The Kolleru Lake

Kolleru lake is described as a large freshwater lake between Krishna and Godavari delta near the coastal part of Andhra Pradesh. Due to the rich biodiversity, especially of both the local and migratory birds, the lake has been declared as a wildlife sanctuary. The lake has also been indexed in the list of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. On my maiden visit to that region, contrary to the gained assumption, Kolleru did not appear as any continuous lake but as a collection of various natural and artificial lakes and wetlands over a large geographical area. The various sections of waterbodies were separated from each other by artificially elevated dividing lines, many of which also served the purpose of motorable and pedestrian roads to connect the villages and towns. Many parts of the wetland were intelligently modified to create the commercial fish and prawn tanks. While some of the compartments, especially those which were protected for the nesting of colonial waterbirds and for commercial fish farming, had plenty of water, in some others water had almost dried up and had become the grazing ground for domestic animals. It was certain that each and every block of the region was the part of a big natural wetland which had gone through many changes due to modification of the natural environment by the people of the region. Besides the fish farming, the cattle and crop farmings also appeared to be significantly contributing to the life of the people. During my time around the wetlands, the afternoons were hot and humid and the majority of human activities could only be seen during the comparatively pleasant early hours of the morning and late evening. Any form of interaction with locals was non-verbal as I did not know the Telugu language and the locals were not much aware of the Hindi or English. This photo-essay, ‘The Kolleru lake’, is a pictorial presentation of my first-hand personal experiences gained during my stay at Kaikaluru, a small town at Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, where I got the opportunity to closely observe not only the parts of this wetland but also the life of the locals of this region.