Ramgarh Tal is a lake located in
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
,
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 ...
. In 1970, at its largest size, the lake covered an area of with a
circumference
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out t ...
of . Today, it covers about .
History
According to historian and author
Rajbali Pandey
RajBali Pandey ( hi, राजबली पाण्डेय) was an Indian writer and author who authored several books on Socio-Religious study of the Hindu sacraments and Vedas.
Career
Dr. Raj Bali Pandey started his career as editor of ...
, Gorakhpur was called Ramgram in the sixth century B.C. It was in Ramgram where the
Kolian Republic was established. During this period, the
Rapti River passed through the site of the present-day Ramgarh Tal. However, the direction of the Rapti River was later changed, and Ramgarh Tal came into existence from its remains.
The lake was under the possession of the prominent zamindar Rai Kamlapati Ray in Gorakhpur. Following the suppression of zamindari, it was taken over by 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, ...
, although some portion of the Ramgarh Tal is still under the Rai family's possession today.
It is believed that there was a village named Ramgarh that collapsed due to a disaster, creating a big hole that eventually got filled with water.
Development and Maintenance
In 1985,
Vir Bahadur Singh became
Chief Minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
and formulated a plan to develop Ramgarh Tal as a tourist center. This plan was later abandoned following his death in 1989.
When
took over the role of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, he unveiled plans to develop the lake into an 'international-level' tourist spot. The UP government also unveiled plans to notify the lake under the
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
Management Rules.
At present, the NGT (National Green Tribunal) manages upkeep and protection of the lake. Due to the activism of the NGT, construction work has been banned within a radius of 500 meters.
The water quality of Ramgarh Tal Lake has decreased over time due to it being used as a dumping ground for sewage by nearby residential colonies.
"THE MARINE DRIVE OF PURVANCHAL": Due to its latest development and construction of driveway across the lake, it is also being popularized as marine drive along with Nauka Vihar.
The new name is certainly attracting tourists.
References
External links
Ramgarh Tal
Lakes of Uttar Pradesh
Gorakhpur
{{UttarPradesh-geo-stub