Sambhar Lake

Sambhar Lake Latest News

Environmentalists have criticised the proposed 100 MW solar power project near Sambhar Lake, warning that even a relatively small installation could disturb the fragile wetland ecosystem.

About Sambhar Lake

• It is located in the districts of Nagaur and Jaipur in Rajasthan.
• It is the largest inland saltwater lake in India.
• This saline wetland is elliptical in shape, with a length of 35.5 km and a breadth varying between 3 km and 11 km.
• It covers an area in excess of 200 sq.km., surrounded on all sides by the Aravalli hills.
• The waters of five streams feed the lake: Rupangarh and Mendha are the main ones, and the lesser ones are Samoad, Khari, and Khandela.   
• It was designated as a Ramsar site in the year 1990.
• The lake is divided by a 5-kilometer-long dam made of stone. East of the dam are salt evaporation ponds where salt has been farmed for a thousand years. 
• Salt Production: It is known for the production of brine/salt and also houses one of the largest salt manufacturing units in the country. It accounts for nearly 9% of the country’s total salt production.  
• The specialized algae and bacteria growing in the lake provide striking water colours – colours that also impart their distinctive hues to the salt that is harvested – and support the lake’s ecology.
• Fauna: 
  • It is the most important wintering area for flamingoes (both Phoniconaias minor and Phoenicopterus roseus) in India outside the Rann of Kachchh.
  • Other migratory species like pelicans, common shelduck, redshank, and common sandpiper, black-winged stilt, Kentish plover, and Ringed plover, Ruff, and Sociable lapwing are also found here.

Source: TOI

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