Anchar Lake is a lake located near

Soura Soura, () known as Sovur () in Kashmiri, is a notified area in Srinagar district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located about 9 km north of Lal Chowk, Srinagar on Srinagar-Ladakh Highway in Jammu and Kashmir, I ...

area, near the city of

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir,

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 ...

. Situated close to

Ganderbal Ganderbal is a town and a municipality committee in Ganderbal district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Ganderbal district.It is in Central Kashmir, it has an average elevation of 1,619 metres (5,3 ...

, the lake is connected with the famous

Dal Lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in ...

via a channel "Amir Khan Nallah" which passes through Gilsar and

Khushal Sar Khushal Sar ( ; ) is a lake located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is in a highly deteriorated condition and has been encroached upon at many places with illegal construction and landfilling. The lake once stretched from Zoonim ...

. The lake is in a highly deteriorated condition. In case of flooding, the excessive water of Dal is diverted here.

Deterioration

Once a popular tourist destination as tourists on

shikara The shikara is a type of wooden boat found on Dal Lake and other water bodies of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir Shikaras are of various sizes and are used for multiple purposes, including transportation. A usual shikara seats six people, with t ...

s and houseboats used to travel here from Dal Lake, over the years it has deteriorated owing to

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, large scale

encroachment Encroachment is to advance beyond proper limits, and may refer to: * Temporal encroachment * Structural encroachment * Encroachment (gridiron football), a penalty in American and Canadian football *Encroachment by human populations on natural sp ...

, and illegal constructions in its surroundings. In the 1990s, when the Nallah Mar was covered to build the Mearplan highway around western side of Dal, six-foot pipes were laid under the new road, to allow Dal to continue to drain into the Anchar lake system, however the pipes soon clogged due to waste and debris. Like the

Dal lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in ...

and

Wular Lake Wular Lake (), also known as Wolar () in Kashmiri, is one of the largest fresh water lakes in South Asia. It is located near Bandipora town in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The lake basin was formed as a result of te ...

, it is home to the Hanji community which live near the lake in an area called as Anchar among the locals.

References

External links

Anchar Lake
Lakes of Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar Water pollution in India {{JammuKashmir-geo-stub