The capital city of Bhopal is known as the city of lakes as it has two beautiful artificial lakes namely the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. The Upper Lake and the Lower are separated from each other by an over bridge. Madhya Pradesh Tourism's Yacht Club has taken various initiatives to promote the lakes as a popular tourist destination. The Club offers various adventurous and exciting sports like sailing, boating, paddling and also trips in motorboats.
The Upper and Lower lakes are urban water bodies which are collectively known as Bhoj Wetland. It is a principal source of drinkable water for the inhabitants of Bhopal city. In the eleventh century, the great ruler Raja Bhoj built an earthen dam across the River Kolans resulting in the formation of the Upper Lake.
The Upper Lake is being polluted by the disposal of wastes and sewage by the human settlements and siltation. The reasons for siltation are many including residues of agriculture, actions of people in catchment area, soil erosion, inflow of silt and waste etc. Various water quality tests have proved that due to the increase in pollution the quality of water is degrading day by day. The lake is geographically located between the North Latitude 23° 12' 0" and East Longitude 77° 18' 0". Soil erosion and siltation are the two natural phenomena that are polluting the Upper Lake in Bhopal. During festivals people immerse idols and Tajias and also inflow of sewage and wastewater from the human households etc. have led to the deterioration of this lake.
Last Updated on 23 July 2012
