Shakoor Lake is a lake, comprising 300 km², located on the border between the Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province on the southern edge of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. About 90 km² of the lake lies within Pakistan, whilst the majority of the lake, i.e. 210 km², is in India. The Indian built Indo-Pak Border Road runs across the Shakoor Lake and it is joined by the Indian GJ SH 45

State Highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

just east of the lake, at the Kanjarkot Fort. During the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab (Pakistani province), Punjab and, Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus Riv ...

, a controversial decision was made to release saline water and

effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters, either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pol ...

into Shakoor Lake to alleviate pressure on the

Left Bank Outfall Drain Left Bank Outfall Drain is a drainage canal in Pakistan. Built between 1987 and 1997 using funding from the World Bank, the canal collects saline water, industrial effluents and Indus river basin floodwater from more than two million hectares of l ...

(LBOD) in

Badin Badin ( Sindhi and ) is the main city and capital of Badin District in Sindh, Pakistan. It lies east of the Indus River. It is the 105th largest city in Pakistan. Badin is often called 'Sugar State' due to its production of sugar. Badin Dist ...

, Pakistan.

Origin

This lake is formed by the emergence of Allah Bund on its southern side by blocking the Nara river (also known as Puran river or Kori river) when a massive earth quake struck the area in 1819. During the river flooding, Shakoor lake surpluses into the

Kori Creek The Kori Creek is a tidal creek in the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat. It lies just to the west of the Great Rann of Kutch area of India. This region belonging to India is a part of the Indus River Delta, which lies across Gujar ...

through the gaps formed in Allah Bund. Another low level lake called Sindri lake, located at , is also formed by

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...

to the south of the uplifted Allah Bund during the earthquake. Geographically and environmentally, Lake Shakoor is part of the cross-border

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...

, a large seasonal salt marsh and a

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

Ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Environmental concerns

The way water retention and salt extraction have been practiced in the Rann of Kutch region, is causing, and has already caused, devastating effects on the local environment; reducing the natural wildlife population, drying up and deforesting jungle habitats and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, and threatening the entire regional

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. In Lake Shakoor, salt extraction has been seen as the main culprit in this regard.

Border disputes

The Shakoor Lake area became involved in the "Kutch Dispute" in the 1960s, when Pakistani forces entered the area with a tank division and fortified the Kanjar Kot Fort. The Kutch dispute then became part of the long-running and continuing border disputes between India and Pakistan, but it originated in the 1910s between the Bombay Presidency and the

Princely State of Cutch Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...

, thus predating the creation of India and Pakistan. The borders in the Kutch Region was finally settled and effectuated on February 19, 1968, when both sides accepted the award of the Indo-Pakistan Western Boundary case Tribunal designated by the UN secretary general.

Sir Creek Sir Creek ( ), originally Ban Ganga, is a 96 km (60 mi) tidal estuary in the uninhabited marshlands of the Indus River Delta on the border between India and Pakistan. The creek flows into the Arabian Sea and separates Gujarat state in India f ...

in the southwest of

Great Rann of Kutch The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 (2900 sq miles) in area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been ...

is still disputed though.

References

{{Reflist

Sources and external links

Ecoregions of Pakistan
WWF
"The looming disaster"

Google Maps for the lake
Lakes of Gujarat Lakes of Sindh Kutch district

Origin

Environmental concerns

Border disputes

See also

References

Sources and external links