Gobind Sagar Lake:
Himachal Pradesh is diversifying its tourism sector with the first-ever island tourism project at the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district, which is likely to be operational soon.
- Gobind Sagar Lake is a manmade reservoir located in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
- The lake is named after Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Sikh guru, who spent some time in the region during his military campaigns.
- It was created by the construction of the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej River in the 1950s and 1960s.
- It is one of the deepest man-made lakes in the world.
- It is surrounded by lush green hills and the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas.
- It is also the third-largest in the country concerning the storage of water.
- To maintain the level of water, the flow of river Beas was channelized to Gobind Sagar by the Beas-Sutlej link, which was accomplished in 1976.
- It helps in supplying water for irrigation to the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, significantly benefiting agriculture in the region.
- In 1962, the lake was recognized as the ‘waterfowl refuge.’
- Even today, the lake is home to many species of birds and animals like Panther, Wolf, Chausinga, Sambar, Hyena, Sloth bear, Nilgai, Chinkara, and wild boar.
- It is home to fifty species and sub-species of fishes, namely Tor Putitora (Mahasheer), Labeo Dero (Gid), Mystus Seenghala (Singhara), and mirror carp.
