Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in North East India is also known as the 'floating lake' for the numerous phumdis or masses of vegetation it supports. The phumdis float around on the lake's surface due to decay from the bottom. Locally called phumdis (islets), the lake is full of such circular swamps of land pieces which grab the attention. These are naturally formed pieces of land comprising of a miscellaneous collection of soil, vegetation and decomposing organic matter. These take form when the foliage floating in the water piles up together over the course of many years. With the population of almost 100,000, Loktak lake also happens to have the first floating school in India called the Loktak Elementary Floating school. The school was inaugurated in 2017 providing elementary education from classes’ I-III.
The lake is a birder’s paradise, having sights of birds like the Burmese pied myna, east Himalayan pied Kingfisher, the northern hill myna, etc. It serves as a home to almost 233 species of aquatic plants, almost 100 species of birds and approximately 425 species of animals. However, the lake is in dire circumstances due to the numerous threats due of pollution, declining diversity and the construction of Ithai Hydropower Dam in the 1980’s. The land gradually kept changing and the water level started remaining high all year round, resulting in thinning of the swamps.
It is hoped that tourism can heavily change this scenario as it will bring Loktak the much-emphasised attention and awareness. A documentary named Phum Sang, made by Hao bam Pawan Kumar examines the serious environmental challenges it is facing and also won the Golden Conch award for best documentary in Mumbai International Film Festival in 2014. Acknowledged by UNESCO in its tentative list of World Heritage sites, the Loktak lake is a blend of rich bio-diversity with the delightful landscape making it a must visit for any travel enthusiast.
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India is a vast country and a mystery to most. Those who live in it, those who now live outside of India or those who are just visiting. We, at NRIClub™, serve as a centralized hub of information for the residents, non-residents and travellers who are not familiar with various aspects of this great country.
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