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International Journal of Recent Trends in Science and Technology, ISSN 2277-2812 E-ISSN: 2249-8109

Volume 12, Issue 1, September 2014 pp 38-46

Research Article
Environmental hazards due to rate of siltation in the Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir), India

Kulkarni U.D.¹, Khan Asiya²

¹Department of Chemistry, Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune 411 001, Maharashtra, INDIA.

²Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Pune, Pune 411 007, Maharashtra, INDIA.

Abstract

The siltation rate in the Wular Lake shows abnormality in space and time, as evidenced from preliminary geological survey of its catchment. The Panjal traps, limestones (with scanty intercalations of black shales) and Karewas form the major provenance for the silt which drains into the lake. The lineament fabric suggests a strong structural control over the formation of the lake. The Tertiary uplift, as well as, the pulses of seismicity have been instrumental in modifying regional geomorphological relief and the resultant changes in the rate of siltation. The climatic changes have also influenced the varied rate of erosion and subsequent siltation. The topographic relief appears to have fluctuated in the recent geological past, as is evidenced from the silt deposits in and around the lake. The environmental significance lies in the fact that such a rate of siltation would result in shallowing of the lake floor and may prove disastrous during higher degrees of runoff (either due to excess precipitation or melting of ice). The present state of human interference, in the form of settlements around the lake and farming practices on the reclaimed and / or acquired land of the lake, are beyond permissible limits of the environmentally safety zones.