Troubles never come in installments and sometimes heart gets too heavy that we can't bear to live anymore. But the inhuman fate demands to live this painstaking life for the sake of happiness of others. Maybe there would be no big change in the sad fate of this poor life until its last moment.

Kolleru Lake

Overview
Kolleru Lake is ensconced between the two major river basins of the rivers Godavari and Krishna and functions as a natural flood balancing reservoir between the two deltas.To the north lies the West Godavari and to the south of it lies the Krishna. It extends over 900 sq km and is the largest freshwater lake in India. It is fed directly by two seasonal rivers, the Budameru and the Tammileru besides 30 inflowing drains and channels. It has a variety of wetland habitats ranging from coastal freshwater lagoons to seasonal freshwater marsh es/pools.
About 7 lakh people live in the Kolleru region (10 ft contour) making its population density (800 persons/sq. km) twice that of the national average.
It serves as a habitat for various resident and migratory birds besides sustaining fishing, agriculture and related occupations of the people dependent on it for livelihood.
The lake was notified as a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999 under India's Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and designated a wetland of international importance in November 2002 under the international Ramsar Convention. The wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 308 sq kms.

Biodiversity Values
It has a variety of wetland habitats ranging from coastal freshwater lagoons to seasonal freshwater marsh es/pools.

Flora
The entire area of the lake comprises vast plains interspersed with pools of water with a few tree species such as Borassus flabellifer, Acacia nilotica and Azadirachta indica, etc. The entire vegetation of this area can be classified into aquatic and terrestrial vegetation. It shows variation in different spots with emergent, submerged and free floating aquatic macrophytes.

Fauna
The lake harbors a variety of resident and migratory birds. The lake also serves as an important habitat for up to 50,000 resident and the lake is visited by an estimated 2,00,000 migratory birds, including the Grey or Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis).

Threats
A lack of regulation of the seaward flow of the Kolleru waters during monsoon is progressively increasing the high - flood line, causing major food problems in the surrounding cities of Eluru and Gudivada, besides submerging second - crop paddy lands and fish tanks. It was occupied by aquaculture and agriculture. There was no fresh water and even a little of it was infested with weeds. Massive quantities of untreated effluents from dozens of nearby industrial plants, raw sewage from several surrounding and densely populated villages, towns and cities along with rainwater runoff carrying dissolved fertilizers and pesticides are polluting it. The habitat of birds and the lake’s fauna were completely destroyed.

Measures
The local authorities have tried to implement some measures but that was all in vain due to the severe resistance offered by local people under the guidance of vested intrest individuals and politicians.
Some measures that could bring back the dying river to life include:
Clearing and widening of the Upputeru to increase outflow. Retrieve areas under illegal fish ponds and cultivation. Immediate stopping of release of untreated sewage and raw industrial waste into the lake.

It is necessary to conserve the Kolleru lake area and introduce management systems that would sustain biodiversity of the lake and conservation of the lake ecosystem without inhibiting the genuine developmental needs of the area.