BHOPAL UPPER LAKE

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, Bhojtal is said to have been built by the Parmara Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king ofMalwa (1005–1055). He is also said to have established the city of Bhopal (also named after him, then as Bhojpal) to secure the eastern frontier of his kingdom. There is a legend why the built the lake. Once king Bhoj suffered from skin disease and all Vaidyas (Doctor in English) failed to cure him. Then, one day a saint told the king to build a tank to combine 365 tributaries and then have a bath in it to wipe out the skin disease. Bhoj called upon his engineers to build up a huge tank. They spotted a place near river Betwa, which was 32 km away from Bhopal. It was found that it has only 359 tributaries. A Gond Commander Kalia fulfilled this shortage. He then gave the address of an invisible river. After merging the tributaries of this river the number 365 was completed.

The lake was created by constructing an earthen dam across the Kolans River. An eleven gate dam called theBhadbhada dam was constructed at Bhadbhada in 1965 at the southeast corner of the Lake, and now controls the outflow to the river Kaliasote.

The lake was known as the Upper Lake or Bada Talab ("Big Pond") until March 2011, when the BJP-led state government renamed it to Bhojtaal..A huge statue of Raja Bhoj was also installed on a pillar on one corner of the lake.

Geography 

Bhojtal is situated on the west central part of Bhopal city and is surrounded by Van Vihar National Park on the south, human settlements on the east and north, and agriculture fields on the west. It has an area of 31 km², and drains a catchment or watershed of 361 km². The watershed of the Upper Lake is mostly rural, with some urbanized areas around its eastern end. The Kolans was formerly a tributary of the Halali River, but with the creation of the lake using an earthen dam and a diversion channel, the upper reach of the Kolans River and Bada Talaab now drain into the Kaliasote River. It is the largest artificial lake in Asia.