Bhojtal, also known as Upper Lake, is a large lake which lies on the western side of the capital city of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is a major source of drinking water for the residents of the city, serving around 40% of the residents with nearly of water per day. Upper Lake, along with the nearby Lower Lake, constitute the

Bhoj Wetland The Bhoj Wetland consists of two lakes located in the city of Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian states and territories of India, state of Madhya Pradesh. The two lakes are the Bhojtal (Bhojtal, Upper Lake) & the Lower Lake, Bhopal, Lower ...

, which is now a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Paramara Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king of

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

(1005–1055). He is also said to have established the city of Bhopal (also named after him, then as Bhojpal) to secure the eastern frontier of his kingdom. There is a legend why they built the lake. Once king Bhoj suffered from skin disease and all ''Vaidyas'' (Doctors) failed to cure him. Then, one day a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

told the king to build a tank to combine 365 tributaries and then have a bath in it to wipe out the skin disease. Bhoj called upon his engineers to build up a huge tank. They spotted a place near river

Betwa , discharge1_min = , discharge1_avg = , date=November 2019 , discharge1_max = , source1 = Vindhya Range , source1_location = Near Obedullaganj, Vindhya Range north of Hoshangabad , source1_coordinates = , source1_elevation = , mouth ...

, which was 32 km away from Bhopal. It was found that it has only 359 tributaries. A Gond Commander Kalia fulfilled this shortage. He then gave the address of an invisible river. After merging the tributaries of this river the number 365 was completed. The lake was created by constructing an earthen dam across the Kolans River. An eleven gate dam called the Bhadbhada dam was constructed at Bhadbhada in 1965 at the southeast corner of the Lake, and now controls the outflow to the river Kaliasote. The lake was known as the Upper Lake or ''Bada Talab'' ("Big Pond") until March 2011 it was renamed to Bhojtaal in honour of the Great King Raja Bhoj who built it. A huge statue of Raja Bhoj, standing with sword, was also installed on a pillar on one corner of the lake to cement the name of Bhopal as the city of lakes

Geography

Bhojtal is situated on the west central part of Bhopal city and is surrounded by Van Vihar National Park on the south, human settlements on the east and north, and agriculture fields on the west. It has an area of 31 km², and drains a catchment or watershed of 361 km². The watershed of the Upper Lake is mostly rural, with some urbanized areas around its eastern end. The Kolans was formerly a tributary of the Halali River, but with the creation of the lake using an earthen dam and a diversion channel, the upper reach of the Kolans River and Bada Talaab now drain into the Kaliasote River. Water fall near upper lake

Social and cultural significance

Since the construction of the lake in the 11th century, Bhopal city has grown around it. The people are religiously and culturally attached to the lakes. The lakes meet their needs of water supply and they wash clothes in them (very harmful for the lake ecosystem), cultivate water chestnut in Bhojtal and lotus in Chhota Talaab. The idols of gods and goddesses are also immersed in the lake during religious festivals, though the local administration is advising devotees not to do so. The Takia island in Upper lake has a tomb of the Shah Ali Shah, which has religious and archaeological significance.

Economy and entertainment

The fishing rights to Bhopal have been given on long lease by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation to a co-operative consisting of some 500 fishermen families. Fishing is mainly done on its south-eastern shores. The lake also serves as the source of water for irrigating a large area. There are 87 villages in its catchment area in the Bhopal as well as Sehore districts. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for people in these areas and most farmers have livestock as well. While some farmers have large landholdings, many farmers are small and marginal farmers with only a few acres of land. Bhojtal attracts tourists due to its scenery. The National Sailing School was established at the Boat Club on its eastern side. This club offers various water sports such as

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

parasailing Parasailing, also known as parascending, is an activity where individuals are harnessed to a modified parachute canopy that is designed to ascend into the air when towed behind a motor vehicle on land, or a recreational boat over water. Commerc ...

etc. A number of operators provide facilities for exciting trips by sail, paddle and motor boats. Van Vihar National Park, situated on the south-eastern side of the lake, attracts tourists. The road passing through it has on one side the animals in their natural habitats, and on the other side is the lake. The other major attraction close to the lake is the Bhopal Zoo on the bank of the lake. The zoo is kept in quite natural way.

Biodiversity

The two lakes support flora and fauna.

White stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

, blacknecked stork, bareheaded goose,

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

etc., that have been rare sightings in the past, have started appearing. A recent phenomenon is the gathering of 100-120 sarus cranes in the lake. The largest bird of India,

sarus crane The sarus crane (''Antigone antigone'') is a large nonmigratory Crane (bird), crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to , they are a c ...

(''Grus antigone'') is known for its size, majestic flight and lifetime pairing.

Flora

106 species of Macrophytes (belonging to 87 genera of 46 families), which includes 14 rare species and 208 species of Phytoplankton comprising 106 species of Chlorophyceae, 37 species of Cyano phyceae, 34 species of Euglenophyceae, 27 species of Bacilariophyceae and 4 species of Dinophyceae.

Fauna

105 species of zooplanktons, which includes (Rotifera 41, Protozoa 10, Cladocera 14, Copepoda 5, Ostracoda 9, Coleoptera 11, and Diptera 25). There are 43 species of fish (natural and cultured), 27 kinds of birds, 98 species of insect and more than 10 species of reptiles and amphibians (including 5 species of tortoise).

Threat

The lake is shrinking and being polluted due to human activities in recent times. The waste and drainage generated by nearby city of Bhopal is dumped in lake affecting its ecology.

Gallery

File:Upper lake 1961.png, Bhojtal 1961 with Yacht club File:Upper Lake, Bhopal.jpg, Takia Taapu and Bhojtal. File:Boat club bhopal.jpeg, Situated at the Bhojtal, the Boat Club offers facilities for various water sports and tourism. File:VIP Road Bhopal.JPG, VIP Road and Bhojtal. File:Upper Lake & VIP Road, Bhopal.JPG, A view of the Bhojtal & Raja Bhoj Road. File:Bhopal Architecture.JPG, Gohar Mahal Near Bhojtal. File:Bhopal lake.jpg, Bhojtal as viewed from Manav Sangrahalaya. File:Bhojtal and Raja Bhoj Statue at sunset.jpg, Bhojtal and Raja Bhoj Statue File:Noha installation in Bhopal lake .jpg, Noha Installation File:Noha installation friend view from Bhopal lake.jpg, Noha Installation front view

References

{{Hydrography of Madhya Pradesh Reservoirs in Madhya Pradesh Ramsar sites in India Tourist attractions in Bhopal Geography of Bhopal Water Heritage Sites in India