lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
's
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister ...
has identified Rudrasagar as one of the wetlands of National Importance for conservation and sustainable use based on its bio-diversity and socio economic importance. The secretary general of the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...
has declared Rudrasagar Lake as a wetland of international importance. This certificate has been communicated by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India on 29 February 2007.
Geography
The Rudrasagar Lake is located in the Melaghar block of Sonamura sub-division of
Sipahijala district
Sepahijala District is a district of Tripura, India. This district was created in January 2012 when four new districts were established in Tripura, taking the number of districts in the state from four to eight. Part of the district was formed ...
. The lake forms a geographical area of 2.4 km2 and situated at a distance of about 52 km from the state capital of Tripura. The lake is situated in between 23°29’ N and 90°01’ E.
Hydromorphologically, Rudrasagar Lake is a natural
sedimentation
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...
reservoir, which receives flow from three
perennial stream
A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abse ...
s namely, Noacherra, Durlavnaraya cherra and Kemtali cherra. After settling the sediment from the received flow, clear water discharges into the river Gumati through a connective channel namely Kachigang. The lake bed has been formed by silt deposition. As such no rock formation is found with 50 m is
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...
(clay loam) and below formation is sandy. Surrounding hillocks are of soft sedimentary formation. Annual rainfall is of the order of 2500 mm. Spread over the months of June to September with four or five flood peaks. Substantial base flow in streams rounds the year. The soil in lake area is silty clay loam to clay loam. Lake water is fresh with insignificant pollution with a depth varies from 2 to 9 m. Fluctuation in water level varies from 9 to 16 m. The downstream area of the lake is 750 ha with a temperature variation from 37 °C to 50 °C and rainfall during 15 May to 15 October.
Rudrasagar is a potential Important Bird Area and attracts a large number of waterfowl in winter. Among the rarer species recorded are the endangered
Baer's pochard
Baer's pochard (''Aythya baeri'') is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It is a resident bird in North and Central China, formerly bred in southeast Russia and Northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and Indi ...
and near-threatened
ferruginous duck
The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabir ...
.
Pollution
The lake has faced the problem of pollution due to the following reasons.
* The non-point sources of pollutant such as agricultural run off, anthropogenic introduced solid and semisolid pollutants
* Malpractices such as anthropogenic dumped garbage, deposition of solid waste and construction materials along the shoreline etc.
*
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...
, an uncontrolled growth of alien invasive species such as
water hyacinth
''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.
* Agricultural activity (use of pesticides and
fertilizers
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
) in the area adjacent to the lake
*
Deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
, filling, draining and degradation of wetland areas: Clearing and removal of native vegetation due to the rapid unplanned urbanization, rural or industrial development
* Lack of awareness, scientific knowledge and negligence in protection by law
* Competition for using lake water such as for drinking, irrigation, fishing etc.
* Untreated or inadequately treated domestic and industrial effluents from point sources located all over the basin.
* Cultural siltation in the form of immersion of idols during specific festivals, an annual feature in India, has been a source of serious metallic pollution of lakes.
* Not having a definite Wetland Authority, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for Lake Management and
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
with a unified mandate have not been set up.
* Lack of community toilet facilities around periphery of the lake.
* Ownership and legal status of the lake and the inhabitants around the lake are not clearly defined.
Major soil erosion in
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of the lake is one of the major problems to decrease the lake area and to decrease the depth of the lake also. Such degradation in catchment area and siltation in the lake has the effect since long time in the lake. For such reason and others, the area of Rudrasagar Lake has been decreased drastically from 1000 ha. Prior to 1950 to more or less 100 ha. at present. Silting of lakes on account of increased erosion as a result of expansion of urban and agricultural areas, deforestation, flood, immersion of idols by the religious activity and such other land disturbances taking place in the drainage basin of the lake.
Neermahal
A palace known as Neermahal (Water Palace) is situated near the north-east bank of the lake. It constructed by the then Tripura King Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur in between 1935 and 1938 as summer resort.