Chilka Lake is a lake in the sea-backed water of Orissa region. It is India's largest and second largest lake lake in the world. [3] [4] It is also known as Chilika Lake. It is an anop and located in Puri district in the shape of a pearl in the coastal part of Orissa. It is 70 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide. It is only a part of the sea that has separated from the ocean as the dust of the soil brought by the Mahanadi, and has become a shallow lake. From December to June the water of this lake remains saline, but its water becomes sweet in the rainy season. Its average depth is 3 meters.
There are very biodiversity in the ecosystem of this lake. This is a huge fishing place. This lake provides livelihood facilities for 150,000 fishermen residing in 132 villages.
About 160 species are found in this bay. Caspian Sea, Bachal Lake, Aral Sea and Russia, Mongolia, Ladakh, Central Asia, etc., come here from various distant places. After this they decide huge distances. After the migrant, the distance of more than 12,000 km is reached by the lake Chilka.
In 1981, Chilka Lake was selected as the wetland of international importance, according to the Ramsar Manifesto. This was the first Indian lake with this significance.
According to a survey, there are 45% of the land, 32% waterfowl and 23% of the herb. This lake also has residence of 14 types of rapists. It is also home to about 152 of the endangered and rarely dolphins. Along with this, this lake is also home to 37 types of reptiles and amphibians.
The ecology of Chilka Lake, with high productivity fish system, provides livelihood for people and fishermen. In the monsoon and summer, the area of water in the lake goes up from 1165 to 906 km 2 respectively. A 32 km long, narrow, external canal connects it to the Bay of Bengal. A new canal has also been made by the CDA recently, which has given the lake another life.
Small algae, sea grass, sea seeds, fish, shrimp, cakes etc. grow in the salt water of Chilka lake.
Geography and topography
Chilka Lake is a muddy land with vast areas and shallow water bays. The western and southern extremities are located in the vicinity of the Eastern Ghats.
All the rivers that bring the soil and mud to the lake control the northern end of the lake. A 60 km (37 mile) long siege sandstone from the northern waves rising in the Bay of Bengal, called the Reasgans, [17] and as a result, this shallow lake and its eastern part were formed. Due to a short-lived lake, its aquatic region varies from 1,165 km (449.8 square miles) in summer to 906 km 2 (349.8 square miles) in the rainy season.
There are many islands in this lake. The large islands separated from the narrow canals are located in the middle of the main lake and sandy surrounded land. The total 42 km (16 mile) area canals connect the lake to the Bay of Bengal. [13] There are six huge islands in this region: Parikud, Fulbari, Berhpura, Nuapara, Nalbana, and Tamara. These islands are part of the Krishnprasad Revenue field of Puri district in collaboration with the peninsula of Malud.
The northern coast of the lake is part of the Khorda district and the western coast is part of Ganjam district. Due to sedimentation the width of the sandy embankment varies and the face of the sea closes for some time. The lake's sea-facing state also rapidly slips towards north-east. River face, which was 1.5 km (0.9 miles) wide in 1780, was left for only forty years (0.5 miles). Regional fishermen have to continue to widen the lake's face to save their jobs and go into sea
The depth of water varies from 0.9 feet (0.3 m) to 2.6 ft (0.8 m) in dry weather and from 1.8 m (5.9 ft) to 4.2 m (13.8 ft) in the rainy season. The width of the old canal going to the sea, which is known as Magrakusha, is now 100 m (328.1 feet). The lake is mainly divided into four regions, the northern, southern, central and outer canal areas. A 32 km (19.9-mile) long outer canal connects the lake to the Bay of Bengal in the village of Aakhkhara. The lake is like a pear and its maximum length is 64.3 kilometers (40.0 miles) and the average width is 20.1 km (12.5 miles).
Quality of water and depression
The Chilka Development Authority (CDA) established an organized system of water quality measurement and investigation of limonology (study inland water), describes the following physical-chemical characteristics of lake water.
Lake water is alkaline; - The quantity of pH is between 7.1 to 9.6, from which the total alkalinity becomes like salinity or saline. The highest alkalinity is measured near the Rambha in the southern part of the lake.
The bathymetry survey shows shallow depth in the northern part. Here, in a large part, the depth is less than 1.5m (5 feet) whereas in the southern part, the depth is measured to the highest 3.9m (12.8 feet).
Due to the depression of the upper water and the availability of the pitcher, there is high turbidity here. Visibility in clarity measure has been found between 9 and 155 cm (0.30 and 5.09 feet).
Large floating and spatial changes in the alkaline levels in the lake keep coming from coming out with freshwater, evaporation, air directions and sea water tides. The alkalinity of this lake is found in the canals going out of 0 parts / Thousand at the mouth of river Mercury, up to 42 pieces / salty amount of up to 42 pieces.
The amount of water soluble oxygen has been found to be 3.3-18.9 mg / l.
Phosphate phosphorus (0-0.4 ppm), nitrate nitrogen (10-60 ppm) and silicates (1-8 ppm) are much higher in the north and northeast because the different rivers flow here.
The lake is divided mainly into 4 parts according to the alkaline volume. Known mainly by the names of southern, central, northern and outer canals. During the monsoon, due to the heavy tide of sea water due to the tide, the alkalinity generated by the heavy quantity equals the heavy amount of fresh water coming from heavy rains in the northern and central regions. Alkalinity also prevails during monsoon due to lack of fresh water in the southern part. However, due to the northern winds in the post-monsoon season, the alkalinity in the southern part decreases slightly. These winds work on mixing water with other parts of the lake. In the summer, the water level of the lake falls below, due to which the ocean water comes from the outer canals and alkalinity is increased in the summer.
protection; Dangers and Management
Due to its rich biodiversity, in 1981, Chilka Lake was selected as the wetland of international importance, according to the Ramsar Manifesto, as shown in the form of facts:
Here is one lakh migrant waterfowl and coastal migrants in winter.
More than 400 vertebrate species have been recorded.
As an estuary lagoon, it supports a unique blend of marine and saline and sweet water species.
Many rare and endangered species are found in this area.
The lake supports fishery, which is the lifeline of the community there.
The lake has a lot of importance in the preservation of genetic diversity.
Here we have increased weeds and aquaculture activities.
The danger
In these years, the lake ecosystem has faced many problems and some of these dangers are:
Silt due to coastal drift and sediments from inland river systems
Shrinkage of water surface area
As well as the entry of the drain, the path of connecting the sea is also slipping
Reduction in salinity and fishery resources
Freshwater invasive species spread and
Along with the declining productivity of biodiversity, all the losses are adversely affecting the community of subsistence dependent on it.
Fights between fishermen and non-fishermen communities in the lake and consequently court cases regarding fishing rights.