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Sambhar Lake

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

A famous salt lake in Rajputana, on the borders of the Jodhpur and Jaipur States, lying between 26 53' and 27 i' N. and 74 54' and 75 14' E., and distant, by railway, 53 miles north-east of Ajmer, and 230 miles south-west of Delhi. The lake is situated nearly 1,200 feet above sea-level, and when full is about 20 miles in length (from south-east to north-west), from 2 to 7 miles in breadth, and covers an area of about 90 square miles. In the hot months its bed is generally quite dry, but, after exceptionally heavy rains, it con- tains water throughout the year. It is dependent for its supply on three rivers which empty themselves into it ; of these, two come from the spurs of the Aravalli Hills to the west, and the third from the country to the north The annual rainfall at the town of Sambhar averages nearly 20 inches, and at Nawa about 17 inches.

The surrounding country is sandy and sterile, but the view of the lake in the hot season is very striking. Standing on the low sandy ridges to the south, one sees what looks like a great sheet of glittering snow, with sometimes a pool of water here and there, and a network of narrow paths ; but what appears to be frozen snow is a white crisp efflorescence of salt. According to local tradition, the goddess Sakambari (the consort of Siva), in return for some service done her, converted a dense forest into a plain of silver, and subsequently, at the request of the inhabitants, who dreaded the cupidity and strife which such a possession would excite, transformed it into the present salt lake, which was named Sambhar (a corruption of Sakambar) after her. This is supposed to have happened in the sixth century. To determine the origin of the salt, a special investigation has recently been conducted by the Geological Survey of India. Borings made in the lake-bed at three places show that the thickness of the silt varies from 61 feet at the eastern end to 70 feet near the centre and 76 feet at the north-western end, and that the rocks below this silt are, in each case, schists of the kind cropping up around the edges of the lake, and forming the hills belonging to the Aravalli series in the neighbouihood.

It is therefore considered that the salt resources of Sambhar are confined to this body of silt filling in a depression of the Aravalli schists and gneisses, and that the soluble compounds of sodium stored in the silt have accumulated by the evaporation of the water brought in every year by the rivers which are in flood after heavy rains. The concentration of common salt and of the other less abundant sodium- compounds associated with it has been effected in a manner common to areas of internal closed drainage in all arid regions. There is nothing to show a past inroad of the ocean, and no rock-salt beds exist in the geological formation of the area.

The Sambhar Lake is said to have been worked by the imperial administration of Akbar and his successors up to the time of Ahmad Shah (1748-54), when it came into the hands of its present owners, the chiefs of Jodhpur and Jaipur. The western half belongs entirely to

the former, and the eastern half, including the town of Sambhar, is owned by the two States jointly. The lake is said to have passed for a time into the possession of the Marathas and Amir Khan, while from about 1835 to 1843 the British Government, in order to repay itself a portion of the expenses incurred in restoring order in Shekhawati and the neighbouring districts, took the salt-making into its own hands.

Finally in 1870 the lake was leased to Government for an annual payment of 7 lakhs 4^ lakhs to Jodhpur and 2 J lakhs to Jaipur on the condition that, if the sales of salt exceeded 1,725,000 maunds (about 63,400 tons) in any year, 40 per cent, of the sale price of such excess would be paid to the States as royalty. Under arrangements made in 1884, Jodhpur receives five-eighths and Jaipur three-eighths of the total royalty payable. These States also receive a certain quantity (Jodhpur 14,000 maunds and Jaipur 7,000 maunds) of salt free of all charges yearly. Including about 74,000 tons taken over when the lease was executed, the quantity of salt manufactured to the end of March, 1904, exceeded 4,300,000 tons, or a yearly average of about 126,600 tons. The quantity disposed of during the same period, including that delivered free of cost under treaty arrangements, wastage, &c,, was about 4,240,000 tons. The receipts from sale of salt have been 326 lakhs, and the expenditure, including all treaty and royalty payments, 294 lakhs, leaving a credit balance on April i, 1904, of 32 lakhs, or a little over 212,000. The average cost of extraction and storage has been rather more than 7 pies (or one halfpenny) per maund, or about one rupee per ton. Duty was first levied at the lake on October i, 1878, when the customs line was abolished. Between April i, 1879, an d March 31, 1904, the gross receipts from all sources have been 2452 lakhs and the total ex- penditure 261 lakhs, leaving a surplus of 2191 lakhs (over 14-! million pounds sterling). The average yearly net receipts have thus been nearly 88 lakhs, or about 584,340.

Salt is obtained by three methods : namely, from permanent salt- works constructed in the bed of the lake, called kyars\ from shallow solar evaporation pans of a temporary nature constructed on the lake- shore ; and from enclosed sections of the bed on which salt forms, so to speak, spontaneously. In 1903-4 (when only about one-fourth of the usual quantity of salt was manufactured) 24,000 labourers of both sexes were employed on the extraction and storage of kyar salt and the storage of pan salt, and the average daily earnings were about 5^ annas per head. The castes employed are Balais, Barars, Gujars, Jats, Kasais (butchers), Khatiks, Kumhars, Malis, Mughals, Pathans, and Regars ; and nearly all permanently reside in the neighbourhood. There are three railway stations on the lake at Sambhar, Gudha, and Kuchawan Road or Nawa and the line runs into all the principal manufacturing works or walled enclosures.

The salt is stored close to the line and loaded direct into the railway wagons ; it is largely consumed in Raj- putana, Central India, the United Provinces, and in the Punjab south of Karnal, and it also finds its way into the Central Provinces and Nepal. The lake has been observed to furnish diminished quantities of salt during the last few years ; but samples of mud, taken at depths of from 4 to 12 feet below the surface, have recently been found on analysis to contain 6 per cent, of salt, and from this fact it is esti- mated that, in the upper 12 feet of the lake-silt, the accumulated salt amounts to just one million tons per square mile. As the total quantity removed by artificial means since the commencement of the British lease in 1870 has been only about four million tons, the system of manufacture has resulted in but a small inroad into the total stocks.

[F. Ashton, 'Salt Industry of Rajputana' in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry ', vol. ix.]

Illegal salt pans

On a rise

The Times of India, Jan 18, 2016

Illegal salt-making units proliferate in Sambhar

Rachna Singh

The government does not support illegal proliferation of business, it is believed.But a drive from Sambhar salt lake to Rajas and Nawa in Nagaur, about 50 km from the lake, it comes clear how blatantly officials turn a blind eye to all illegality.

While for years the government has been a silent spectator, Sambhar Salts Ltd officials hope that the Supreme Court public interest petition of activist Naresh Kadiyan, that will come up for hearing today , would bring respite to the lake and save the wetland.

The entire stretch of the road on either side is lined with salt refineries, all allegedly manufacturing salt with stolen brine from the lake. Bad monsoon for several years and a dry lake surface has further led to the salt manufacturers exploiting groundwater by digging illegal borewells in the land that belongs to Sambhar Salts Ltd.

The road to Nawa witnesses heavy traffic of tractors ferrying clay from Sambhar that the salt manufacturers use to make `kyars' or brine retaining pits. Most units can be seen with a row of tractors that ferry salt estimated to be over 10,000 in the region. Excess water extraction has lowered groundwater levels by over 60 meters in the area. Besides, several dams and smaller anicuts blocking the natural drainage to ensure availability of irrigation water barely contribute to the lake. Hence, deprived of recharge from subsurface flows, the lake is dying. Kadiyan's petition states, "Pipelines have been dug to illegally extract water from the lake to manufacture salt and the situation is worsening every year. It would soon reach a point where the existence of the Sambhar Lake itself (would be) under threat. Both Phoniconaias minor and Phoenicopterus roseus (flamingoes) settle here during winters. But their number has fallen drastically in the past two decades because of over extraction of subsurface brine from the lake and pollution caused by illegal salt-making units. In 1982-83, there were 500,000 flamingoes. Their number fell to 20,000 in 2008." And now there are none.

According to sources, "The extent to which private salt manufacturers are exploiting the situation can be gauged from the fact that Sambhar Salts Limited, that has over 90 sqare miles of production area at Sambhar and Nawa, is producing 2 lakh tonnes of salt per an num. On the other hand, the private companies are manu facturing 20 lakh tonnes of salt per annum."

As a result, Hindustan Salts Limited (HSL) and its subsidiary company Samb har Salts Ltd (SSL), under the ministry of heavy industry , are barely able to break even.

Steps taken

National Green Tribunal: cancel allotment of salt pans

The Business Standard, December 11, 2016

Cancel illegal salt pans in Sambhar Lake:NGT bench to Rajasthan govt

The central zonal bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Rajasthan government to cancel allotments of salt pans in Sambhar Salt Lake that fall within the wetland and run contrary to the mandate of Wetland Rules, 2010.

A bench headed by Justice Dalip Singh and expert Satyawan Singh Garbyal directed the state wetland authority to review the allotments made so far after the submissions of the Vinod Kapoor and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) Committee reports and asked it to submit the compliance report within six months.

Petitioner Ajay Dubey had alleged that in and around the Sambhar Lake, commercial and other activities detrimental to the eco-system of the wetland were being carried out contrary to the provisions of the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules framed under the Environment Protection Acts of 1986 and 2010.

The bench also directed the state government to not make any further allotments or permit new salt pans within the wetland areas or in the 'no construction zone' identified for the said purpose in accordance with the Wetland Rules, 2010.

The bench, referring to the reports on the matter, directed the authority to examine the sensitive issue in light of observations and recommendations made by the two expert committees in the year 2010.

The bench gave six months' time to implement the recommendations which should not be later than the 2017 monsoon.

In 2013, a PIL was filed by Naresh Kadyan in the Supreme Court accusing salt manufacturers of digging unauthorised borewells around the lake and exploiting the groundwater.

However, the court had dismissed the PIL in August this year directing the petitioner to approach NGT.

The illegal business of brine extraction at Sambhar Lake was first highlighted in the Vinod Kapoor fact-finding report in 2010.

The report had mentioned that 15-20 borewells were operating in every bigha of land during that period and over exploitation of water resources had lowered the groundwater level by almost 60 metres in the area.

While Sambhar Salts Ltd (SSL), a government venture, which has over 90 square miles at Sambhar and Nawa, produces two lakh tonnes of salt per annum, private companies together make around 20 lakh tonnes a year.

Toxins and migratory birds

Bacterium Clostridium botulinum to blame

Ajaysingh ugras, Nov 22, 2019: The Times of India

Civic workers picking bird carcasses (top) at Sambhar Lake. The dead birds belong to as many as 28 species, including the northern shoveler (left)
From: Ajaysingh ugras, Nov 22, 2019: The Times of India

One moment they seemed to have covered the sky, and in the next, the ground. Thousands of migratory birds — from the greenwinged teal to the long-necked northern pintail — that cut through countries and continents to wing their way to Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan every winter had suddenly died, their bodies piled up on the sandy shores.

In just 10 days, more than 18,000 carcasses have been found, turning the inland salt lake into the site of India’s largest recorded mass dying of birds. Ironically, an above-normal monsoon this year has attracted an even higher avian number. What would have been a birdwatcher’s delight has turned into a tragedy that has shocked ornithologists and common people alike. It is estimated that currently there are about 1.5 lakh birds at the lake.

While the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, UP, has now sent a report to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot confirming avian botulism — a neuro-muscular illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum — as the cause of death, it remains a concern that the disaster shows no signs of abating. On Wednesday, 430 birds were reported dead. Birds of as many as 28 species, including the eastern imperial eagle, classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and others like the northern shoveler, common redshank and little stint, have been found dead.

As both migratory and resident birds continue to perish, experts are still divided over what lies at the bottom of the deaths. If there is unanimity on one thing, it is that unless something is done quickly, more birds may be at risk. An estimated one lakh-plus migratory birds visit Sambhar Lake from mid-September to the end of February. “This was just the first set of migratory birds. The administration needs to take preventive measures at the earliest because more migratory birds from colder climates are expected to arrive soon,” said Babu Lal Jaju, state coordinator, People for Animals (PFA).

While a battery of tests were performed at IVRI, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore are still carrying out tests. These institutions are expected to submit their report to the Rajasthan high court on November 22.

As of now, two probable causes have surfaced — bacterial infection and salt. Many of the birds were found paralysed, which indicates that they may have been infected by botulism, recognised as a major cause of mortality in wild birds.

Botulism spores, the resting stage of the bacteria, are found in the soil, wetlands, lakes and in fish living therein. They can remain dormant, even for years, until environmental factors — such as warm water, lack of oxygen or decaying plants or algae — allow them to produce bacterial cells, leading to an outbreak. Fish-eating birds that die of botulism are poisoned by fish that contain the toxin. Ingestion of maggots from the carcass of an infected animal can aid the spread of avian botulism.

This idea is supported by Bikanerbased microbiologist Dr AK Kataria, who conducted an autopsy of the birds. It may somewhat explain another puzzling factor — several species have been dying, but flamingos in the lake have been largely unaffected. Kataria has an explanation. “Flamingos, which do not feed on maggots or meat, are not dying,” he said.

Other experts are of the opinion that the lake’s excessively salty water may be behind the deaths. Environmentalist Harsh Vardhan said, “The lake didn’t have enough water for the past few years, which could have led to accumulation of salt in large quantities. But this year, due to good rainfall, the concentrated saltwater could have turned toxic. Excessive salt in water can lead to hypernatremia.”

Not really knowing what’s leading to the deaths is hampering steps that can be taken to stop such occurrences in the future. Jagroop Singh Yadav, district collector, Jaipur, told TOI that since the cause of death “seems” to be avian botulism, the focus is on cleaning the carcasses. “The bacteria multiplies when it feeds on protein. To limit spread, we are removing carcasses immediately. The number of daily deaths has come down now.”

But carcass removal is only a tiny part of managing the outbreak. Generally, in case of avian botulism, the entire wetland has to be dried or flooded to change environmental conditions conducive to production of toxins. Experts said the grim episode has once again forced us to ask if enough is being done to prevent habitat loss. Sambhar Lake was awarded the ‘Wetland of International Importance’ tag by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1990 — but no efforts have been taken towards its conservation. It’s only this week that CM Gehlot ordered the setting up of a state-level wetland authority for conservation of the area and its flora and fauna.

Experts who said avian botulism — a disease caused by a toxin — is to be blamed pointed to how flamingos in the lake have been largely unaffected. Flamingos, they said, do not feed on maggots or meat, carriers for the toxin, while the birds that are dying do