Namal Lake

Namal Lake
نمل جھیل (Urdu)
A view of Namal Lake in the evening
Namal Lake is located in Punjab, Pakistan
Namal Lake
Namal Lake
Location in Punjab, Pakistan
LocationNamal Valley, Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan
Coordinates32°41′24″N 71°48′05″E / 32.69000°N 71.80139°E / 32.69000; 71.80139
TypeReservoir with gravity dam
EtymologyNamal means priceless in English[1]
Part ofSalt Range Wetlands Complex (SRWC)[2]
Catchment area164 sq mi (420 km2)[3]
Basin countriesPakistan
DesignationGame Reserve[4]: 259 
Built1913
Surface area480 ha (4.8 km2)[4]: 259 
Water volume630×106 cu ft (0.018 km3) (Average)
2,100×106 cu ft (0.059 km3) (Maximum)[5]
SettlementsNamal, Rikhi

Namal Lake (Urdu: نمل جھیل) is a man-made lake located near Rikhi, a village on one corner of the Namal valley in Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was formed following the construction of Namal Dam in 1913 (111 years ago) (1913). Namal Dam is situated some 32 km (20 mi) from Mianwali city.

The lake has a surface area of 5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi).[6] There are mountains on its western and southern sides. On the other two sides are agricultural areas.[7] It serves as a picnic spot for tourists from nearby areas, and functions as a habitat for waterfowl, Russian ducks, and Siberian cranes that migrate to the area during the winter months.

History

In 1913, British engineers built a dam on Namal lake to address the scarcity of irrigation and drinking water for Mianwali city.[6] But with the passage of time, construction of the Thal Canal and the installation of tube wells, squeezed up its utility of water up to some limit.

The gates of the dam are repaired by the irrigation department regularly but without enthusiasm. The hill torrents and rains fill the Namal Lake round the year. Due to a drought-like situation in the country, this lake dried up last year, which is the first incident of its kind in the last 100 years.[8]

Namal Canal

Namal dam

The Namal Canal was opened in December 1913. It received the Namal water from a lake of dam constructed across a gorge canal between Namal and Musakhel. The tail of the canal was at Mianwali, where it conveyed water to lands in the Civil Station. The canal was included under schedule-1 of the Minor Canals Act of 1905 by Punjab Government notification No. 84, dated 9th June 1914.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Namal Jheel (Documentary Program, Jheel Kinara, Namal Jheel)". Radio Pakistan. April 6, 2016. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Salt Range Wetlands Complex". www.pakistanwetlands.org. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  3. ^ Lahna Singh; Sirdar Bahadur. The Namal Dam (PDF). p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Environmental & Social Management Framework (ESMF) (PDF). April 2014. p. 259. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  5. ^ "THE NAMAL LAKE DAM". Western Mail. Vol. XXIX, no. 1, 469. Western Australia. 20 February 1914. p. 30. Retrieved 15 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ a b Adnan, Imran (2019-02-03). "Punjab to get four key tourist spots". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Namal-Mianwali". Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  9. ^ "Namal Lake". Retrieved 2022-12-03.