382
20.3 Wetlands of Other Regions
in India
India is bountiful with wetlands. In addition to
occurrence of innumerable number of wetlands
in NE region of India, many wetlands are also
found in other regions of India. Some of the wetlands found in other regions of India are discussed below.
20.3.1 Wetlands of Andhra Pradesh
There are a large number of wetlands in Andhra
Pradesh. Some of these are discussed below.
20.3.1.1 Perali Poguru Bapatla
Wetland
It lies between 15° 49′ and 15° 53′ N and 80° 27′
and 80° 40′ E and is situated at an altitude of
about 6 m MSL. It is located at a distance of
90 km south of Vijayawada in Guntur District. It
has an area of 1,500 ha. The climate is generally
hot and humid. Temperature ranges from 18 to
43 °C. The region gets an average rainfall of
1,000 mm.
Mangroves comprise the principal vegetation.
They support a potential fi shery. Land use pattern
includes grazing of livestock, shrimp culture and
agriculture. Suggested conservation measures
include (a) regulation of cattle grazing, fi shing,
agriculture, shrimp culture, etc., and (b) declaration of the area as a sanctuary.
20.3.1.2 Jeedimetla Lake (Fox Sagar)
It lies between 17° 32′ N and 78° 28′ E at an altitude of about 590.8 m MSL, about 15 km north of
Hyderabad City. It has an area of 100 ha. It is a
perennial freshwater reservoir which was built in
1897. The climate is semi-arid with mean annual
rainfall of 500–600 mm. The air temperature
ranges from 11 to 43 °C. There is prolifi c growth
of grasses around the wetland, which provide
food for the cattle. Land use involves cattle grazing. Wetland water is used for irrigation. The grey
heron, large egret, small sandpiper, little stint,
etc., are some of the waterfowls in this wetland.
Disturbances include disposal of waste, excreta,
run-off from brick factories and siltation.
20.3.1.3 Meer Alam Lake
Meer Alam Lake (17° 22′ N and 78° 27′ E) is one
of the oldest man-made impoundments situated
near Hyderabad. It was constructed in 1806 AD.
This lentic body used to be a source of potable
water up to the recent times. However, its water is
mainly used today for the Nehru Zoological Park.
Moreover, the lake has been developed as a recreational zone by the Hyderabad Urban
Development Authority (HUDA). Some of the
signifi cant macro-zoobenthic fauna include
Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Chironomus plumosus,
Bellamya bengalensis and Lymnaea acuminate .
20.3.1.4 Kondakarla Lake
Kondakarla lake lies between 17° 35′ 30″ and
17° 36′ 02″ N and 82° 59′ 27″ and 83° 01′ 0″. It
is situated in Visakhapatnam District about 17 km
south of Anakapalle and 50 km southwest of
Vishakhapatnam City in Andhra Pradesh. The
lake has a maximum water spread area of 6.5 km
2
approx. The NW shore of the lake is bordered by
sandy, silty and muddy deposits from the River
Sarada. The lake is surrounded by different crop
fi elds like paddy and sugarcane. It is also encircled by hills and hillocks of the Eastern Ghats in
the altitudinal range of 100–300 m MSL. The
lake has the following range of physico-chemical
characteristics of water: temperature 22–31 °C,
pH 6.9–8.9, turbidity 4–540 NTU, DO 1.2–
12.2 mg/l and free CO 2 0–9.0 mg/l.
20.3.1.5 Kolleru Lake
Kolleru Lake (Plate 20.65 ) lies between 16° 39′
N and 81° 13′ E and is one of the largest freshwater wetlands (commonly called lake) in
Andhra Pradesh. Kolleru is located between
Krishna and Godavari deltas and spans into two
districts, namely , Krishna and West Godavari.
The lake has a water spread area of 245 km
2 and
serves as a natural fl ood-balancing reservoir for
these two rivers. The lake is fed directly by water
from the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru
streams and is connected to the Krishna and
Godavari systems by more than 68 inlets. The
20 Wetlands of India
20.3 Wetlands of Other Regions
in India
India is bountiful with wetlands. In addition to
occurrence of innumerable number of wetlands
in NE region of India, many wetlands are also
found in other regions of India. Some of the wetlands found in other regions of India are discussed below.
20.3.1 Wetlands of Andhra Pradesh
There are a large number of wetlands in Andhra
Pradesh. Some of these are discussed below.
20.3.1.1 Perali Poguru Bapatla
Wetland
It lies between 15° 49′ and 15° 53′ N and 80° 27′
and 80° 40′ E and is situated at an altitude of
about 6 m MSL. It is located at a distance of
90 km south of Vijayawada in Guntur District. It
has an area of 1,500 ha. The climate is generally
hot and humid. Temperature ranges from 18 to
43 °C. The region gets an average rainfall of
1,000 mm.
Mangroves comprise the principal vegetation.
They support a potential fi shery. Land use pattern
includes grazing of livestock, shrimp culture and
agriculture. Suggested conservation measures
include (a) regulation of cattle grazing, fi shing,
agriculture, shrimp culture, etc., and (b) declaration of the area as a sanctuary.
20.3.1.2 Jeedimetla Lake (Fox Sagar)
It lies between 17° 32′ N and 78° 28′ E at an altitude of about 590.8 m MSL, about 15 km north of
Hyderabad City. It has an area of 100 ha. It is a
perennial freshwater reservoir which was built in
1897. The climate is semi-arid with mean annual
rainfall of 500–600 mm. The air temperature
ranges from 11 to 43 °C. There is prolifi c growth
of grasses around the wetland, which provide
food for the cattle. Land use involves cattle grazing. Wetland water is used for irrigation. The grey
heron, large egret, small sandpiper, little stint,
etc., are some of the waterfowls in this wetland.
Disturbances include disposal of waste, excreta,
run-off from brick factories and siltation.
20.3.1.3 Meer Alam Lake
Meer Alam Lake (17° 22′ N and 78° 27′ E) is one
of the oldest man-made impoundments situated
near Hyderabad. It was constructed in 1806 AD.
This lentic body used to be a source of potable
water up to the recent times. However, its water is
mainly used today for the Nehru Zoological Park.
Moreover, the lake has been developed as a recreational zone by the Hyderabad Urban
Development Authority (HUDA). Some of the
signifi cant macro-zoobenthic fauna include
Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Chironomus plumosus,
Bellamya bengalensis and Lymnaea acuminate .
20.3.1.4 Kondakarla Lake
Kondakarla lake lies between 17° 35′ 30″ and
17° 36′ 02″ N and 82° 59′ 27″ and 83° 01′ 0″. It
is situated in Visakhapatnam District about 17 km
south of Anakapalle and 50 km southwest of
Vishakhapatnam City in Andhra Pradesh. The
lake has a maximum water spread area of 6.5 km
2
approx. The NW shore of the lake is bordered by
sandy, silty and muddy deposits from the River
Sarada. The lake is surrounded by different crop
fi elds like paddy and sugarcane. It is also encircled by hills and hillocks of the Eastern Ghats in
the altitudinal range of 100–300 m MSL. The
lake has the following range of physico-chemical
characteristics of water: temperature 22–31 °C,
pH 6.9–8.9, turbidity 4–540 NTU, DO 1.2–
12.2 mg/l and free CO 2 0–9.0 mg/l.
20.3.1.5 Kolleru Lake
Kolleru Lake (Plate 20.65 ) lies between 16° 39′
N and 81° 13′ E and is one of the largest freshwater wetlands (commonly called lake) in
Andhra Pradesh. Kolleru is located between
Krishna and Godavari deltas and spans into two
districts, namely , Krishna and West Godavari.
The lake has a water spread area of 245 km
2 and
serves as a natural fl ood-balancing reservoir for
these two rivers. The lake is fed directly by water
from the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru
streams and is connected to the Krishna and
Godavari systems by more than 68 inlets. The
20 Wetlands of India