A reservoir on the Kali Bein

Kanjli Wetland lies near Kanjli village in Kapurthala district. The National Wetland Atlas says it formed after a head regulator was built across the Kali Bein in 1870, creating a small reservoir for irrigation storage. The Kali Bein belongs to the Beas river basin. The atlas describes a mixture of aquatic, waterside and terrestrial habitats, showing how an engineered water body can become important for biodiversity. Kanjli was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2002. Site boundaries and water-spread areas measure different things and should be compared carefully.[1]

Habitat amid farmland

A Key Biodiversity Areas factsheet, last assessed in 2004, describes the wetland as an irrigation reservoir surrounded by agricultural land and settlements. It records concerns about invasive water hyacinth and encroachment and describes fencing as one management response. Such pressures can affect open water and habitats, but the factsheet’s observations are not a current survey of every part of the wetland. Kanjli supports plant and animal communities in both the water and surrounding margins. Its conservation therefore depends on water entering the site, the use of neighbouring land and the condition of the wetland itself.[2]

Measuring metals in water and plants

A study by Navdeep Singh, Manpreet Kaur and Jatinder Kaur Katnoria, published in 2017, measured selected metals in Kanjli water, sediment, soil and plants. The researchers collected water upstream, within the wetland and downstream, combining samples from several points at each site. The team also sampled vegetation and soil along the wetland belt, and surface sediment from the main wetland. They reported cadmium and lead above the Indian standards used for comparison. These results describe the study’s samples and methods; they cannot establish today’s water quality or the safety of any household water source. Repeated measurements at multiple points help researchers investigate how conditions change.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Space Applications Centre, ISRO. National Wetland Atlas: Wetlands of International Importance ↗Written source · Source date: 2013 · Locator: §4.2.10, Kanjli, indexed text. Accessed 2026-11-04.Indexed atlas passage checked for the 1870 barrage, location and Kali Bein; PDF exceeded the web reader size limit.Return to A reservoir on the Kali Bein, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Key Biodiversity Areas. Kanjli site factsheet ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Site description and Threats; last assessment 2004. Accessed 2026-11-04.KBA factsheet checked for irrigation use, hyacinth, encroachment and fencing. It is not a current field survey.Return to Habitat amid farmland, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. Navdeep Singh, Manpreet Kaur and Jatinder Kaur Katnoria. Analysis on bioaccumulation of metals in aquatic environment of Beas River Basin: A case study from Kanjli wetland ↗Research article; PubMed citation and abstract · Source date: 2017-05-11 · Locator: PubMed citation and abstract, PMID 32158984; full study GeoHealth 1(3), pp. 93–105, §2.2 and conclusion. Accessed 2026-11-05.The publisher’s full paper was previously checked for sampling methods and comparisons; its page returned HTTP 403 during a local request on 5 November 2026. The linked PubMed record was rechecked for the article’s citation and abstract and links to full-text options; those options can have separate access restrictions. The results do not establish current household drinking-water safety.Return to Measuring metals in water and plants, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PLA-0195 · English edition · human review not performed