Kolleru
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Kolleru Lake is one of the largest freshwater
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 ...
s in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and forms the largest shallow freshwater lake in Asia (with 245 km2 of lake area and 302 km2 of total Ramsar designated wetland). 15 kilometers away from
Eluru Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the List of municipal corporations in India#Andhra Pradesh, 14 municipal corporations ...
and 65 km from
Rajamahendravaram Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...
, the lake is located between the
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
and
Godavari The Godavari (, od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
river deltas. Kolleru Lake is located in the
Eluru district Eluru district is a district in coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Eluru as its administrative headquarters, it was proposed on 26 January 2022 to become one of the resultant List of districts of Andhra Pradesh, t ...
in the state of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. The lake is fed directly by water from the seasonal Budameru and
Tammileru Tammileru is a medium river which forms the boundary between Krishna district and Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh state. It is an area that is often affected by floods. The river drains into the Kolleru lake Kolleru Lake is one of the larg ...
rivulets, and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari irrigation systems by over 67 major and minor irrigation canals. This lake is a major tourist attraction. Many birds migrate here in winter, such as
Siberian crane The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all White, snowy whi ...
, ibis, and painted storks. The lake was an important habitat for an estimated 20 million resident and migratory
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s, including the grey or
spot-billed pelican The spot-billed pelican (''Pelecanus philippensis'') or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially larg ...
(''Pelecanus philippensis''). The lake was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999 under India's
Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for the protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedule ...
, and designated a wetland of international importance in November 2002 under the international
Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...
. The wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 308 km2. Kolleru Lake under
Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...
(allowing local communities (Here: Vaddi Community) to continue their occupation of culture fish and caught fish) covers and Kolleru Lake under Wildlife Sanctuary covers .


Current state of the lake

Thousands of fish tanks were erected, effectively converting the lake into a mere drain. This has a great impact in terms of pollution, leading to difficulty in getting drinking water for the local people. This is in addition to the loss of ecological diversity and intrusion of sea water into the land masses and its fallout in terms of adverse influence on the rainfall pattern in this region. Due to the promulgation of bunds of illegal fish tanks blocking water flow, there has been a cessation of water drainage into the sea, causing excessive flooding and subsequent adverse effects on the thousands of acres of crops in the upper reaches of the sanctuary. This pollution is caused by numerous factories built along the lake that discharge waste products into the lake, whose water is used for food production. In 2006, the Andhra Pradesh government executed "Operation Kolleru", an effort to clean up the lake, in the past, with middling success, and has now declared "Operation Kolleru-2.0". Satellite images taken on 9 February 2001 by the Indian remote sensing satellite found that approximately 42% of the 245 km2 lake was occupied by
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
, while
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
had encroached upon another 8.5%. The area under aquaculture consisted of 1,050 fish ponds within the lake and 38 dried-up fish ponds, which together covered an area of 103 km2. The aquaculture fishermen fire gunshots to prevent birds from feeding on the fish. The agricultural encroachments were mostly
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
paddies. Surprisingly, no clear water could be found in the satellite image. The rest of the lake is diminished by water diversion or is infested with weeds like
elephant grass The term Elephant grass may refer to the following grass species: * The Asian ''Miscanthus giganteus'', also known as giant miscanthus, commonly used as a biomass crop * The African ''Cenchrus purpureus ''Cenchrus purpureus'', synonym ''Penniset ...
and the
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 ...
. Rich in flora and fauna, the lake had always attracted migratory birds from Northern Asia and Eastern Europe, between the months of October and March. During this season, the lake used to be visited by an estimated two million birds. The resident birds include: *
grey pelicans Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered sk ...
, * Asian open-bill (''Anastomus oscitans''), *
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 (''Mycteria leucocephala''), *
glossy ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...
es and *
white ibis White ibis may refer to several birds: * American white ibis, ''Eudocimus albus'' * Australian white ibis, ''Threskiornis molucca'' ** Solomons white ibis or Solomon Islands white ibis, ''Threskiornis (molucca) pygmaeus'' * Asiatic white ibis, an al ...
es. The migratory birds include: *
red-crested pochard The red-crested pochard (''Netta rufina'') is a large diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck", and Latin ''rufina'', "golden-red" (from ''rufus'', "ruddy"). Its breeding habitat is lowland marshes and lakes in so ...
s, *
black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, ''Himantopus himantopus'', is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost ...
s, *
pied avocet The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a m ...
s, *
common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of hi ...
s, *
Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy T ...
s, *
gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown th ...
s, *
great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...
s, *
garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly bird migration, migratory, with the entire population moving to Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Ban ...
s, *
purple heron The purple heron (''Ardea purpurea'') is a wide-ranging heron species. It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Palearctic. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whe ...
s, *
greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...
s, *
green-winged teal The green-winged teal (''Anas carolinensis'') or American teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Eurasian teal (''A. crecca'' ...
s, *
northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic Range (biology), distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is bird migration, migratory an ...
s and *
northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and throughout the Palearctic and across most of North America, and winters in southe ...
s. Kolleru lake contains numerous fertile islets called
lanka Lanka (; ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...
s; many of the small ones are submerged during floods. The origin of the unusual depression which forms the bed of the lake is unknown, but it was possibly the result of an earthquake. Therefore, many ancient villages are precepted in the bed of the lake as a result of floods and earthquake. building the industries and factories near the lake that why the lake is polluting and the government also declared the operation kolleru.


History

Two copper plates have been found in the lake, tracing its history to reign of the Eastern Ganga rulers, the Suryavamsi Gajapatis of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
at the height of their power in the 15th century under the reign of
Kapilendra Deva Kapilendra Deva (died 1467) was the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati dynasty that ruled parts of eastern and southern India with present-day Odisha as the center of the kingdom. He ascended to the throne after staging a military coup agains ...
, the first Suryavamsi Gajapati emperor, and the boundary of the Kalinga empire (Ancient
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
). Nearby in Kolletikota is the Peddintlamma Temple, built by Eastern Ganga monarchs.


Sanctuary

The sanctuary has the following towers for
birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...
. Atapaka: 1.5 km from Kaikaluru to see varieties of waterfowl. Murthyraju tank 8 km from Nidamarru East Chodavaram: 25 km from Eluru where openbill storks nest in colonies from July to December. The sanctuary is approachable from all four sides of the lake by road, directly to the following places: * Atapaka – 2.5 km from Kaikaluru town * Bhujabalapatnam – 6 km from Kaikaluru *
Pallevada Pallevada is a village in Kaikaluru mandal of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Geography Pallevada is located at . It has an average elevation of 20 metres (68 ft). Demographics According to Indian census The decennial census ...
−9  km from kaikaluru town * Kovvada Lanka—7 km from Kaikaluru town *Murthiraju Tanks – 8 km from Nidamarru * Gudivakalanka – 3 km from Gudivakalanka or 15 km from Eluru, The nearest city by road or rail. * Prathikola Lanaka or 19 km from Eluru. The nearest city is Eluru, which is 35 km by road. * Kolletikota −18 km from Kaikalur.


Accommodations

Hotels are available in the nearby towns/cities of
Eluru Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the List of municipal corporations in India#Andhra Pradesh, 14 municipal corporations ...
,
Bhimavaram Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of West Godavari district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bhimavaram mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. It is a part of Eluru Urban Development Authorit ...
, Narsapur,
Palakollu Palakollu is a city and the administrative headquarters of Palakollu Mandal in Narasapuram revenue division in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Palakollu is situated in Coastal Andhra region of the state. It occupie ...
,
Kaikaluru Kaikaluru is a town in Eluru district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kaikalur is home to Kolleru Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in India, covering about 90,100 hectares and is a tourist attraction. Geography Kaikalur is locat ...
,
Akividu Akividu (or Akiveedu) is a town in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a nagara panchayati (municipality) and the mandal headquarters of Akiveedu mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. Akiveedu is a sixth biggest town in forme ...
,
Rajamahendravaram Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...
,
Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...
and
Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...
.


References


External links

* *https://web.archive.org/web/20060824182531/http://www.aptourism.com/apservlets/jsp/iplaces3.jsp?&THEME=Wild+Life&LOCATION=Kolleru&DISTRICT=West+Godavari&infoId=217 * {{Authority control Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests Lakes of Andhra Pradesh Ramsar sites in India Important Bird Areas of India Tourist attractions in Eluru Geography of West Godavari district