Local boat race competition : At Loktak Lake

2014-08-12 2

Men in yellow t-shirt paddling in full speed during the competition. The Boat race at Loktak Lake was a part of the Sangai festival 2013.

Sangai festival is an annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department on every year from November 21 to 30. Even though many editions of this Festival has been celebrated over the past few years with the name of Tourism Festival, since 2010 this has been renamed as the Sangai Festival to stage the uniqueness of the shy and gentle brow-antlered deer popularly known as the Sangai Deer, which is the state animal of Manipur. As this festival is being celebrated to promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination, it showcase the best of what the state has to offer to the world in terms of art and culture, handloom, handicrafts & fine arts, indigenous sports, cuisines & music, eco & adventure sports as well as the scenic natural beauty of the land.
Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater (sweet) lake in India, also called the only Floating lake in the world due to the floating phumdis (heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic matters at various stages of decomposition) on it, is located near Moirang in Manipur state, India.

The etymology of Loktak is Lok = "stream" and tak = "the end". The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of the endangered sangai or Manipur brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), one of three subspecies of Eld's Deer, covering an area of 40 km2 (15 sq mi), is situated in the southeastern shores of this lake and is the largest of all the phumdis in the lake.

This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply. The lake is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live in the surrounding areas and on phumdis, also known as "phumshongs". Human activity has led to severe pressure on the lake ecosystem. 55 rural and urban hamlets around the lake have a population of about 100,000 people.

Considering the ecological status and its biodiversity values, the lake was initially designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on March 23, 1990.
Geographically, in terms of biodiversity and pressure of human activities, the lake is broadly divided into northern, central and southern zones as elaborated below.The Northern Zone, extending from eastern side of Nambol River near Ngaikhong Khunou to Phabakchao including Maibam Phumlak, has five main streams/rivers namely the Manipur river, Nambul, Nambol, Thongjaorok and Ningthoukhong flowing into the lake. The Central Zone, extending from Awang Laisoi pat (western side of Nambol River near Ngaikhong Khunou) to Laphu pat (between Khordak channel and Imphal River) encloses prominent islands of Thanga, Karang and Ithing.The Southern Zone encompasses the Keibul Lamjao National Park, Ungamel and Kumbi pats at the southern part of the lake and the zone is linked with Khuga River by the Ungamel channel.

source - Wikipedia

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