Kolleru lake:
It is a 2nd largest fresh water lake located in Andhra Pradesh located between Krishna and Godavari delta.
History:
Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the lake, tracing it’s history to Langula Narasimha Deva an Ganga Vanshi Odisha King. According to legend, the Gajapathi fort was located at Kolleti kota on one of the eastern islands of the lake. The enemy general “Muhammadan” general escamped at “Chiguru kota” located on the shores. In some ways the lake protected the Oriya forces. The enemy finally tried to excavate a channel, the modern day Upputeru. So that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and the level would fall so that they could attack the Gajapathi fort. The royal oriya army general sacrificed his own daughter to propitiate Gods and ensure his success against Muhammadan and her name was “Perantala Kanama”. Therefore the channel Was called perantala Kanama. “Sri Peddinti Ammavari Temple” is one of the oldest and famous temples found in Kolleru.
Water sources available other than
Kolleru:
Wells, taps. The lake is fed directly water from seasonal Budameru and Tammileru streams and connected to the Krishna and Godavari systems by channels.
Cultural traditions:
The vast majority of the district is rural in nature. Thus the culture of the kolleru lake people is mostly conservative and traditional. The joint family system, the arranged marriages are the norms. Telugu language is spoken in this place.
Pollution concerns:
Kolleru lake is suffering from the unsatisfied greed of people and selfish interests of mankind who exploit the lake’s integrity. Thousands of fish tanks were dug up effectively converting the lake into a mere drain. This had great impact in terms of pollution, leading to difficulty in getting drinking water for the local people.
Source of pollution:
Satellite images taken on February 9, 2001 by the Indian remote sensing satellite found that approximately 42% of the 245 km lake was occupied by aquaculture. While agriculture had encroached another 8.5% they were mostly rice paddies. Surprisingly no clear water could be found in the satellite image. The rest of the lake is being diminished by weeds like elephant grass and water hyacinth.
Effects of pollution on people:
Thousands of fish tanks were dug up effectly leading to difficulty in getting drinking water for the local people. An adverse effect on the thousands of acres of crop in the upper reaches of water flow into the sea because of obstruction by bunds of the fish tanks that appeared illegally.
