societies that trade the fish catch. Many other families harvest plants such as the grass Phragmites and the waterlily-like Nymphoides from the lake for animal fodder. Birds The lake sustains a rich population of birds. Terrestrial birds observed around the lake include the black-eared kite, Eurasian sparrowhawk, short-toed eagle, Himalayan golden eagle, Himalayan monal, chukar partridge, koklass pheasant, rock dove, common cuckoo, alpine swift, Indian roller, Himalayan woodpecker, hoopoe, barn swallow, golden oriole and others. History The Kashmiri sultan Zain-ul-Abidin is reputed to have ordered the construction of the artificial island of Zaina Lank in the middle of the lake in 1444. According to the traditional beliefs in the vicinity of Wular Lake there once stood a city whose king was Raja Sudrasen. By the reason of the enormity of his crimes, the waters of the lake rose and drowned him and his subjects. It was said that during the winter months, at low water the ruins of the submerged idol temple might be seen rising from the lake. Zayn Ul Aabidin constructed a spacious barge which he sank in the lake and upon which he laid a foundation of bricks and stones till it rose high enough to be at level with the water. Upon this he erected a Mosque and other buildings and gave the islet the name of Lanka. The expense of this work was defrayed by the fortunate discovery of two idols of solid gold which had been brought up from the lake by divers. Tulbul Project The Tulbul Project is a "navigation lock-cum-control structure" at the mouth of Wular Lake. According to the original Indian plan, the barrage was expected to be of long and wide, and would have a maximum storage capacity of of water. One aim was to regulate the release of water from the natural storage in the lake to maintain a minimum draught of in the river up to Baramulla during the lean winter months. The project was conceived in the early 1980s and work began in 1984. The average annual inflows or outflows from the lake is nearly 7 billion cubic meters There has been an ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan over the Tulbul Project since 1987, when Pakistan objected that it violated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). India stopped work on the project that year, but has since pressed to restart construction. The Jhelum River passing through