Call for ‘Operation Kolleru 2.0’ gains strength as encroachments threaten survival of India’s largest freshwater lake

Operation Kolleru-2.0 needed to save Kolleru Lake, India's largest freshwater lake, from illegal aqua ponds. 15,000 acres of wetland converted into ponds by 2021. LIDAR survey to accurately figure out area under encroachments. Grama Sabhas to identify Eco-Sensitive Zone. 24 yrs after sanctuary declaration, survival of ecosystem still in peril.

The survival of India’s largest freshwater lake ecosystem, Kolleru Lake, is under severe threat as aqua ponds continue to encroach and thrive in the heart of the wetland.

The rate at which the lake is witnessing encroachments demands ‘Operation Kolleru-2.0’ for the survival of the unique wetland ecosystem that serves as a breeding and feeding ground for 220 avian species including nearly 100 species migrating from the Palearctic region, suggest experts.

In 2006, the Andhra Pradesh government executed ‘Operation Kolleru’ as per the directives of the Supreme Court and demolished 1,776 aqua ponds spread over 43,000 acres within the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). Of them, 1,140 were in the erstwhile West Godavari district and 636 in the erstwhile Krishna district. Operation Kolleru was aimed at protecting the KWS.

In 1999, the State government declared more than 308 sq.km area as the sanctuary within the 90,100 hectares of the lake, surviving between the basins of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers.

“In its reply to an RTI query, the AP Forest Department has claimed that nearly 15,000 acres of wetland has been converted into illegal aqua ponds within the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary by 2021. Currently, the aqua ponds have extended to not less than 50-60% of the sanctuary,” K. Mrutyunjaya Rao, a wetland expert and activist, told The Hindu. The eighty-year-old man has been fighting for the conservation of the Kolleru and Pulicat lakes in Andhra Pradesh.

“Another Operation Kolleru is the only immediate solution that is in sight to save the lake that has a storage capacity of 54 TMC of freshwater up to +10 contour. An aerial survey of the sanctuary provides a clear picture of the encroachments that no authority could ignore for the conservation of the wetland,” he said.

The AP Wildlife Division has decided to identify and propose an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) surrounding the KWS. It has sought support from the Eluru district authorities to conduct Grama Sabhas and prepare an inventory of the ‘land use patterns’ surrounding the sanctuary. A committee has also been constituted by Eluru Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh and Eluru Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) S. Ravisankar.