| Kolleru Lake |
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Kolleru Lake is the largest freshwater lake. Between Krishna and Godavari delta Kolleru is located. Spanning into two districts - Krishna and West Godavari Kolleru is the good sightseeing. The lake serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for these two rivers. The lake is fed directly by water from the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru lakes, and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari systems by over 68 inflowing drains and channels.
The lake was an important habitat for an estimated 20 million resident and migratory birds, including the Grey or Spot-billed Pelican. 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 km². |
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| Rich in flora and fauna, it attracts migratory birds from northern Asia and Eastern Europe between the months of October and March. During this season, the lake is visited by an estimated 20,00,000 birds. The resident birds include grey pelicans, Asian Open-billed Storks (Anastomus oscitans), Painted Storks (Mycteria leucocephala), Glossy Ibises, White Ibises, Teals, Pintails, Shovellers. The migratory birds include Red-Crested Pochards, Blackwinged Stilts, Avocets, Common Redshanks, Wigeons, Gadwalls and Cormorants, Garganys, Herons, Flamingos & among others. |
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Kolleru lake contains numerous fertile islets called lanka's,many of the small ones are submerged during floods. The origine of unusual depression which forms the bed of the lake is unknown, but it was possibly the results of an earthquake. There fore many ancient villages are precepted in the bed of the lake as a result of floods and earthquake. |
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| History |
| Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the lake, traces its history to Langula Narasimha Deva(Langulya Gajapathi Raju) an Ganga Vanshi Orissa king, (Oddi/Oriya raju) . According to legend, the Gajapathi fort was located at Kolleti Kota on one of the eastern islands of the lake. The enemy general "muhammadan" encamped at "Chiguru kota" located on the shores. In some ways, the lake protected the Oriya forces. The enemy finally try to excavated a channel, the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and the level would fall so that they could attack the Gajapathi fort. |
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| The royal Oriya army general sacrificed his own daughter to propitiate Gods and ensure his success against muhammadan and her name was "Perantala Kanama". Therefore the channel was called Perantala Kanama.Sri Peddinti Ammavari Temple is one of the oldest and famous temples found in kolleru.The Gajapatis were a medieval Hindu Surya Vanshi dynasty of Orissa, parts of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. During the glorious reign of Kapilendra deva, the first Suryavamsi Gajapati king,the boundary of the Kalinga empire(Ancient Orissa) was from river Ganga(Hoogly river) in North to Kaveri in South and from Amarkantak in West to Bay of Bengal(Kalinga Sagara) in east. |
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