About Wular Lake
- Wular Lake is the largest lake in the Jammu and Kashmir territory, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is sited in Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The lake basin was formed as a result of tectonic activity and is fed by the Jhelum River.
- Located in the Indian-held sector of the territory, the lake is 10 miles (16 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide.
- It lies at the north end of the Vale of Kashmir, 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest of Srīnagar.
- Its area varies from 12 to 100 square miles (30 to 260 square km) according to the season.
- The lake controls the flow of the Jhelum River.
- The Tulbul Project is a “navigation lock-cum-control structure” at the mouth of Wular Lake.
- In addition, much of the lake has been drained as a result of willow plantations being built on the shore in the 1950s.
- Wular has considerably shrunk over the past eight decades. Officials records show that 27 sq m of the lake has silted up and turned into a land mass.
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 300,000 acre⋅ft of water.
- Aim of the Project: 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 it violated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
The Jhelum River
- The Jhelum river rises from the Sheshnag Lake near Verinag at the foot of Pir Panjal range.
- The river flows through Srinagar and the beautiful Wular Lake.
- It merges into Chenab in Pakistan.
- It is a tributary of the Chenab River and has a total length of 813km
- The Kishenganga (Neelum) River, the largest tributary of Jhelum, joins it.
- It ends in a confluence with the Chenab in Pakistan.
Source: Britannica and Kurukshetra
