Andhra CM seeks humane solutions for Kolleru lake region

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday highlighted the need to protect the environmentally significant Kolleru lake, India's largest fresh water lake, while addressing the challenges faced by locals with a ''humane perspective''.

"Naidu stressed the urgent need to protect the environmentally significant Kolleru lake while also resolving the problems faced by locals with a humane perspective," said an official press release, quoting the CM.

During a review meeting, the TDP supremo discussed court rulings, regulations, Centre's directives, local conditions, ecological issues as well as contour-related matters concerning Kolleru, which occupies 308.5 sq km of area and serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir between Krishna and Godavari rivers.

Around three lakh people reside in the Kolleru contour region and they have been facing hardships for years, it said adding that the previous TDP government had made efforts to resolve these issues.

In 2018, the National Wildlife Board recommended the exclusion of 20,000 acres (Jirayat and D-Patta lands) of lands from the Kolleru sanctuary and proposed new boundaries.

A recommendation regarding the lake was sent to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) accordingly.

However, after objections were raised, the Centre sought the opinion of the state government but the previous YSRCP regime made no efforts to address this issue, it said.

Regarding the 20,000 acres of land, Naidu said justice must first be ensured to the farmers.

"The state's proposals must be submitted to the CEC and the Supreme Court, and efforts (be) made to convince them. The action plan must ensure justice not only to the environment and birds but also to the local people," he said.

Further, the CM stressed the need to prevent Kolleru from turning into a cesspool of pollution, advocating for proper treatment of drain water entering the lake.

He called for an end to the unchecked release of polluting drains and said the drains must be desilted to ensure smooth water flow.

Encroachments on Upputeru channel, which carries water from Kolleru to the sea, must be removed, said Naidu, along with desilting for free water discharge into the sea.

As a Ramsar conservation site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, 1971), Kolleru is part of the list of wetlands of international importance.

A site of rich biodiversity, Kolleru provides habitat for a number of resident and migratory birds, which also include the vulnerable grey pelican.

Migratory birds like glossy ibis, open billed stork, purple moorhen, painted storks, pied avocet, marbled teal and common redshank are among the migratory birds which sojourn in Kolleru.

Besides birds, it supports a rich biomass of 63 species of fishes and planktons, a major nutrient in the food chain.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)