The Wayanad District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), with the technical assistance of the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, is gearing up to take steps to conserve Pookode Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in the State.
Unrestricted anthropogenic activities, including tourism, accumulation of sediments owing to soil erosion, and uncontrolled growth of water weeds have sounded the death knell of the lake, a major tourism destination in the district.
A large part of the 5.172-hectare lake has turned into lush green grassland due to soil erosion caused by uncontrolled construction and farming activities on its shores.
The DTPC signed a memorandum of understanding with the CWRDM recently to conduct a comprehensive study on various threats being faced by the lake and possible measure to overcome it, P. M. Ratheesh Babu, Manager, DTPC, told The Hindu.
The one-year project envisages to study the water quality and siltation rate in the lake, causes of weed growth and measures to tackle it, assess carrying capacity of the lake and impacts of an aqua park functioning on the lake, performance of the water inflow gate of the lake and measures to improve the environmental quality and classification of flora and fauna in the site, he added.
The DTPC has earmarked Rs.7.5 lakh for the purpose and the study would be completed in a year. The DTPC would take measures as per the recommendation of the CWRDM, Mr. Ratheesh added.
A recent study by the Ecology Department of the French Institute of Pondicherry showed that the maximum depth of the lake had come down to 6.5 m from the 12 m nearly four decades ago. “The lake is dying mainly due to anthropogenic activities, eutrophication (a process where waterbodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth) and accumulation of sediments owing to soil erosion,” the study says.
According to biologists the lake is the habitat of many endemic and critically endangered fish species, including Puntius pookodensis (Pookode Barb). The lakeshore is also a major habitat of nearly 70 species of birds, and nearly 60 species of odonate.
