Sirpur Lake, Indore

Sirpur Lake lies on the Indore–Dhar road in Indore, and with its protected surroundings covers about 800 acres under the Indore Municipal Corporation. The lake was created in the early 20th century by the Holkar rulers of Indore, who also saw its value for birds. After Independence it suffered encroachment, fishing, poaching, grazing and dumping, and the corporation cleared encroachments in February 2024.

From the early 1980s the photographer and artist Bhalu Mondhe began restoring the lake, joined by friends including Abhilash Khandekar, with whom he founded The Nature Volunteers in 1992. As the lake recovered it drew many birds, among them ruddy shelducks wintering from Mongolia and Siberia, and the book The Birds of Sirpur records around 130 species. BirdLife International named it an Important Bird Area in 2015, and in 2022 it was declared a Ramsar site; Indore, together with Udaipur, became India's first accredited Ramsar Wetland Cities. An interpretation centre on the area's ecology is being set up.