Restoration of Pulicat lake water spread area sought

Concern over dwindling fish resources due to lack of water

January 22, 2018 01:11 am | Updated 09:08 am IST - NELLORE

 Shallow waters of the Pulicat lake proving a bane for fishermen.

Shallow waters of the Pulicat lake proving a bane for fishermen.

Thousands of fishermen families living in the villages on the outer edges of the Pulicat lake will get a better prospect in fishing if the present water spread area of the water body is restored to its full size of nearly 490 sq. km. area in Andhra Pradesh.

As of now, the water spread has come down drastically to a minimum of about 300 sq km. The reduction is a phenomenon that has taken place over the years as the brackish water lake began receiving lesser backwaters from the sea because of silting up of sea mouths in addition to several other issues.

Low rainfall

As the lake has come to depend mostly on the rain water to refill itself, it could not reach its full size in the recent past because of low rainfall recorded down the years. “There has been an increasing demand from fishermen families for taking steps for greater fish resources. Efforts are being made to help solve the problem involving various agencies,” said Fisheries Joint Director Solomon Raju.

Because of the lack of enough water spread, most of the remaining lake is just 2 to 3 foot deep, a scenario where fishermen have little scope for fishing.

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