367
Land Use Pattern
Responsibility of managing the lake lies with the
state fi sheries department. The lake has been
leased out to a fi sherman’s cooperative society.
The society generates revenues through issuing
licences of (a) right to fi shing in the lake, (b) cultivation of surrounding areas and (c) plying of
tourists’ boats.
The wetland is usually leased out to Rudrasagar
Udbastu Fishermen Samabaya Samity Limited
for fi shing. This had formed a part of the settlement process for the people coming from the East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh). However, large areas
of land surrounding the lake are privately owned.
And paddy is generally cultivated in the surrounding fringe areas of the wetland. The hillocks, on the other hand, are used for horticulture,
agroforestry, habitation, etc. Land use pattern
includes cultivation of ‘boro’ paddy inside this
wetland during winter, which could be one of the
major causes of degradation of Rudrasagar.
Biota
Rudrasagar has a rich diversity of biota consisting of AM, phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, fi shes, reptiles and birds.
The AM includes Trapa natans, L. var. bispinosa, Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis,
Nymphaea sp., Nymphoides spp., Nelumbo sp.,
Ipomoea spp., Wolffi a sp., Azolla sp., Salvinia
spp., Marsilea sp. and Euryale ferox . The wetland
has abundant population of Eichhornia crassipes .
The phytoplankton notably includes Microcystis
sp., Nostoc sp. and Anabaena sp., which serve as
indicators of eutrophication and pollution.
However, Volvox sp., Chlorella sp., Euglena sp.,
Diatoma sp., Pinnularia sp., Navicula sp., etc., are
some of the other principal phytoplanktonic fl ora
found in Rudrasagar wetland.
The zooplanktonic fauna include forms like
Brachionus spp., Keratella spp., Daphnia spp.,
Ceriodaphnia spp., Moina spp., Cyclops spp. and
Diaptomus spp.
The macro-invertebrates include the annelids
(earthworms, leeches), arthropods (aquatic
insects, like Belostoma , Ranatra, aquatic beetles,
aquatic spiders) and molluscs ( Viviparus spp.,
Lamellidens spp., Pila spp., etc.).
Fishes
The Rudrasagar wetland has perennial connection with one of the major rivers of the state.
This facilitates autostocking and ensures safe
breeding ground for a good number of indigenous fi sh species. Out of 60 fi sh species, 17 species were reported during a survey of 8 wetlands
in Tripura, and 52 species were reported by
Wetlands International. However, an annotated
list of the ichthyofauna of Rudrasagar includes
the following:
Featherbacks like Notopterus notopterus and
Chitala chitala; sardines like Gudusia chapra;
IMCs like Catla catla, Labeo rohita, L. calbasu,
L. gonius and Cirrhinus mrigala; minor carps
and minnows like Amblypharyngodon mola,
Salmophasia bacaila, Danio rerio, Danio sp.,
Esomus sp., Rasbora daniconius and Puntius
spp., notably Puntius ticto, P. conchonius and
Crossocheilus latius; exotic carps like
Hypothalmichthys molitrix, Ctenopharyngodon
idellus and Cyprinus carpio; loaches like Botia
rostrata, Botia sp., Lepidocephalichthys guntea,
Acanthocobitis botia and Nemacheilus sp.;
bagrids like Rita rita, Sperata seenghala, S. aor,
Mystus tengara, M. vittatus, M. cavasius and M.
gulio; silurids like Wallago attu, Ompok pabda
and O. bimaculatus; schilbeids like Clupisoma
garua and Alia coilia; glass fi shes like Chanda
nama and Parambassis ranga; eels like
Mastacembalus armatus, Macrognathus aculeatus, Macrognathus pancalus and Monopterus
cuchia; perches like Badis badis, Nandus nandus
and Anabas testudineus; murrels like Channa
marulius, C. punctatus and C. striata; live catfi shes like Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes
fossilis; ornamental fi shes like Trichogaster fasciata, Trichogaster sp. and Colisa sp.,: globe
fi shes like Tetraodon cutcutia; and miscellaneous
species like Gagata cenia, Cantophrys sp.,
Glossogobius giuris and Xenentodon cancila .
Out of the above, some of the less abundant
fi shes are Ompok pabda, Chitala chitala,
Cirrhinus reba, etc.
Further, some of the important crustaceans
found in this wetland are Macrobrachium
rosenbergii, Palaemon serratus , Macrobrachium
rude , etc .
20.2 Wetlands of Northeast India (The Water Wealth of Northeast India)
Land Use Pattern
Responsibility of managing the lake lies with the
state fi sheries department. The lake has been
leased out to a fi sherman’s cooperative society.
The society generates revenues through issuing
licences of (a) right to fi shing in the lake, (b) cultivation of surrounding areas and (c) plying of
tourists’ boats.
The wetland is usually leased out to Rudrasagar
Udbastu Fishermen Samabaya Samity Limited
for fi shing. This had formed a part of the settlement process for the people coming from the East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh). However, large areas
of land surrounding the lake are privately owned.
And paddy is generally cultivated in the surrounding fringe areas of the wetland. The hillocks, on the other hand, are used for horticulture,
agroforestry, habitation, etc. Land use pattern
includes cultivation of ‘boro’ paddy inside this
wetland during winter, which could be one of the
major causes of degradation of Rudrasagar.
Biota
Rudrasagar has a rich diversity of biota consisting of AM, phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, fi shes, reptiles and birds.
The AM includes Trapa natans, L. var. bispinosa, Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis,
Nymphaea sp., Nymphoides spp., Nelumbo sp.,
Ipomoea spp., Wolffi a sp., Azolla sp., Salvinia
spp., Marsilea sp. and Euryale ferox . The wetland
has abundant population of Eichhornia crassipes .
The phytoplankton notably includes Microcystis
sp., Nostoc sp. and Anabaena sp., which serve as
indicators of eutrophication and pollution.
However, Volvox sp., Chlorella sp., Euglena sp.,
Diatoma sp., Pinnularia sp., Navicula sp., etc., are
some of the other principal phytoplanktonic fl ora
found in Rudrasagar wetland.
The zooplanktonic fauna include forms like
Brachionus spp., Keratella spp., Daphnia spp.,
Ceriodaphnia spp., Moina spp., Cyclops spp. and
Diaptomus spp.
The macro-invertebrates include the annelids
(earthworms, leeches), arthropods (aquatic
insects, like Belostoma , Ranatra, aquatic beetles,
aquatic spiders) and molluscs ( Viviparus spp.,
Lamellidens spp., Pila spp., etc.).
Fishes
The Rudrasagar wetland has perennial connection with one of the major rivers of the state.
This facilitates autostocking and ensures safe
breeding ground for a good number of indigenous fi sh species. Out of 60 fi sh species, 17 species were reported during a survey of 8 wetlands
in Tripura, and 52 species were reported by
Wetlands International. However, an annotated
list of the ichthyofauna of Rudrasagar includes
the following:
Featherbacks like Notopterus notopterus and
Chitala chitala; sardines like Gudusia chapra;
IMCs like Catla catla, Labeo rohita, L. calbasu,
L. gonius and Cirrhinus mrigala; minor carps
and minnows like Amblypharyngodon mola,
Salmophasia bacaila, Danio rerio, Danio sp.,
Esomus sp., Rasbora daniconius and Puntius
spp., notably Puntius ticto, P. conchonius and
Crossocheilus latius; exotic carps like
Hypothalmichthys molitrix, Ctenopharyngodon
idellus and Cyprinus carpio; loaches like Botia
rostrata, Botia sp., Lepidocephalichthys guntea,
Acanthocobitis botia and Nemacheilus sp.;
bagrids like Rita rita, Sperata seenghala, S. aor,
Mystus tengara, M. vittatus, M. cavasius and M.
gulio; silurids like Wallago attu, Ompok pabda
and O. bimaculatus; schilbeids like Clupisoma
garua and Alia coilia; glass fi shes like Chanda
nama and Parambassis ranga; eels like
Mastacembalus armatus, Macrognathus aculeatus, Macrognathus pancalus and Monopterus
cuchia; perches like Badis badis, Nandus nandus
and Anabas testudineus; murrels like Channa
marulius, C. punctatus and C. striata; live catfi shes like Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes
fossilis; ornamental fi shes like Trichogaster fasciata, Trichogaster sp. and Colisa sp.,: globe
fi shes like Tetraodon cutcutia; and miscellaneous
species like Gagata cenia, Cantophrys sp.,
Glossogobius giuris and Xenentodon cancila .
Out of the above, some of the less abundant
fi shes are Ompok pabda, Chitala chitala,
Cirrhinus reba, etc.
Further, some of the important crustaceans
found in this wetland are Macrobrachium
rosenbergii, Palaemon serratus , Macrobrachium
rude , etc .
20.2 Wetlands of Northeast India (The Water Wealth of Northeast India)