Green group’s SOS To AP CM Naidu To Save Kolleru Wetland

The importance of protecting and conserving the wetland ecosystem which plays a major role as flood mitigation mechanism as well as supporting the local economy. The fact that the Kolleru wetland is a huge depository of fish and that it attracts thousands of birds shows the biodiversity that the lake supports - Nandakumar Pawar, head of Sagar Shakti

Mumbai: The sprawling Kolleru wetland, India’s largest freshwater lake, is under attack again.

The Google earth map presents a shocking picture of the Ramsar site, a wetland of international significance, with a series of bunds blocking the free flow of water, Mumbai-based environment group NatConnect Foundation said.

These bunds are built apparently for fishponds.

Media reports suggest the State government had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, conducted the Operation Kolleru. Kolleru wetland complaint has been referred to Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MOEFCC) wetland division and BD Shangningam Anal (Scientist B) is supposed to be looking into it. Talking to Bizz Buzz, NatConnect director BN Kumar says, “The government needs to clear the encroachments. It is perhaps time for Operation Kolleru-2.”

“On our recent trip to Kolleru, we found the narrow access road to the busy pilgrimage centre Kolleti Kota badly damaged,” Kumar said in his email to AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu calling for his urgent attention to the issue. Obviously, the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana is unheard of in the area, the activist said.

The road is dotted with sign boards and arches by politicians wishing the people a happy Dussehra, but the ride is far from being a happy one, the activist said.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Sagar Shakti, said, “The importance of protecting and conserving the wetland ecosystem which plays a major role as flood mitigation mechanism as well as supporting the local economy. The fact that the Kolleru wetland is a huge depository of fish and that it attracts thousands of birds shows the biodiversity that the lake supports.”

Pawar appealed to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to take a serious view of degeneration of wetlands all across the country.

For a wetland of global importance, the infrastructure around the destination of several species of migratory and local birds raises many questions, he said.

Kolleru has tremendous potential of emerging as a major tourist destination, if proper infrastructure is developed, Kumar said and pointed out that bird flights are a real treat to the eye.

This can be the Bharatpur of the South, the environmentalist said. The AP Tourism department’s website hardly gives any details of the 308.55 sq km wetland, a designated bird sanctuary.

Kolleru is the country’s largest freshwater lake in the, located between the deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers. Kolleru serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir between the two rivers. The lake is fed directly by the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru rivers and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari systems by 67 inflowing drains and channels. It is an important reservoir of fish with an average production of 7,000 tonnes per year.

Despite all these, the islands and villages around Kolleru remain poor and many government schemes have not found their way to the area, Kumar observed.