Attabad Lake (Urdu: عطا آباد جھیل) is a lake placed within the Gojal place of Hunza Valley in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It was created in January 2010 because of the result of a primary landslide in Attabad. The lake has ended up being one of the biggest vacation sights in Gilgit−Baltistan, presenting activities like boating, jet-snowboarding, fishing and different leisure activities.
Formation
The lake was fashioned while Attabad village in Hunza Valley in Gilgit−Baltistan had a landslide, 14 kilometres (nine mi) upstream (east) of Karimabad that befell on four January 2010. The landslide killed twenty human beings and blocked the drift of the Hunza River for 5 months. The lake flooding displaced 6,000 humans from upstream villages, stranded (from land transportation routes) a similarly 25,000, and inundated over 19 kilometres (12 mi) of the Karakoram Highway. The lake reached 21 kilometres (13 mi) long and over a hundred metres (330 ft) extensive with the aid of the first week of June 2010 while it started out flowing over the landslide dam, completely submerging lower Shishkat and partially flooding Gulmit. The subdivision of Gojal has the greatest quantity of flooded buildings, over one hundred seventy homes, and 120 shops. The residents also had shortages of meals and different objects because of the blockage of the Karakoram Highway.
By 4 June, water outflow from the lake had accelerated to a hundred m3/s (three,seven hundred cu ft/s).
Water ranges persisted to rise in 18 June 2010 due to a distinction in the outflow and inflow of the new lake. As awful weather persisted, the deliver of meals, remedy and other items become stopped as all varieties of transportation together with helicopter service to Hunza couldn't resume.
Aftermath of landslide
Victims of the landslide and growth of the lake staged a take a seat-in protesting the shortage of government motion and compensation payments to them.
As a end result of the damming of Hunza River, five villages north of the barrier have been flooded. One village, Ayeenabad, become absolutely submerged. Major portions of any other village, Shishkat, was additionally submerged. Around 40% of the village of Gulmit, which also serves because the headquarters of Gojal Valley, changed into also submerged. Significant quantities of land in Hussaini and Ghulkin villages of Gojal additionally were given submerged because of the surging lake.
The entire populace of critical Hunza and Gojal valley (Upper Hunza), up to 25,000 people, had been affected due to the lake, because of problems of street get right of entry to and accomplishing enterprise markets and lack of land, homes, and agricultural products.
Attabad Lake was visited via former Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gillani and Nawaz Sharif, and via the Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif. Sharif announced Rs 100 million of resource for the sufferers from the Punjab government and Rs zero.Five million for the household of folks who died in the landslide.
Areas downstream from the lake remained on alert regardless of a few officers believing that a primary flood situation turned into less possibly because the river began flowing over the landslide dam at some stage in the first week of June 2010. Many humans have been evacuated to 195 comfort camps. Two hospitals downstream, the Kashrote Eye Vision Hospital and the Aga Khan Health Service evacuated both their group of workers and devices. Some officers had incorrectly predicted that as quickly because the lake started out flowing over the landslide dam, an 18-metre (60 ft) wave could hit the areas at once downstream.
As of 14 June 2010, the water level continued to upward thrust. Dawn News suggested that "242 homes, one hundred thirty-five stores, 4 resorts, colleges, 4 factories, and several hundred acres of agricultural land" were flooded, and that villagers were receiving food and faculty rate subsidies. They stated that 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the Karakoram Highway and 6 bridges were destroyed.
Frontier Works Organization blasted the spillway of the lake first on 27 March 2012 after which on 15 May 2012, decreasing the lake's water level by using at least 10 metres (33 ft).
Karakoram Highway realignment
Main article: Reconstruction of the Karakoram Highway
Part of Karakoram Highway changed into submerged due to this landslide. On 14 September 2015, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif, inaugurated of the realigned 24 km (15 mi) patch of KKH containing five tunnels at Attabad Barrier Lake. The five tunnels are referred to as the Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels and are collectively seven kilometres (4.3 mi) long. They are a part of the 24 km (15 mi) long part of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) which changed into damaged in 2010 due to land sliding at Attabad. The realignment mission is a production masterpiece completed for the fee of $275 million. The realignment restored the road hyperlink between Pakistan and China and its miles predicted that an extensive quantity of exchange could be conducted between China and Pakistan in its usage of it. The KKH is likewise part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and is expected to seriously boom economic integration between the nations.
