Rabindra Sarobar
Rabindra Sarobar (previously known as Dhakuria Lake) is an artificial lake in south Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The name also refers to the area surrounding the lake. It is flanked by Southern Avenue to the North, Rashbehari Avenue(Russa Road) to the West, Dhakuria to the East and the Kolkata Suburban Railway tracks to the south.
In the early 1920s, the Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT), a body responsible for developmental work in the Kolkata metropolitan area, acquired about 192 acres (0.78 km2) of marshy jungles. Their intention was to develop the area for residential use – improving the roads, raising and levelling some of the adjacent land and building lakes and parks. Excavation work was undertaken with the plan of creating a huge lake. Originally known as Dhakuria Lake, in May 1958, CIT renamed the lake as Rabindra Sarovar, as a tribute to the great Bengali writer and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
The area around this excavated lake was later developed to build recreational complexes, which included children's parks, gardens and auditoria.
Today the lake and its surrounding areas are one of the most popular recreational areas in Kolkata. 73 acres (300,000 m2) are covered by water, while shrubs and trees, some of which are more than 100 years old, occupy the rest of the area. A partial tree census in 2012 recorded 50 different species. In the winter, one can spot some migratory birds around the lake, though the numbers are dwindling because of the rise in pollution level. The lake itself is home to many varieties of fish. Fishing is strictly prohibited. In 2012 an abandoned waterhouse in the premises of lake turned into a museum run by Kolkata Improvement Trust as a gallery for installation art. Locals often called as “thakur-der gallery” is a place for some of the award-winning Durga idols of Kolkata.
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