Lower Lake, Bhopal

The Lower Lake, or Chhota Talaab, lies in Bhopal just east of the Upper Lake, with an earthen dam between the two. Together they make up the Bhoj Wetland, a Ramsar site. The lake was created in 1794 to beautify the city, on the orders of Chote Khan, who served as minister to Nawab Hayat Muhammad Khan Bahadur, and several older wells were absorbed into it. It sits beside the Pul Pukhta bridge, and older writing calls it Pukhta-Pul Talao.

The two lakes step down in terraces, so the Lower Lake gathers seepage from its neighbour rather than any fresh stream, and it drains into the Patra rivulet, which feeds the Halali and in turn the Betwa. Its catchment is a dense urban area, and sewage inflow has left the water polluted and eutrophic; the municipal corporation raised its conservation budget for 2025–26 to tackle the problem.