Wular Lake Project : It’ll Save Kashmir From Floods, Tourism Will Also Flourish, Biodiversity Will Be Protected

Srinagar : Surrounded by magnificent mountains, the Wular Lake is one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes and the largest flood basin in Jammu and Kashmir’s northern Bandipora district, 34 km north of the state’s summer capital, Srinagar. The size of this lake has reduced from 204 square kilometers to 74 square kilometers due to the negligence of the government before the removal of article 370.

Recently, the attention of the Ministry of Environment went to Wular, when the mega project was approved to save the lake.

Kashmir’s Wular Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, will provide wings to employment and tourism along with protecting the valley from the threat of floods and conserving biodiversity. The natural range of this historic lake is 130 square kilometers, but 27 square kilometers are filled with silt. Work is underway on a war footing these days to bring the Wular Lake to its original form under a project started with central funding.

A Rs 200 crore project was approved by the Central Government for the conservation of the Wular Lake. The Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) has issued a tender of 148.59 crore to Reach Dredging Limited Company for the desilting of the lake. According to WUCMA Chief Executive Director Farooq Gilani, the completion of the extraction of silt from Wular will increase its water storage capacity. Wular conservation will provide biodiversity conservation along with flood protection in Kashmir.

Chief Executive Officer of Reach Dredging Limited Sunil Patwari said that the project would revive the Wular Lake to its true existence. Wular will become a medium of employment opportunity on a large scale. He informed that skilled and unskilled 230 personnel are working with state-of-the-art machines for the Wular project. This work will be carried out in 21 months.