Sirpur Lake (Indore) - Ecology Case Study

Subject: Ecology
(B.Arch Semester 4)

Case Study - Sirpur Lake, Indore (Ramesar Site)

1. SIRPUR LAKE LOCATION – INDORE, MADHYA PRADESH COORDINATES – 22 42’ 02” N, 78 48’ 46” E LAKE TYPE – FRESHWATER LAKE

2. ABOUT Located in Dhar road in the western part of Indore. Sirpur Lake wetland is an ideal habitat comprising of 800 acres (around 3.6 square kilometres) falling under the jurisdiction of the  Indore Municipal Corporation .  The 125 years old lake was in a deplorable condition before its conservation programme in the late 1990s. The Nature Volunteers (TNV) took over its conservation programme. Sirpur Lake was declared an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by BNHS, Mumbai in 2015. The wetland has been designated as a  Ramsar site  under the  Ramsar Convention  on 07-01-2022.

3. HISTORY Sirpur Lake was created by the  Holkars  of  Indore State  in the early 20th century. After the independence of India and extinction of the royal houses, religious sites started mushrooming up around the lake and over the years it was encroached upon by the people living in its vicinity. Illegal activities like fishing, poaching, cattle grazing, waste dumping, etc., almost destroyed the lake's ecology. Back then , the lake was surrounded by farms and forests and was situated away from the city.

4. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS T he temperature typically varies from  57°F  to  111°F  and is rarely below  51°F  or above  116°F . The  wetter season  lasts  3.7 months , from  June 9  to  September 29 . The  drier season  lasts  8.3 months , from  September 29  to  June 9 . The  rainy  period of the year lasts for  6.7 months , from  April 23  to  November 14 , with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least  0.5 inches .  The month with the most rain in Sirpur is  July , with an average rainfall of  10.9 inches .

5. WETLAND AND CATCHMENT AREA To tal area of the lake and its surrounding protected region is 800 acres (around 3.6 square kilometers) It falls under the jurisdiction of the Indore Municipal Corporation. 670 acre lake. The lake gets its water from three channels, of which Sukhniwas Lake (now in the premises and custody of the RR Centre for Advanced Technology) is the prominent one.

6. SURROUNDINGS Years back, the lake was surrounded by farms and forests and was situated away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Along with the growth and expansion of the city limits, Sirpur Lake also underwent a cycle of haphazard development and colonization in its vicinity and surroundings. Today, an urban population of around one million lives around the lake and it is facing tremendous pressure from legal and illegal settlements within its catchment areas.

7. ECOLOGY Sirpur has a wonderful mix of aquatic habitat, scrub jungle, open fallow land and a garden with big old trees of fig, tamarind and gulmohar. It boasts a huge resident avian population and is a haven for migratory birds that arrive during the winter. A birding trail which runs along the bund in the middle of the lake is perfect for close-range observation of different species of resident and migratory ducks, jacanas, moorhens, herons, egrets and other waders. Tall trees that run along the lake periphery are a good place to spot passerines or perching birds. Many resident birds breed here during the summer months, and birders can observe and study the complete breeding cycle of these birds.

8. FLORA Various plant species are found in the Sirpur Lake. Some of them are as follows; Red Chirmi beads/ Gunja Butea monosperma/ Palash Bombax ceiba / Silk cotton tree

9. FAUNA  A wide range of bird species, mostly waders, can be seen at the shallow end of the lake. Shrubland birds can be seen dwelling in the fallow land adjoining the lake. There are total of 150 birds recorded in the Sirpur Lake. It is arguably one of the only remaining birdwatching sites where water birds can be recorded within city limits. Some migratory birds, including ruddy shelduck , which migrates from Mongolia and Siberia and ducks like Eurasian Wigeon, Ruddy Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and Garganey for wintering at Sirpur. T he shy and sulking Great Bittern, Yellow and Black Bittern, Eurasian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon and Collared Pratincole have been recorded here, as well as the Greater Flamingo. Also a home to several species of reptiles, insects, butterflies, peacocks and fishes.

10. RESTORATION The potential of the lake as a significant bird habitat was recognized by the  Holkars  of Indore. In early 1980s,  Bhalu Mondhe , a renowned photographer and artist of Indore, started restoring the lake, first individually and later joined by his friends, most notably, Abhilash Khandekar. Mondhe and Khandekar co-founded an NGO in 1992,  The Nature Volunteers , primarily to restore the lake's ecology and develop it as an ideal birding site. It became an important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) within a metropolitan area, an extremely rare distinction. As the lake was restored, it became the home to many avian species and started attracting migratory birds. About 150 bird species have been recorded at this lake, which is an outstanding achievement for an urban lake.

11. CHEMICAL PARAMETER Sirpur wetland provides important ecological services like source of water, fisheries, cultivation of medicinal plants, buffering communities which protect from floods and storm and helps to recharge ground water. Anthropogenic pressure on wetland led to direct impact on species diversity, population and quality of water. Comparative study of physicochemical parameters of Sirpur wetland done to find that these parameters are under permissible limit or not. The water is becoming eutrophic over a period of time and affecting macrophytes communities. The wetland supports 175 species of terrestrial flora, 6 species of macrophytes, 30 species of fishes and 8species of reptiles and amphibians. Most importantly the site supports 130 species of resident and migratory birds.

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