Do you know that the Rajsamand Lake in Udaipur situated 66 Km. north of Udaipur, between the towns of Rajnagar and Kankroli was used as a seaplane base by Imperial Airways for about six years during World War II.
The lake was the result of a dam constructed across the Gomati, Kelwa and Tali rivers at the southwestern end by Maharana Raj Singh I, between 1662 and 1676 AD.
The reason for the dam and lake was to provide employment for victims of a widespread drought and famine (1661), and to provide canal irrigation to local farmers.
Rajsamand Lake is the oldest known relief work in Rajasthan and cost almost 4 million rupees.
With a circumference of 22.5 Sq Km. the lake is quite awe- inspiring with a depth of 30ft and a catchment area of about 524 sq km.
As large as it is, the lake has been known to disappear in times of severe drought: for instance in 2000 it was merely a huge, empty basin with a surface of dried, cracked mud.