Maharana Pratap Sagar

Encyclopedia

Maharana Pratap Sagar also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...

: ), also known as Pong Dam
Pong Dam
The Pong Dam, also known as the Beas Dam, is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River just upstream of Talwara in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The purpose of the dam is water storage for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. As the second phase of the Beas Project,...

Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake was created in 1975 building the highest earthfill dam in India on the Beas River

Beas River

The Beas River is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab....

in the wetland zone of the Siwalik Hills

Siwalik Hills

The Sivalik hills is a mountain range of the outer Himalayas also known as Manak Parbat in ancient times. Shivalik literally means 'tresses of Shiva’. This range is about long enclosing an area that starts almost from the Indus and ends close to the Brahmaputra, with a gap of about between the...

of the Kangra district

Kangra district

Kangra is the most populous district of the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamsala is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh is situated in Western Himalayas between 31°2 to...

of the state of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, in India.
Named in the honour of the patriot Maharana Pratap (1572 –1597), the reservoir or the lake is a well known wildlife sanctuary and one of the 25 wetland sites declared in India by the Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

Location

The closest railway stations to the project are Mukerian

Mukerian

Mukerian is a city and a municipal council in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state of Punjab.- Geography :Mukerian is located at . It has an average elevation of 245 metres .- Demographics :...

30 km (18.6 mi) and Pathankot

Pathankot

Pathankot became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir...

32 km (19.9 mi). Nagrota Surian and Jawali located on the periphery of the reservoir are connected by the narrow gauge railway line, the Kangra railway line, which connects Pathankot to Jogindernagar

Jogindernagar

Joginder Nagar or Jogindar Nagar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Named after Raja Joginder Sen, Joginder Nagar is terminal point of 163 km long Kangra Valley Narrow gauge railhead...

.

The reservoir is connected by a good network of roads to major cities in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

.

Distance from the main cities

Distance from Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

– 250 km (155.3 mi)
Distance from Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...

– 110 km (68.4 mi)
Distance from Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....

– 55 km (34.2 mi)
Distance from Kangra – 50 km (31.1 mi)

Apart from the airports at Chandigrah and Amritsar which are far off, the closest airport to the reservoir is Pathankot and gaggal.

Topography

The reservoir is bounded by the rugged Dhauladhar

Dhauladhar

The Dhauladhar range is a southern branch of the main Outer Himalayan chain of mountains. It rises spectacularly from the Indian plains to the north of Kangra and Mandi...

mountain range, the low foothills of the Himalaya on the northern edge of the Indo-Gangetic plains and the mountain streams cutting through valleys.

Hydrology

The Beas River

Beas River

on which the Pong Dam

Pong Dam

The Pong Dam, also known as the Beas Dam, is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River just upstream of Talwara in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The purpose of the dam is water storage for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. As the second phase of the Beas Project,...

is located is one of the five major rivers of the Indus basin. The river rises from the Beas Kund near Rohtang Pass

Rohtang Pass

Rohtang Pass , is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas some from Manali...

, in the upper Himalayas, and traverses generally in a north-south direction till Largi from where it turns sharply at nearly a right angle and flows in a westerly direction up to the Pong Dam. The river traverses a total length of about116 km (72.1 mi) from the source to the Pong Dam.

The reservoir drains a catchment area of 12561 km² (4,850 sq mi) out of which the permanent snow catchment is 780 km² (301 sq mi) 780 km. Monsoon rainfall between July and September is a major source of water supply into the reservoir, apart from snow and glacier melt. The project area experiences hot summers with maximum temperature of 40 °C (104 °F) with hot and humid climate. Winters are fairly cold and mostly dry. The dam acts as a sponge for flood flows and reservoir regulation prevents the inundation of surrounding upland areas from routine flooding during the monsoon season.
The reservoir stretch is 42 km (26.1 mi) long with a maximum width of 19 km (11.8 mi) and with a mean depth of 35.7 m (117.1 ft). While the surface water temperature varies between 22.2 °C (72 °F) and 25.1 °C (77.2 °F), the incoming river water has a temperature range of 6 °C (42.8 °F) to 26 °C (78.8 °F).

Engineering features

Subsequent to the partition of India

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

, the waters of the Indus river system were allocated river wise, with certain stipulations, as per the Indus Water Treaty (1960), between India and Pakistan with India getting exclusive use of the three eastern rivers (the Ravi

Ravi River

The Ravi is a trans-boundary river flowing through Northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of the six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region ....

, the Beas

Beas River

and the Satluj) and Pakistan getting the exclusive use of the three western rivers (the Indus, the Jhelum

Jhelum

Jhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...

and the Chenab). Following this treaty, India prepared a master plan to utilize the waters of 3 rivers which came to its share and the Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India.The dam, located at a gorge near the upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asia's second highest at 225.55 m high next to...

was constructed across Satluj River and then the Beas River was tapped in two stages with the Pong dam forming the second stage development. Ravi River

Ravi River

The Ravi is a trans-boundary river flowing through Northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of the six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region ....

has also been developed through the Ranjit Sagar Dam Project

Ranjit Sagar Dam Project

The Ranjit Sagar Dam, also known as the Thein Dam, is part of a hydroelectric project constructed by the Government of Punjab on the Ravi River in the state of Punjab. The project is situated near Pathankot city in Gurdaspur District of the state of Punjab. The project is the biggest hydroelectric...

or Thein Dam. All three river developments are multipurpose in nature involving irrigation, water supply and hydropower generation.

The Beas Dam has been built on the Beas River

Beas River

as it enters the plains at Talwara

Talwara

Talwara is a census town in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state of Punjab.-Geography:Talwara is located at . It has an average elevation of 326 metres .-Demographics:...

, also called as another temple of modern India. It is an earth core gravel shell dam of 435 ft (132.6 m) height above the deepest foundation and is the highest earthfill dam in India. The reservoir or the lake has a storage capacity of 8570 million cubic metres. The designed maximum flood discharge of 437000 cuft/s is discharged through a gated chute spillway (pictured) located on the left abutment of the dam.

The confirmed ruling features of the dam are as under.

Top of dam EL. 436 m (1,430.4 ft)

Normal reservoir level EL. 427 m (1,400.9 ft)

Maximum reservoir level EL. 433 m (1,420.6 ft)

Dead storage level EL. 384 m (1,259.8 ft)

Gross storage capacity 8570000000 cubic metre

Live storage capacity 7290000000 cubic metre

Reservoir length 41.8 km (26 mi)

Maximum reservoir depth 97.84 m (321 ft)

The hydro power plant located down stream, on the right side of the spillway structure, has an installed capacity of 390 MW with six generating units (1x60 + 5x66 MW). Water from the reservoir is led into the power house through penstock pipes, each of 5.025 m (16.5 ft) diameter.

Reservoir operation is a crucial aspect since both Bhakra dam and Pong dam Projects necessitate their operation in an 'Integrated Manner' to achieve optimal benefits of Irrigation and Power. Water stored in the reservoir during summer and rainy season, after meeting with the irrigation requirements of the partner states, is released in a regulated manner during lean period in a fixed schedule of Filling Period–Depletion Period for both the reservoirs; the filling and depletion period for

the Bhakra reservoir is from 21 May to 20 September and 21 September to 20 May, and
for Pong dam reservoir from 21 June to 20 and 21 September to 20 June respectively.

A technical committee of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorizes the monthly releases appropriately honouring the requirements projected by the partner states. The operation manuals titled "Designer's Criteria for the Operation, Maintenance and Observation" for the Bhakra, Pong & Pando reservoirs, duly updated as required, provide the guiding rules for the efficient integrated operation of the reservoirs.
The two reservoirs supply irrigation and drinking water to Punjab

Punjab (India)

, Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

, Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

and Chandigarh

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

. Himachal Pradesh is also provided with drinking water supply.

Water quality

The water quality parameters recorded for the reservoir are:

Secchi disc transparency 0.12– 4.8 m; pH 7.0– 8.4; silicates 3.0– 5.0 mg/l; chlorides 6.0– 7.0 mg/l, total hardness 22– 28 mg/l gives total hardness range from 19 to 68 mg/l, total alkalinity 53–81 mg/ l; specific conductivity 173– 190 µmhos.

Ramsar site

Pong Dam Lake was declared a Ramsar Wetland site on account of its rich waterfowl diversity for conservation and sustainable use of the wetland. This recognition was based on a proposal formulated by the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Shimla

Shimla

Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...

submitted to the Ramsar Bureau, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

through the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

.

The large reservoir and its strategic location in the extreme north-west of the northern plains has attracted migratory birds from the plains of India and Central Asian countries and Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

; more than 220 bird species of 54 families were recorded. The interception of the migratory birds on their trans-Himalayan fly path, during each migration season, has enriched the biodiversity values of the reservoir. The Pando reservoir and its catchment have the following rich flora and fauna.

Forest vegetation

The reservoir peripheral land area has mixed perennial and deciduous pine forests on hills. Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

trees have also been grown in the area. The forest growth provides enough sustenance to the migratory birds. The tree species of the forest area are Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

, Jamun, Shisham, Mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

, Mulberry

Mulberry

Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....

, Ficus

Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...

, Kachanar, Amla

Amla

Amla may refer to:* Indian gooseberry, called amla in Hindi. Amla is the size of a lemon, spherical, bitter and yellow-green.* Hashim Amla, a South African cricketer of Indian descent* Ahmed Amla, a South African cricketer and brother of Hashim...

and Prunus

Prunus

Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are around 430 species spread throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for fruit and ornament.-Botany:Members of the genus...

. A variety of shrubs, grasses and climbers are also reported.
The reservoir seasonal water level variation between the maximum water level and the minimum draw down level does not permit growth of much emergent vegetation but some amount of submerged vegetation is noticed.

Limnology

A wide variety of commercially viable fish, 27 species of 5 families, such as Mahseer

Mahseer

Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, and Naziritor in the family Cyprinidae . The name Mahseer is however more often restricted to members of the genus Tor...

, Catla

Catla

Catla catla, , also known as Indian Carp, is the only member of the genus Catla, of the carp family Cyprinidae. It is a fish with a large protruding lower jaw. It is commonly found in rivers and freshwater lakes in India , Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan...

, Mirror Carp

Mirror carp

Mirror carp are a type of fish, commonly found in the United Kingdom and Europe. The name "Mirror Carp" originates from their scales' resemblance to mirrors. They can grow in excess of 60lb - the last few British record fish have all been mirror carp....

, Singhara (native) and others are recorded in the Pong Dam reservoir and its tributaries. Before the reservoir was built, catfishes, mirror carp

Mirror carp

s and a few coarse fish were the dominant fish fauna in the Beas River. With the emergence of the reservoir, commercial fishing was encouraged as an important programme not only to provide employment to about 1500 fishermen but also to promote the eco-tourism potential.

A planned operation of fish stocking was launched with first introduction of Common carp

Common carp

The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...

in 1974 and Indian major carps or Silver carp

Silver carp

The silver carp is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to north and northeast Asia. It is cultivated in China....

in 1976–77. This resulted in a shift in the catch structure of the reservoir with carps accounting for 61.8% of the total landings in 1987–88. The present fish stocks in the reservoir, in the sequence of their abundance are: 1) Rohu, Aorichthys seenghala, 2) Labeo

Labeo

Labeo is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found mainly in the Old World tropics.It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however, and is often included in the Cyprininae as tribe Labeonini...

calbasu (native), 3) Tor putitora

Tor putitora

Tor putitora, the Putitor mahseer, is a species of cyprinid fish that is found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh , Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. It is a popular gamefish and can reach lengths of up to 2.75 meters though fish of this size are now quite rare....

(Himalayan Mahseer), 4) Cirrhinus mrigala, 5) Wallago attu

Wallago attu

Wallago attu is a species of catfish in the family Siluridae, or "sheatfishes". The fish is commonly known by its genus name, wallago. Found in large rivers and lakes, it can reach 2.4 m total length...

, 6) Cyprinus carpio, 7) Labeo

Labeo

dero, 8) Catla catla and 9) Channa sp.
The reservoir, unlike other reservoirs in the region, has shown a marked growth in catch of Mahseer

Mahseer

Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, and Naziritor in the family Cyprinidae . The name Mahseer is however more often restricted to members of the genus Tor...

fish recording 20% of the total catch during 1999-2000 with the average size of the fish ranging from 1.5–1.7 kg (3.3–3.7 lb). This is attributed to the change in the Himachal Pradesh (HP) Fishing Rules with an added clause which specifies the minimum catchable size for Mahseer

Mahseer

Mahseer is the common name used for the genera Tor, Neolissochilus, and Naziritor in the family Cyprinidae . The name Mahseer is however more often restricted to members of the genus Tor...

as 300 to 500 mm or approximately 1.2 kg 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) which is stated to give to each female Mahseer to breed at least once before being caught.

Mahseer angling in the Pong Dam reservoir is said to be the only one of its kind in the country.

Bird sanctuary

The reservoir was declared as a bird sanctuary in 1983. A 5 km (3.1 mi) belt from the periphery of the lake has been declared as buffer zone for the management of the bird sanctuary. The national as well international significance of the sanctuary is enhanced because of its waterfowl diversity, which was evidenced by the increase of water fowl species from 39 prior to the reservoir to 54 species at post reservoir stage. The number of birds reported, particularly during the winter period of November to March, has steadily increased over the years and the recent records indicate a water fowl count of 130,000 in 2004 and 142,000 during 2005 migratory birds – a phenomenal increase from the average annual count of 18,887 for the period 1988–1995.
The main bird species reported are the barheaded geese (Goose

Goose

The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

), Anser indicus, northern lapwing

Northern Lapwing

The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....

(Vanellus vanellus), ruddy shelduck

Ruddy Shelduck

The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae...

(Tadorna ferruginea), Northern pintail

Northern Pintail

The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...

(Anas acuta), common teal

Common Teal

The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...

(Anas crecca), Mariana Mallard

Mariana Mallard

The Mariana Mallard or Oustalet's Duck is an extinct type of duck of the genus Anas that was endemic to the Mariana Islands...

(Anas poecilorhyncha oustaleti), Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...

Fulica atra, red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes...

(Podiceps griseigena), Black-headed gull

Black-headed Gull

The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...

s, plovers, Black Stork

Black Stork

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...

, terns, water-fowl and egrets.

The avian habitats in the reservoir area are categorized under the following heads:

The receding shore–line form Mudflats and mud spits from October onwards which provide organic matter, worms, insects and molluscs for wintering birds and plovers. Wagtails, Sand Lark
Sand Lark
The Sand Lark, also known as India Short-toed Lark or Indian Sand Lark , is a small passerine bird in thelark family, largely resident in the rivervalleys of South Asia from Pakistan through sub-Himalayan...

s and Pipits also use the mudflats.
The shallow water on the margins of the reservoir and the open deep water are used by dabbling ducks (Anatinae) and some long-legged waders
In the sandy banks near the reservoir periphery with dry sand banks strewn with small boulders, with little or no vegetation, stone curlew
Stone Curlew
The Stone Curlew, Eurasian Thick-knee, or Eurasian Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus is a northern species of the Burhinidae bird family....

and pratincoles feed here.
Below the outfall of the dam, swamp habitats and water side vegetation are used by birds such as ducks, coot, warblers, babblers, munias, kingfishers and predators.
In the reservoir draw down areas, which are also cultivated by local people during winter, Bar-headed geese and ruddy shel duck feed.

Around five thousand tourists visit the bird sanctuary during winter season and most of them come to watch migratory birds for the first time. Efforts are being made to encourage eco-tourism to attract more tourists to the reservoir.

Fauna

The periphery above the water surface area of the reservoir has recorded fauna species such as barking deer, sambar

Sambar Deer

The Sambar ' is a large deer native to southern and southeast Asia. Although it primarily refers to R. unicolor, the name "Sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine Deer and the Rusa Deer...

, wild boars, leopards and Oriental Small-clawed Otter

Oriental Small-clawed Otter

The oriental small-clawed otter , also known as Asian small-clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5 kg. It lives in mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,...

Water sports

A regional water sports centre has been established in the Pong dam reservoir which offers focused activities such as canoeing, rowing, sailing, and water skiing, apart from swimming. Training programmes are organized in water safety and rescue measures with three tier water sports courses - the basic course, intermediate course and advanced course. Modern infrastructure facilities have been created with a 75 bed hostel and a 10 suit rest house. It is said to be the only centre of its type in the country.

Protection measures

The following protection measures have enabled preservation of the reservoir ecosystem.

Declaring the entire reservoir as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1986 by the Himachal Pradesh government has mostly eliminated poaching. 40 Village Forest Development Committees are functioning to prevent poaching of birds, in addition to nine check posts. Two mobile checkposts monitor suspicious activities in the sanctuary areas in coordination with the established check posts. This vigilance programme has established Nagrota Surian, Guglara, Tairess, Jambal Bassi, Nandpur Bhatoli and Dehra as dwelling places for the migratory birds.

To check siltation of the reservoir and to provide bird nesting places, plantation of the peripheral area of the lake has been undertaken in a large way.
The Protected Area Management Plan envisages boundary protection, habitat improvement, tourism and regulation, roads and staff quarters and so forth.
One of the islands in the reservoir has been named Ramsar (after the Ramsar Convention) and developed for nature conservation education, complete with rest house and boating facility.
Organised reservoir fishing with full support of the Department of Fisheries has provided opportunities to reservoir Oustee (project affected people due to submergence) families to take up fishing as a profession. As per the last report, more than 1789 fishermen are engaged in fishing activities which generates secondary benefits to more than 1000 families. A large number of Fishermen Cooperative Societies are functioning in the reservoir.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.