Lotus flowers bloom again in Kashmiri lake after cleanup
- World Half Full
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
ENVIRONMENT
“We threw seeds into the lake hundreds of times, but nothing grew. It’s only now, after the silt was cleared, that we see the flowers again after nearly 33 years,” says Bashir Ahmad, who fishes in Kashmir’s Wular Lake for his livelihood.
Wular Lake, in the Kashmir valley, about 30km north-west of Srinagar and at the foot of the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountain ranges, was once among Asia’s largest freshwater lakes. It was renowned for its high-quality lotus plants, and sustained the livelihoods of more than 5,000 people who harvested and sold nadru — the edible lotus stem cherished as a delicacy in Kashmiri households and which features in wazwan, the region’s traditional multi-course celebratory meals.
Then, in 1992, devastating floods hit the region, choking the lake bed with silt, wiping out the lotus plants and plunging families into poverty. As a result, the prized stems gradually disappeared from local kitchens.
Over the next three decades, the condition of the lake — designated as a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 1990 — worsened, Ahmad says. Parts were turned into dumping grounds and its area was drastically reduced.
In 1911, it spanned 217 sq km, but by 2007 the lake covered just 86 sq km. An official survey blamed the shrinkage largely on land being converted for farming, which also led to a 17% decline in the lake’s fauna. Expanding willow plantations around the lake increased the buildup of silt; the trees acting as barriers, which disrupted the flow of the river and caused sediment to accumulate.
In 2020, the Wular Conservation and Management Authority (Wucma) began a de-silting program to restore the lake’s depth and remove waste carried down by the Jhelum River and its tributaries. Officials say more than 7.9 million cubic metres of silt have been removed from the lake so far and more than two million willows uprooted. Five years on, the lotus flowers are blooming again.
Ahmad, whose four brothers also depend on the lake for their livelihoods, says seeing the lotus bloom again feels like a dream come true. “We had lost all hope it would ever return. Some in our community even took up other work, like labouring, to survive. But we waited,” he says. “Our elders used to collect lotus stems from the lake and sell them in various markets across the valley, especially during special occasions. After the lotus disappeared, they turned to fishing, but that didn’t prove as sustainable. The return of the lotus has brought back hope.”
One brother, Mohammad Fayaz Dar, says after the lotus stems disappeared, nadru also gradually vanished from local diets. “But now, we believe it will be revived completely,” he says. The dishes made with it, Dar adds, hold deep cultural significance for Kashmiri families.
“Now that it’s back, we’re preparing dishes the way our grandmothers did — slow, simple, and full of memory,” says Tavir Ahmad, a chef in a Kashmir market.
Wucma officials say the revival of the lotus would help boost the local economy, which was otherwise on the verge of collapse.
“It’s public property, but people need to take care of it,” says Showket Ahmad, a Wucma employee. He adds that although lotus stems had not been visible in the lake for years, the roots had probably remained dormant — buried under layers of silt. “After we cleared silt from specific areas, lotus plants started re-emerging,” he notes.
Historically, the lake has sustained fishing communities and harvesters of water chestnuts. It remains a critical habitat for migratory birds, including the Siberian crane.
“This is not just the revival of a plant, it’s the resurrection of a cultural ecosystem,” says Meera Sharma, a Delhi-based environmentalist. “When nature heals, it revives everything it once nurtured – livelihoods, traditions, biodiversity. [It’s] is a profound reminder that environmental restoration isn’t just about aesthetics or data points; it’s about restoring human connection with the land. Seeing these flowers bloom again after decades is like watching history breathe.”
TOP Wular Lake today
PHOTO Umar Dar
BOTTOM Algae and weeds on Wular Lake in 2012. The lake had been reduced to about a quarter of its original size largely due to a buildup of silt.
PHOTO Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
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