SAMBHAR
LAKE - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Sambhar Fest Kicks Off
Today
What's
in the news?
●
Deputy chief minister and tourism minister
Diya Kumari will inaugurate it with a heritage walk from the Sun temple at
Chhota Bazaar of the lake town to Katla Bazaar.
Key
takeaways:
●
The
festival will offer tourists and visitors fancy kite flying, camel cart ride,
tug of war, parasailing, paramounting, among others. Music and folk dances will
add to the festive fervour.
Sambhar
Lake:
●
It is the country’s largest inland saline water body, which attracts
thousands of migratory birds every year.
●
It is located in Nagaur and Jaipur
districts of Rajasthan.
Features:
●
It is surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills.
●
The lake is actually an extensive saline
wetland with a circumference of 96 km.
●
It receives water from an endorheic basin with 5700 square km
catchment area.
Rivers
Feeding Lake:
●
The lake receives water from six rivers such as Mantha, Rupangarh,
Khari, Khandela, Medtha and Samod.
Ramsar
Site:
●
It has been designated as a Ramsar site
(recognized wetland of international importance).
●
It is an important wintering area for flamingos and other birds that migrate
from northern Asia.
Economic
Importance:
●
It is the source of most of Rajasthan’s
salt production.
●
It produces 1,96,000 tonnes of clean salt
every year.