Chapter 7

Introduction :
Fateh Sagar Lake is situated in the city of Udaipur in the Indian
state of Rajasthan. It is an artificial lake named after Maharana
Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar, constructed north-west of
Udaipur, to the north of Lake Pichola in the 1680s.
It is one of the four lakes of the Udaipur city; the other three
being: the Lake Pichola (within the Udaipur town), Udai Sagar
Lake, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the east of Udaipur, and Dhebar
Lake or Jaisamand Lake, 52 km (32 mi) south east of Udaipur

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Within the confines of the Fatah Sagar Lake, there are three
small islands; the largest of these is the Nehru Park (4 km2 (1.5
sq mi) area), which is a popular tourist attraction, the second
island (0.06 km2 or 15 acres area) houses a public park with an
impressive water-jet fountain, and the third island (1.2 km2
area) is the address for the Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO).
The Nehru park is accessible by inboard motor boats. The blue
waters of the lake and the backdrop of the green mountains has
given the soubriquet "the second Kashmir" to Udaipur .[1]
Udaipur Lake Conservation Society's reports indicate that the
lake supports and sustains ground water recharge, drinking
water, agricultural use, industrial use, ecological water
availability and provides employment to 60% population of
Udaipur.

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History:
In 1687, Maharana Jai Singh first constructed the lake but two
hundred years later the earthen bund which formed the lake
was washed away during floods, and thereafter Maharana
Fateh Singh, in 1889, built the "Connaught Dam" on Lake Dewali
to mark the visit of Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria.
The dam enlarged the lake, and it was later renamed, Fateh
Sagar Lake.

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Hydrology and structures:
The runoff emerging from surrounding hills drains into this lake.
The lake is pear-shaped and is encircled by the Aravalli hills on
three sides with a straight gravity stone masonry dam on the
eastern side which has a spillway to discharge flood flows
during the monsoon season.[4]
Three causeways, one from Pichola Lake, the other from Madar
Lake and the third one from Badi Lake lead to the Fateh Sagar
Lake. There are three inlet channels, which feed the lake and an
overflow section on the eastern side in the masonry dam of 800
metres (2,600 ft) length. Monsoon rains are the main source of
all water to the lake. Initially constructed as an irrigation
scheme, it is now the second major source of drinking water to
the city of Udaipur and the irrigation supplies have been
discontinued. A canal from the Rang Sagar Lake connects to the
Fateh Sagar Lake. A gate controlled canal further connects Fateh
Sagar Lake with Lake Pichhola.[5] The Northeastern
embankment is known by three names viz., the Pal, the Drive,
or Connaught Bund (bund means embankment).
During drought conditions, when the rainfall is meager, water
storage in the lake is insufficient to meet the needs. To prevent
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loss of water due to evaporation, cetyl alcohol (hexadecanol) is
sprayed over the lake surface.

Water quality issues :

Some of the water quality parameters reported[5] relate to:
.)pH value, which varies from a maximum of 8.4 on the surface
to a minimum of 7.8 at the bottom and with minimum value of
7.9 at 5 m (16 ft) depth
.)DO [mg/l] value varies from a maximum of 9.4 on the surface
and minimum of 1.2 at the bottom, at 5 m depth the lowest
value being 3.3.
.)Maximum Nitrogen Concentration (NO3-N [mg/L] ) of 0.941 at
1 m below the surface and 0.523 at the bottom of the lake have
been reported.
.)The lake water is reported to be polymictic, and there is lack
of true thermocline. Gradient is recorded to be poor, which
results in frequent mixing, as experienced in many tropical
lakes.
.)The lake water temperature varies from a minimum of 19 °C
(66 °F) in January to 29.4 °C (84.9 °F) in June at the surface, and
correspondingly 16.8 and 28.5 °C (62.2 and 83.3 °F) at the

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bottom of the lake.
.)Eutrophication has occurred in the lake due to algal bloom;
the dominant species causing this are algae: Microcystis sp and
submerged macrophytes. Urbanisation around the lake has also
degraded water quality, which is a risk to public health of the
people who are dependent on the lake for their water supply
requirements. Siltation has caused reduction of storage
capacity. Increase in nutrient level is also taking place on
account of leaching from agricultural activity in the marginal
agricultural lands around the lake periphery. These are some of
the reasons attributed for lake degradation.[5] The Udaipur city,
set around the lakes, with its numerous hotels catering to the
large influx of tourists and a large number of residential
complexes on the slopes of the lake, also add pollutants to the
lake.

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Lake Restoration Works:
The first effort to desilt the lake and improve its water quantity
was undertaken by local citizen groups and environmental
conservation organizations. The shallow part of the lake was
desilted through voluntary labour in the early 1970s.[5] Udaipur
Lake Conservation Society, a Non Governmental Organisation
(NGO) set up in 1992, has independently carried out studies of
the problems of the lakes of Udaipur and has been continuously
pressurising the government agencies to take up several
restoration schemes on the lakes of Udaipur, including Fatah
Sagar Lake, some of which are reported to have been acted
upon by the Rajasthan Government. The restoration works
pursued are Limnological Conservation Works (introducing new
varieties of fish species), Ecological Conservation Works
(catchment area treatment), Hyacinth removal (through bio-
control), lining of unlined canal from Moti Magri Hill to Fatah
Sagar Lake, construction of sewage lines, institutional
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development in the form of creating Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV) for the lakes, etc. It has appealed in the Rajasthan High
Court, through Public Interest Litigations, seeking court's
intervention on several issues concerning restoration of small
lakes, land acquisition up to the High Flood Level (HFL) of the
Lakes, Constitution of the Lake Development Authority (LDA) for
Udaipur Lakes, etc. which are reported to have been upheld by
the High Court.

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