Kashmir’s Wular Lake Sees Lotus Bloom After 3 Decades, Signals Wetland Revival

Kashmir’s Wular Lake witnessed blooming of lotus flowers after three decades. The reappearance of the flower crop in north Kashmir’s river has sparked hope for revival of livelihood for communities that once depended on the lake, reported Mint.

The flowers had disappeared after the devastating 1992 floods that resulted in deposition of thick layers of silt across the lakebed. The ongoing desilting and restoration project by the Wular Lake Management Authority is helping the revival of the lotus.

The efforts to restore the lake’s original depth and improve water flow by removing silt and waste carried by the Jhelum River and its tributaries started in 2020.

“We thought this would never return,” Mohammad Yaqoob, a local farmer from Watlab village in the neighbourhood, told a local news agency in Kashmir.

“My father used to harvest lotus stems here. I used to help him when I was young. Then the flood came and everything changed,” he said  

Over 7.9 million cubic meters of silt has been removed from the lake so far, the officials told Mint. Officials also stated that the plant’s root structures remained buried beneath the silt even though lotus stems hadn’t been seen for decades. This year, the authorities introduced lotus seeds in areas where dredging had been completed.

The authorities involved in the conservation plan stated that they aim to install retention basins along major streams to stop future silt and waste from entering the lake.

Lotus Signals Lake Revival

A 2024 study published by Research Gate identified irregular solid waste dumps (10.4%), sewage discharges (18.4%), and population expansion (7.2%) as major sources of degradation of the Wular Lake.

The study found that managing and minimising sewage discharges, along with dredging and native vegetation reintroduction—including lotus—are effective measures to restore water quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Reviving lotus indicates not just the restoration of scenic beauty but also sustaining the ecological balance of the lake.