Lotus beds reappear in Wular Lake after 3 decades

'MIRACLE' IN WATERS

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

After nearly three decades, the lotus has bloomed once again in the Wular Lake in north Kashmir - the second largest freshwater lake in Asia - thanks to conservation efforts after the devastating floods in 1992 had wreaked havoc with its rich ecosystem.

A sea of pink lotuses ~ not just crucial for ecology but for the livelihoods of locals ~ can be seen in a part of the lake, which is spread in a total area of 200 sq km, covering almost 24 km in length, stretching from the foothills of the Haramukh mountain range in the Bandipora district to Sopore town in the neighbouring Baramulla district.

“This is nothing short of a miracle,” Abdul Hameed, a resident, said.

He said that earlier, the locals used to disperse the lotus seeds into the lake, but they achieved nothing. “It did not work. They could not grow because of silt,” Hameed said

Kashmir Valley witnessed a devastating flood in 1992 that caused damage to the rich ecosystem of Wular Lake, situated about 70 km from Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar.

The flood deposited a large quantity of silt in the lake that buried the lotus vegetation over the years.