also spelt '''Wullar''') is a large ] lake in ] in the ]n state of ]. The lake basin was formed as a result of ] activity and is fed by the ]. The lake's size varies from 12 to 100 square miles (30 to 260 square kilometers), depending on the season. | '''Wular Lake''' (also spelt '''Wullar''') is a large ] lake in ] district in the ]n state of ]. The lake basin was formed as a result of ] activity and is fed by the ]. The lake's size varies from 12 to 100 square miles (30 to 260 square kilometers), depending on the season. | ||
| ==Natural history== | ==Natural history== | ||
Revision as of 15:18, 30 October 2010
| Wular Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Coordinates | 34°20′N 74°36′E / 34.333°N 74.600°E / 34.333; 74.600 |
| Primary inflows | Jhelum |
| Basin countries | India |
| Surface area | 12 to 100 sq mi (30 to 260 km²) |
| Islands | Zainul Lank |
| Settlements | Bandipore |
Wular Lake (also spelt Wullar) is a large fresh water lake in Bandipore district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The lake basin was formed as a result of tectonic activity and is fed by the Jhelum River. The lake's size varies from 12 to 100 square miles (30 to 260 square kilometers), depending on the season.
Natural history
The lake is one of six Indian wetlands designated as a Ramsar site. However it faces environmental threats including the conversion of large parts of the lake's catchment areas into agriculture land, pollution from fertilizers and animal wastes, hunting of waterfowl and migratory birds and weed infestation in the lake itself.
Fish
Wular Lake is an important fish habitat, the main species being the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), rosy barb (Barbus conchonius), mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), Nemacheilus species, Crossocheilus latius, and various snowtrout species in the genera Schizopyge and Schizothorax. Snowtrout species identified in the lake include the Sattar snowtrout (Schizopyge curvifrons), Chirruh snowtrout (Schizopyge esocinus), Schizothorax planifrons, Schizothorax macropogon, Schizothorax longipinus and Chush snowtrout (Schizopyge niger).
Fish from Wular Lake make up a significant part of the diet for many thousands of people living on its shores and elsewhere in the Kashmir valley. More than eight thousand fishermen earn their livelihood from the lake, primarily fishing for the endemic Schizothorax species and the non-native carp. Their catch comprises about 60 percent of the total yield of fish in Kashmir. Hundreds of other local villagers are employed by cooperative societies that trade the fish catch. Many other families harvest plants such as the grass Phragmites and the waterlily-like Nymphoides from the lake for animal fodder.
Birds
The lake sustains a rich population of birds. Terrestrial birds observed around the lake include the black-eared kite, sparrow hawk , short-toed eagle, Himalayan golden eagle, monal pheasant, chukar partridge, koklass pheasant, blue rock pigeon, cuckoo, small cuckoo, alpine swift, Kashmir roller, Himalayan Woodpecker, hoopoe, common swallow, golden oriole and others.
History
The Kashmiri sultan Zain-ul-Abidin is reputed to have ordered the construction of the artificial island of Zaina Lank in the middle of the lake in 1444.
Tulbul Project
The Tulbul Project is a "navigation lock-cum-control structure" at the mouth of Wular Lake. According to the original Indian plan, the barrage was expected to be of 439-feet long and 40-feet wide, and would have a maximum storage capacity of 0.30 million acre-feet of water. One aim was to regulate the release of water from the natural storage in the lake to maintain a minimum draught of 4.5 feet in the river up to Baramulla during the lean winter months. The project was conceived in the early 1980s and work began in 1984.
There has been an ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan over the Tulbul Project since 1987, when Pakistan objected that the it violated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. India stopped work on the project that year, but has since pressed to restart construction. The Jhelum River through the Kashmir valley below Wular Lake provides an important means of transport for goods and people. To sustain navigation throughout the year a minimum depth of water is needed. India contends that this makes development of the Tulbul Project permissible under the treaty, while Pakistan maintains that the project is a violation of the treaty. India says suspension of work is harming the interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir and also depriving the people of Pakistan of irrigation and power benefits that may accrue from regulated water releases.
See also
References
- ^ "Wular Lake". World Wide Fund for Nature India. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- "How to kill a lake". 30 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.