Giving a shot in the arm for conservation activities at Singanallur Lake, Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development S.P. Velumani declared on Sunday that commercial fishing will be banned in the water body from January 2019.
Mr. Velumani also launched reintroduction of native fresh water fishes in the lake, which is now dominated by fishes which are raised for commercial purposes, by releasing two groups of fresh water fishes and shrimps.
The ban on commercial fishing was announced at a function, organised by the Coimbatore Corporation and voluntary organisation Centre for Urban Biodiversity Conservation and Education (CUBE), on the lake premises on Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of authorities declaring the water body as an Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone.
Mr. Velumani said that banning of commercial fishing will help protect the ecosystem of the water body and the fresh water fish species.
He added that Singanallur Lake will be upgraded to a new level without harming the flora and fauna under the Smart City Project.
Draft report
The Minister released a draft report prepared by experts on the flora of the lake. He also unveiled the foundation stone for an interpretation centre that will come up at the lake site.
As per the draft report, 477 species of plants were identified at the lake of which more than 200 have medicinal properties. C. Kunhikannan, Scientist with Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) and an expert in forest ecology and plant biodiversity, said that a herbarium of plants have been readied.
B. Nagarajan, Scientist with IFGTB who chose the species of fish which were released into the lake on Sunday, said that more number of fresh water fishes seen in river Noyyal will be released into the water body to enrich it with the population of native species.
Commemorating the first anniversary, the Chief Postmaster General of Tamil Nadu K. Balasubramanian released a special postal cover brought out by the India Post depicting the biodiversity of the lake. It carries the caption ‘Singanallur Lake: A paradise’.
District Collector T.N. Hariharan, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan, Deputy Commissioner P. Gandhimathi, Coimbatore North MLA P.R.G. Arunkumar, Purushothaman Ranganathan from Robert Bosch – Coimbatore, and volunteers of CUBE were present on the occasion.
