Geo-Environmental Problems in the Fringe Areas of the Rudrasagar Lake, Tripura, India

Abstract

The Rudrasagar Lake is a famous tourist spot in northeast India owing to the presence of the Neermahal Palace within it. Unfortunately, growing human intervention within its catchment area has led to its gradual degradation and areal shrinkage. Thus the current analysis seeks to assess the various geo-environmental problems that accrue in the area surrounding the Rudrasagar Lake and their impacts. Four cross sections were taken across the connecting channels. Land use land cover (LULC) change within a 1 km buffer zone around this lake over a 30-year period (1988–2018) was analyzed. The USLE model was used to identify the nature of soil loss from the lake catchment. A household survey was conducted to identify the issues stemming from the degradation of the lake. The study reveals a significant increase in settled and agricultural land within the immediate surroundings of this lake during the period 1988–2018. Moreover, the area under moderate, high, very high, and severe soil loss within the Rudrasagar Lake catchment has increased manifold within the last few decades. It has accelerated the problem of siltation in this lake. Nearly 89% of the surveyed respondents felt that fish production from this lake had gradually decreased causing a section of the local fishermen to shift their occupation partially or completely.