Water from Bosten Lake will be diverted to the dry lower reaches of the Tarim River in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region this year.

It will be the third water injection into the Tarim River, the country's longest inland river, Xinhua reported.

A total of 327 million cubic meters of water were discharged into the lower reaches of the Tarim River in May and November last year. As a result, the underground water level of the river course at its lower reaches rose by three meters.

The current move is to extend the water flow to the original end of the Tarim River, which connects with Taitema Lake.

The 1,321-kilometer-long Tarim River runs west to east along the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert.

The lower reaches of the river and Taitema Lake dried up in 1972 following the construction of a reservoir that blocked water from flowing into the lower reaches.

(Eastday.com 03/19/2001)