Dal Lake's floating wonders

Buyers use houseboats or 'shikaras’ to reach vegetable-laden floating shops of the lake Photograph by: Imran NissarRead Story:  • The lake colony  • Save Dal mission impossible?

Jammu & Kashmir, often referred to as 'heaven on Earth', is home to varied landscapes, ranging from large green pastures to lakes, orchards, barren lands and snow-covered mountains. The state's summer capital, Srinagar, is home to the the picturesque Dal Lake seen above Photograph by: Imran NissarRead Story:  • The lake colony  •  Save Dal mission impossible?

The lake, which is the focal point of the city, attracts millions of tourists from across the world every year also hosts floating gardens and a floating vegetable market Photograph by: Imran NissarRead Story:  • The lake colony  •  Save Dal mission impossible?

The vegetables grown in the floating gardens constitute matted vegetation and a layer of soil, detached from the bed of the lake, and floating on the surface of water. The wetland is nutrient rich and vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and melons grow in considerable numbers in these gardens Photograph by: Imran NissarRead Story:  • The lake colony  •  Save Dal mission impossible?

The vegetable market, also the main wholesale market for the city, opens as early as 5 am every day and continues to serve its customers with freshly picked vegetables till 7 pm. Freshly plucked vegetables are sold in the Dal lake; vendors say only what is left over is sent to street markets of the rest of the city by evening Photograph by: Imran NissarRead Story:  • The lake colony  •  Save Dal mission impossible?