Ukkadam Lake (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: Ukkadam Periyakulam) is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Ukkadam Ukkadam is a part of Townhall locality in the core part of the city of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Ukkadam Bus Terminal, which is one of the seven major bus stands in the city, is located in this neighborhood. Ukkadam is famous for its Fish M ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It is spread over an area of and has an average depth of . In 2010, the lake was taken over by

Coimbatore Corporation The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu after Chennai with an area of 257.04 sq km. Histo ...

on a 90-year lease from the Public Works Department of the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

Hydrography

The lake is fed by canals derived from Noyyal river. The lake also receives water from Selvachinthamani lake located upstream in the north and drain water. The lake has an outlet connecting it with Valankulam lake. The water can be released through four sluice gates located on the south side of the lake.

Fauna

As per a study conducted in 2003–04, the lake had 36 genera of

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

including of 8 genera of

protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

and 6 genera of

Rotifera The rotifers (, from Latin 'wheel' and 'bearing'), sometimes called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris ...

with increased

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

of the lake. Species Diversity Index of zooplankton population ranged from 1.74 to 3.63 across the year with maximum before the beginning of the summer and end of

South-west monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

. As per a study on bird diversity conducted in 2013, about 48 species of

avifauna Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

belonging to 20 families were recorded. Most species were recorded in March before the start of summer and was the least in the winter months of November and December. Highest bird population was observed in the months of January and February. Various birds including

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive ...

s and purple moorhen can be spotted in this lake.

Fishing

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

is carried out by local fishermen and enthusiasts. In the 2000s, due to encroachment and the fishes were infected with metals and pathogens from polluted waste water discharged from the sewage. The local fishermen requested the lake to be cleaned up to ensure healthy fish population.

Environmental concerns

The lake became contaminated with effluents from sewage release from the city and was encroached by

water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...

. In 2010,

unveiled a plan to De-silt the lake and clear the encroachments. The corporation hired external consultants and suggested public-private-partnership model for the development of the lake. In 2013, the de-silting was carried out by the Coimbatore Corporation in association with

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Siruthuli, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore and Vijayalakshmi Charitable Trust. The restoration of the lake was funded partly by the government and partly by private corporations and the activity was carried out with the help of volunteers from public.

Beautification

In 2015, the Coimbatore corporation announced a beautification project at the cost . The civic body planned to lay a stretch of road exclusively for two-wheelers and beautify the tank bund by installing solar powered lamps and steel fences. The road was inaugurated on June 8, 2015 by the

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de ...

and helped ease traffic congestion in Ukkadam area. It is also known as Marine drive of coimbatore

References

{{Coimbatore Lakes of Coimbatore Kaveri River