As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.

Situated at 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides.

[2] From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.

[2] The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi).

The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) from a maximum of 9 metres (30 ft) – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms (11–44 lb), caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive.

[10] In the fifth century AD, Chinese traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.

[11] A story tells of a ninth-century Gurjara king, Nahar Rao Pratihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lakeshore on a hunting expedition.

[14] During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions.

In 1615–16, the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (seen now in total ruins) on the shores of the Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king).

He also committed an idolatrous act by breaking the image of Varaha – the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and symbolically hurt Islamic sensitivity.

[10] The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples.

According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the demon Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people.

However, his wife Savitri (called Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yagna.

Brahma, therefore, married a Gujjar, a dominant agricultural race named Gayatri and completed the yagna with his new consort sitting beside him.

However, when Savitri finally arrived at the venue, she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma in her rightful place.

As a result of this, yagna performed in the presence of all the gods, it is said that a dip in the lake created at this place is credited with holiness, assuring salvation from all sins.

In spite of Brahma appearing before him and granting him the higher status of a rishi instead of a royal-sage (rajarishi), Vishwamitra continued his penance, but, the celestial nymph apsara, Menaka came to the lake to take a bath.

It is also the belief of devotees that a dip in the waters of the lake on Kartik Poornima would equal the benefits that would accrue by performing yagnas (fire-sacrifices) for several centuries.

Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair.

[28] Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus".

[11][23] Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake.

These ghats, as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument), have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings.

[9] A coinage known as "Puskar Passport" used by visitors to the lake and the ghats denotes the red thread that is tied on the wrists of pilgrims by the priests (for a dakshina – an unspecified fee).

Sadhus, Hindu holy men, gather here and stay from the Ekadashi to full moon day in caves.

Alternate arrangements were made to facilitate sacred bathing by providing water in concrete tanks near one of the upper ghats, fed by tube wells from groundwater sources.

[40][41] The lake does not meet the National Water Quality Standards due to its high concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).

The analysis over the period has revealed that the lake water was alkaline, chloride and conductivity concentrations were high at all the four sites, and there were lower levels of dissolved oxygen (at sites with greater pollution load) and high hardness (on account of excess of calcium and magnesium from surface run-off).

During the period of the annual Pushkar Fair, a distinct co-relationship was discerned between various parameters analysed and the degree of water pollution in the lake.

This has called for urgent remedial actions to be undertaken by all of the government agencies involved with the lake management, with people's participation.

[39] In addition, the institutional measures considered for effecting improvement of the lake are mass awareness programmes with the population's participation as well as the control of fish proliferation to reduce the risk of death of fishes during periods of inadequate water depth in the lake.