Umiam Lake
{{Short description|Reservoir in Meghalaya, India}}
{{More footnotes|date=June 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Umïam Lake
| image = Umiam Lake - by Vikramjit Kakati.png
| caption = View of Umïam Lake
| other_name = Bara Pani
| alt = View of Umïam Lake
| image_bathymetry =
| caption_bathymetry =
| pushpin_map = India Meghalaya
| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Umiam Lake
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Umiam Lake
| location = Meghalaya
| coords = {{coord|25.6532|N|91.8843|E|region:IN_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| module = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
| type = Reservoir
| inflow =
| outflow =
| catchment = {{convert|220|km2|abbr=on}}
| basin_countries = India
| length =
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| islands =
| cities = Shillong
}}
Umïam Lake, also known as Bara Pani,{{cite news |last1=Rongmei |first1=Precious |date=31 August 2023 |title=This man-made lake turned Meghalaya into a dreamy destination |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/this-man-made-lake-turned-meghalaya-into-a-dreamy-destination/articleshow/103216601.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=25 February 2024}} is a reservoir in the hills {{cvt|15|km}} north of Shillong in the state of Meghalaya, India. It was created by damming the Umïam River in the early 1960s. The principal catchment area of the lake and dam is spread over {{convert|225|km2}}.
In February 2025, the Guwahati-Panchgram Expressway was announced. It will be the first expressway of Northeast India is a greenfield expressway from Guwahati to Umiam (Barapani) in Meghalaya and then direct to old paper mill in Panchgram, which will reduce the Guwahati to Punchgram distance by 5 hours.{{cite news |title=North East's First Expressway to Shorten Panchgram-Guwahati Travel to 5 Hours, Key Advantages to Barak |url=https://barakbulletin.com/en_US/north-easts-first-expressway-to-shorten-panchgram-guwahati-travel-to-5-hours-key-advantages-to-barak/ |work=Barak Bulletin |date=26 February 2025 |access-date=24 March 2025}}
Geography
Two rivers, namely, Wah Umkhrah and Wah Umshyrpi, feed into the Umiam lake.{{Cite journal |last=Majaw |first=Baniateilang |date=2023 |title=Complex and worrying questions to Meghalaya's water crisis |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40899-023-00823-4 |journal=Sustainable Water Resources Management |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |page=49 |doi=10.1007/s40899-023-00823-4 |bibcode=2023SWRM....9...49M |issn=2363-5037}}
History
= Umïam dam =
Umïam Dam, which impounds the lake, was built by the Assam State Electricity Board in the early 1960s. The dam's original purpose was to store water for hydroelectric power generation. The Umïam Stage I powerhouse, north of the lake, has four 9-MW turbine-generators, which entered commercial operation in 1965. Umïam Stage I was the first reservoir-storage hydroelectric project commissioned in the northeastern region of India. (Umtru Hydroelectric Project, a run-of-river project with an original capacity of 8.4 MW, began operation in 1957). Three more stages of the Umïam Project were subsequently built downstream.{{Cite web |title=Umiam Stage - I Power House PH00820 - |url=http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Umiam_Stage_-_I_Power_House_PH00820 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026010932/http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Umiam_Stage_-_I_Power_House_PH00820 |archive-date=26 October 2016 |access-date=25 October 2016}}
Before the construction of the dam for electricity, Khasi communities inhabited the Umïam Valley now flooded by the lake. Apart from the Gauhati-Shillong Road, the valley consisted of Ri-Kynti (public) and Ri-Raid (clan) land. When the Assam State Electricity Board conceptualised the hydroelectric project in June 1958, the plan envisioned submerging part of the valley, where Khwan and Umsaw villages were located. Two hundred families were scheduled to be displaced for the reservoir, dam, and powerhouse. People of Khwan and Umsaw initially opposed the plan to flood their villages.{{Cite book |last=Logan |first=William A. T. |title=A technological history of Cold-War India, 1947-1969: autarky and foreign aid |date=2022 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-030-78767-7 |series=Palgrave studies in the history of science and technology |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=176–177}}
Tourist destination
The lake serves as a major tourist attraction for the state of Meghalaya. It is also a popular destination for water sport and adventure facilities. Tourists visit this spot for kayaking, water cycling, scooting, and boating.
Ecological effect
Apart from storing water for electricity generation, the lake also provides numerous ecosystem services at micro, meso and macro levels. Downstream irrigation, fisheries, and drinking water cater to local anthropogenic needs.
Toxic threat and silting
Due to the rising population of Shillong upstream of the lake, the lake is starting to become highly polluted. The rivers, Wah Umkhrah and Wah Umshyrpi, have become drains in Shillong city. They carry household and market sewage, and industrial waste which drains into the lake.
Also, there is the heavy problem of silting. An estimated {{convert|40000|m3}} of silt enters Umïam Lake every year. Causes range between upstream encroachments, deforestation, blockage of natural drainage systems, and unscientific mining et al. in the catchment area. Excessive silt load in the lake has lowered the storage.
{{Wide image|Umiam lake, shillong, Meghalaya.jpg|800px|Umïam Lake as seen from Lake View Point in 2022.}}
Gallery
File:Roadside View of Umiam Lake.jpg | Roadside view of Umïam Lake
File:View1 Umiam Lake.JPG | View of Umïam Lake
File:View2 Umiam Lake.JPG | View of Umïam Lake
File:View3 Umiam Lake.JPG | View of Umïam Lake
File:Umiam Lake - by Vikramjit Kakati.png | Sunset at Umïam Lake
File:Umiam Lake, Shillong, Meghalaya, India.jpg | View of Umïam Lake
File:By the Umiam lake.jpg | Magnificent Umïam lake
File:UMIAM-1.jpg | Lakeside boats, Umïam Lake
File:Umiam Lake View.jpg | Umïam lake view
File:Umiam Lake Panorama View.jpg | Umïam Lake Panaroma View
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.expressindia.com/fe/daily/19981206/34055514.html Umiam lake faces toxic threat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205181517/http://www.expressindia.com/fe/daily/19981206/34055514.html |date=5 February 2012 }}
- [http://wikimapia.org/331956/Umiam-Dam Umiam Dam satellite map]
- [http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/umiam_lake.htm Umiam Lake Details]
- [http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Op050708fadingpower.asp Siltation and Pollution Contribute to Power Crisis in Shillong]
- [https://archive.today/20140403133942/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090930/jsp/northeast/story_11324617.jsp Pollution of Umiam Lake]
{{Hydrography of North-east India}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:East Khasi Hills district
Category:Tourist attractions in Meghalaya
{{Meghalaya-geo-stub}}