Click to play videoKolleru (Andhra Pradesh): After a gap of 17 years, migratory birds have come to revisit Asia’s largest freshwater lake.
The Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh used to attract winged exotica from world over, but the birds stopped visiting after almost 30,000 acres of the lake area was occupied by illegal fish tanks.
But with the intervention of Supreme Court and some innovative thinking on the part of the lake management authorities, nearly one lakh birds are back and as many as 188 species of birds – including rare and endangered species like the Teal and the Tailspin - can now be found there.
The Kolleru Operation, which cost the government Rs 18 crore, began in September last year after the apex court intervened.
This led to widespread protests by the villagers. But interestingly, the administration used the Munnabhai-popularised Gandhigiri to remove encroachments spread over more than half of the lake area.
"When we started working in the end we realised that what we did was Gandhism. May be orientation from the CM, what we have been trained over the last so many years and sustainable output can come only through community participation. That faith," says District Collector, West Godavari, Luv Agarwal.
The strategy worked. And the villagers themselves came forward and demolished a majority of fish tanks.
"We organised so many protests like dharnas, rasta rooks, but all officials never used force and treated us with love to complete this project," says sarpanch, Pratikonda village, G Mahalaxmi Raju.
Nearly three lakh villagers lost their source of livelihood due to Operation Kolleru. They were given loans and training to continue with conventional fishing and specialise in making fish-products like pickles.
Now, they hope to gain more by drawing tourists to the lake. With the return of Pelicans, their hopes are also taking new wings.
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