Big Fish Nest

Choked is the word that comes to mind as one takes in the sight of fish tanks, bunds and pucca roads criss-crossing Kolleru, one of India's largest freshwater lakes. The decimation of the water body—once spread over 901 sq km—took a steady 30 years and today the man-made monstrosities loom large, leaving you wondering where the lake is. Located between the Krishna and Godavari deltas, Kolleru serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for the two rivers. It is fed by the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru rivers. In 1999, the government declared 75,000 acres of the lake as a bird sanctuary and banned mechanised fishing. But that has not stopped the fishing mafia from having a free run.

Till about a decade ago, Kolleru was a paradise for nature lovers. Its clear waters and naturally favourable ecosystem attracted migratory birds from Australia, Egypt and Siberia. Tourists would flock to the lake to see flamingos, grey pelicans, open bill storks, painted storks, glossy ibises, white ibises and teals among others. Today, even in peak season, it is hard to spot any birds other than some cranes, pelicans and water fowl.

In 1976, the Jalagam Vengal Rao government that wanted to help the Vaddi and Dalit communities along Kolleru issued pattas for 5,000 acres, asking families to take up fish cultivation. A large number of the villagers here had migrated from Orissa 60 years ago. Unable to take up pisciculture on their own, the fishermen societies leased tanks to big traders who began encroaching on the lake. Much like the Arab and Camel story, these greedy traders widened the acreage of their fish tanks by building concrete structures on drains and roads to help them ferry their fish.

A government order in 1999 declared 75,000 acres of the lake as a bird sanctuary, making mechanised fishing and construction of cross bunds illegal. However, officials never batted an eyelid at the serial destruction of the lake till the floods in September this year. Following massive stagnation of water across 13 mandals and damage to 2 lakh acres of paddy crop, the state administration decided it was time to act. Chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has now ordered that the fish tanks have to go.

In the first few days of Operation Kolleru, launched in November, a collective gasp went around when West Godavari district collector Lav Agarwal ordered breaching of about 380 fish tanks. Locals and businessmen, who were illegally leasing lake waters, were openly defiant. Krishna district collector Nitin Agarwal ordered seizure of lorries smuggling fish, feed and seed. This invited protest from fishermen across Eluru—where a major part of the lake lies—but Agarwal held firm.

But bunds are now slowly being rebuilt and mechanised trawlers operate stealthily after dusk. Since Kolleru is shallow, its deepest point being 20 feet, building bunds is easy. Some villagers do it overnight. Besides, fish tanks that range in size from 20 to 600 acres bring in huge money. Nobody wants to let go of the cash. When this correspondent met villagers in Gudivakalanka, Agadalanka and Chettunnapadu, spread across 30-45 km from Eluru on the lake bed, the atmosphere was one of righteous anger.

Says G. Nagaraju, gram panchayat vice-president at Gudivakalanka: "How can they blame the floods on our fish tanks? They have to widen the Upputeru channel that takes floodwater into the Bay of Bengal. The government cannot rob us of our livelihood." But livelihood appears an expansive word considering the villagers do little else than lease out the waters, which are not theirs to begin with, and live off the illegal earnings.

The mood is similar in Prathikollalanka village where women crowd around a revenue inspector demanding to know why their fish truck is illegal. Each family makes anywhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 per acre every year by leasing out fish tanks to traders, some of them prominent politicians. Sekhanna, who leases out 30 acres, says several Telugu Desam leaders own fish tanks around the village. "This sudden activity of breaching tanks was because of the floods. Just wait. Political pressure will force the CM to stop this so-called lake cleaning," he scoffs.

There are 122 villages in the lake area. Farmers in the belt villages of Eluru mandal like Sriparru, Katlampudi and Chataparru are heaving a sigh of relief. Unlike their neighbours on the bed of Kolleru, their livelihood is agriculture. With the storming of fish tanks and abating floods, they can now go in for rabi crop. "The chief minister does not want to see tears in the eyes of the farmers. We will evacuate all encroachers, right from the small fish to the bigger ones, no matter what party they belong to," says Agarwal.

It is rumoured that a former Telugu Desam minister and anRJD  leader lease fish tanks stretching across 1,000 acres each in Kolleru. "Ninety per cent of the aqua farms are owned byTDP leaders. This is the reason ex-CM Chandrababu Naidu never took action in Kolleru," says a mandal parishad development officer. But Eluru MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao of the Congress too has protested the burst of activity and requestedYSR to go slow. So, as a softer approach, West Godavari officials are conducting a survey to determine how the fishermen can earn a living once the aqua farming is stopped. The CM has directed district officials to analyse what needs to be done to promote traditional fishing, agriculture and develop a wildlife conservation package.

So will Kolleru be a bird sanctuary again? "It's going to take a long time. At least a beginning has been made," says West Godavari joint collector B. Ramanjaneyulu. "Our greatest achievement is in conveying the message that we will protect the lake, come what may."