Chilika Lake

In News:

=> The Odisha government has proposed to ban movement of mechanized fishing boats in Mangalajodi area on the banks of Chilika Lake.

Chilika Lake:

=> It is Asia’s largest and world’s second-largest brackish water lagoon after The New Caledonian barrier reef.

• A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses.

=> Process of Formation:

• It might have begun in the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch, around 20,000 years ago.
• India’s peninsular river Mahanadi carried a heavy load of silt and dumped part of it at its delta.
• As the sediment-laden river met the Bay of Bengal, sand bars were formed near its mouth.
• These created a backflow of the seawater into the sluggish fresh water at the estuary, resulting in the huge brackish water lake.

=> Physical Features:

• Chilika is 64 kilometers long in the north-south direction and 13.5 km wide in the east-west direction.
• It is spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
• It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km².

=> Biodiversity :

Chilika lake hosts birds migrating from thousands of miles away from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and South-East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas.

=> The winged guests find the vast mud-field and abundant fish stock here suitable to congregate.

=> It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent and is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.

=> Major attraction

• Irrawaddy dolphins are often spotted off Satapada Island.
• Kalijai Temple – Located on an island in Chilika Lake.
• Nalabana Island (Forest of Reeds) covering about 16 sq km in the lagoon area was declared a bird sanctuary in 1987.

=> International Recognition

It has been listed as Ramsar Site as well as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

=> Mangalajodi

• It is recognised as globally important for the conservation of bird population.
• The area is used for roosting and nesting by migratory birds.
• However, it is not protected by any statutory rules and regulations.
• The area is 8.3 square km of marshy land with emergent vegetation.