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Recently, the Atapaka Bird Sanctuary has been open for tourists
About the Atapaka Bird Sanctuary
- It is located in Kolleru lake on Krishna-West Godavari borders in Andhra Pradesh,
- It covers 673 square kilometers.
- It was established in November 1999, under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
- The sanctuary protects part of the Kolleru Lake wetland, which gained Ramsar Convention for International importance in 2002.
About Kolleru lake
- Kolleru, one of the largest freshwater lakes in India, (it was designated a sanctuary in October 1999) is situated between the Krishna and West Godavari districts of the state.
- It also forms the largest shallow freshwater lake in Asia, 15 kilometers away from the Eluru and 65km from Rajamahendravaram.
- The catchment area of Kolleru is about 6,121sq km with a flow of 65,000 to 1.1 lakh cusecs of water into the lake.
- The lake drains out into the Bay of Bengal through the Upputeru drain, its only outlet.
- The lake is fed directly by water from the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru, Ramileru, Gaderu and Bulusuvagu streams/rivers and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari irrigation systems by over 67 major and minor irrigation canals
- Kolleru lake contains numerous fertile islets called lankas; 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.
- It was also identified as an “Important Bird Area” of India by the Bombay Natural History Society.
- Kolleru is one of the most important wetlands of India. The lake supports 200 species of birds, including the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, (Kolleru committee report 2010).
- The lake serves as a foraging ground for resident as well as migratory birds. At present, 6,000 Spot-billed Pelicans, 5,000 Painted Storks and 5,000 Asian Openbills are estimated to be found in Kolleru. The lake also supports 63 species of fish.
Source: The Hindu & Down to Earth
