POKHARA, March 31: The Pokhara Metropolitan City has fixed the benchmark of the nine lakes in the Pokhara Valley. This issue had been lingering for long because of disputes over it.

Jerome Bastide slides an ultrasound wand over the sturgeon’s belly, swiftly extracts a dozen eggs with a thick biopsy needle, and returns the fish to the lake. "Perfect for caviar,” he says, lining up the tiny gray orbs against a ruler. “Here we have really good eggs, we have great color.”

Lakes are perhaps one of the most beautiful water bodies in nature. Lakes have inspired hundreds of landscape artists, poets, and writers alike, thanks to the calming and soothing effect they have on people. Part of what makes lakes so attractive for adventure seekers is also its surroundings – lakes generally have a variety of plants, trees, and animals around it

DOLPA, May 9: Shey Phoksundo Lake of Dolpa, which mesmerizes any visitor with its deep blue water, freshness and beauty, is fast losing its form.

KHOTANG, Aug 5: Three boys who were part of a school  educational tour have disappeared   in Gokyo lake in Solukhumbu. Pemba Dorje Sherpa, 17, Pemba Nuru Sherpa, 16, and Sunil Baraili, 16, went  missing on Saturday after they dived into the lake, which is situated 5,000 meters above the sea level.

KHOTANG, Aug 4: Three students, who have been on an educational tour, have drowned in Gokyo Lake in Solukhumbu district.

KATHMANDU, Aug 1: A probe committee formed to investigate the controversial construction of Hotel Water Front owned by tourism entrepreneur Karna Shakya on the banks of Fewa Lake has found that some portion of the hotel has been constructed on public land.

MANANG, May 27: Tilicho, a lake in Manang situated at the highest altitude in the world is the site of attraction of tourists from both home and abroad. The lake based in the Nisyang Rural Municipality-9 is situated on the Annapurna mountain range at an altitude of 4,919 meters above the sea-level.

KATHMANDU, May 1: Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) has applauded the verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) to demolish the illegal structures around Fewa Lake.

KATHMANDU, April 30:    Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan City has not been able to take action against those involved in the land encroachment case despite having sufficient data on the illegally built infra-structures on the banks of the Fewa Lake.

KATHMANDU, April 29: The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered to demolish the illegal structures around Fewa Lake on Sunday.

MUGU, April 14: Hoteliers in Rara Lake has been fleecing tourists under the cover of power and in cahoots with the staffers of the Rara National Park.

KATHMANDU, April 14: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been addressing from Rara Lake on the occasion of Nepali New Year 2075 in the name of nation. For this, on Friday Prime Minister Oli left Mugu district from Kathmandu.

MUGU, April 13: The fifth cabinet meeting of Karnali province held on Friday on the shores of Rara Lake in Mugu named the Surkhet-Hilsa road section as the ' Prime Minister International Expressway'.

KATHMANDU, April 13: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been scheduled to address from Rara Lake on the occasion of Nepali New Year 2075 in the name of public. For this, Prime Minister Oli has left Mugu district from Kathmandu.

POKHARA, Jan 25: Member of Province Assembly from Kaski, Rajiv Pahari has expressed his commitment to the conservation of Pokhara's iconic natural landmark – the Phewa Lake.

POKHARA, Dec 31: Instead of depending on the muscular force to row boats, boat entrepreneurs in Fewa Lake of Kaski district can harness solar energy to operate their boats in a more convenient manner without harming the surrounding environment, according to experts who concluded their feasibility experiments on Thursday.

POKHARA, Oct 16: Twelve paragliders have reportedly fallen into the Phewa Lake after they lost balance while paragliding.

MYAGDI, Sept 6: Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) has built new shelter house, widened walking trail and erected sign post on an alternative trekking route to Tilicho Lake from Mustang district.

KATHMANDU, Sept 26: The Parliamentary Environment Protection Committee has instructed the government and concerned ministries to take immediate steps for the protection of Fewa Lake, which is facing encroachment of late.

KATHMANDU, Sept 25: The Environment Protection Committee of Parliament has directed government and concerned ministries to take major steps in protection of Fewa Lake.

KATHMANDU, August 29:  The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) has shown serious concerns over the recent media reports about increasing encroachment of Phewa Lake.

Various studies show that locals have encroached upon Fewa Lake, but the government has not taken any measure to save the lake. Physical structures have already been built on the encroached area of the lake. Republica’s Pokhara correspondent Santosh Pokharel interviewed key stakeholders in Pokhara about the encroachment. Excerpts: so

Republica's Prashant Lamichhane talked to Rabindra Adhikari, the president of the Parliament's Development Committee about Fewa Lake encroachment:

MYAGDI: Khayarbarahi Temple at Annapurna Rural Municipality- 5 is situated 4,800 meters above the sea-level. Nilo Najik Tal, a stupendous lake nearby the temple adds to the scenic beauty.

Republica and Nagarik dailies have in the past one month uncovered many cases of irregularities and corruption, amounting to billions of rupees, in our public entities. But no one has been punished so far. Is corruption in our public entities so pervasive that fighting it is a lost cause? And what is the judiciary’s role in it? Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki who during her nine months in office successfully prosecuted many senior corrupt government officials shared her insights with Mahabir Paudyal.

POKHARA, August 8: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has shown concern over the land encroachment of Fewa Lake after Republica Daily published news about it.

POKHARA, Aug 3: It may surprise many that land at famous Fewa Lake in Pokhara has been registered for years in the names of private individuals. It has been learnt that land around the lake, which is listed as a Ramsar wetland conservation area, has been registered as private property and the area of the lake also shrunk from 10 square kilometers in 1961 to 4.20 square kilometers in 2008.

The Lake City is planning to ban unnecessary use of horn in the city area from July 16. The ‘No Horn Program’ is being launched with the collaborative effort of Pokhara-Lekhnath Municipality and Traffic Police.

POKHARA, June 17: With a sharp decrease in the number of fishes in Begnas Lake of Lekhnath due to rapid growth of water hyacinth (Jalkumbhi), local fishermen have started a campaign to clean the lake.

UDAYAPUR, April 15: A three-day fair has been organized on the occasion of the New Year at the Rauta Lake. The fair kicked off on Friday. Organizers said that they have been organizing the fare since a decade and that the event is motivated by commercial and social welfare objectives. “Such events help in disseminating information about our people and our cultural heritage. This boosts our growth in many ways,” said Kamala Saiju, a local of Rautamai.

BEIJING, Dec2: Chinese authorities say 18 people have died and two more are in hospital after a passenger bus plunged into a lake in the central province of Hubei early Friday morning.

JUMLA, Nov 25: An Indian tourist has driven a car to the shores of Rara Lake located in the remote Mugu district.

POKHARA, Nov 22: One hundred twenty plants of Poinsettia (Lalupate) flower at the bank of Fewa Lake, Hallanchowk.

KATHMANDU, Nov 12: “Ever since the army assigned me the pilot project, I was haunted by the daunting task,” said Lieutenant Colonel Bharat Lal Shrestha, who led the Nepal Army team in draining water from the Imja glacial lake to a safe level. Imja in Solukhumbu. District is one of the potentially dangerous glacial lakes of Nepal.

Rara Lake located in Mugu district is one of the largest and deepest lake in Nepal. The lake is still a rural backwater due to lack of proper transportation facilities, geographical difficulty and state’s negligence.

KATHMANDU, Oct 31: Nepal has successfully drained part of a giant glacial lake near Mount Everest, averting risk of a disastrous flood that could have threatened thousands of lives, officials said Monday.

Phoksundo Lake is a major tourist destination in Dolpa district. The majestic lake is located inside Shey Phoksundo National Park in western Nepal and is situated at an altitude of 11,800 feet from the sea level.

JUMLA, Oct 28: Nepal's biggest lake, Rara, has become a popular destination for both internal and external tourists with access to road reaching there.

KATHMANDU, Oct 3: A new tourism promotional campaign aims to promote tourism of six districts ranging from Banke to Mugu in the mid-western has been launched.

POKHARA, Sept 29: President Bidya Devi Bhandari today launched a campaign to clean Phewa Lake.

KASKI, Sept 14: A youth committed suicide by jumping into Fewa Lake.

KATHMANDU, Sept 6: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City for beautification and cleaning of Fewa Lake -- a popular tourist destination in Pokhara.

POKHARA, Aug 25: A youth drowned while he was swimming in the Fewa Lake in Pokhara today noon.

POKHARA, Aug 9: The whereabouts of the two youths missing in Fewa Lake since Monday afternoon is still unknown. The search for them was underway till this evening.

POKHARA, Aug 9: Two youths went missing after a boat capsized in Fewa Lake on Monday. Six othrs were rescued. The missing youths Pratik Shrestha, 19, and Elan KC, 21, both from Kathmandu, were not wearing life jacket.

POKHARA, July 29: Rupa Lake, an attraction for tourists to the south-east of Pokhara, is at the high risk of extinction as various factors like human encroachment and uncontrolled spread of invasive plant species have threatened its existence and beauty.

TAPLEJUNG, July 10: Although the water level in the artificial lake formed after the landslide blocked Tamor River at Mitlung in Phurumbu VDC has started to recede, locals are still living in fear as mudslides have continued to hit the area.

MUSTANG, June 19: The existence of the mesmerizing Dumba lake located at Jomsom – 9 is in peril.