Tweet

Save Loktak, Our Life 11th Ranbir Thouna Live on Stage on North East Tour. April 4 Moreh Town Parking, April 21 1st MR Ground Imphal, May 5 GMC Guwahati.

Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in northeastern India, located near Moirang in Manipur has played an important role in the socio-culture and economy of the state. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply besides being a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman, who live in the surrounding areas.

Considering the ecological status and its biodiversity values, the lake was initially designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on March 23, 1990. It was later designated by the Ramsar Convention under the Montreux Record on June 16, 1993.

A rich biodiversity has been recorded during a scientific survey carried out between January 2000 and December 2002 in different habitat patches of the lake. The lake’s rich biological diversity comprises 233 species of aquatic life-forms, 116 species of birds have been noted in the lake including 21 species of migratory waterfowl (most migrating from different parts of the northern hemisphere beyond the Himalayas). Also recorded were 425 species of animals—249 vertebrates and 176 invertebrates). The list includes rare animals such as the Indian python, sambhar and barking deer. Keibul Lamjao National Park, located within Loktak Lake is the natural habitat of one of the most endangered deer called Sangai, the Brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi) which was once thought to be extinct.

Fish yield from the lake is reported to be about 1,500 tonnes (6,600,000 lb) every year. The State Fishery Department has introduced millions of fingerlings of Indian and exotic major carps. Natural capture fishery without the requirement of any lease or license have also been in practice in the lake. The fishery at the lake is now a mixture of capture and culture systems. However, the lake and its precincts have faced serious problems due to loss of vegetal cover in the catchment area and construction of Ithai barrage at the outlet of the lake for multipurpose development of water resources.

The degradation of the catchment area of the Lake along with deforestation and shifting cultivation has accelerated the process of soil erosion resulting in the lake’s shrinkage due to siltation. The siltation from the catchment area and domestic sewage from Imphal city carried by Nambul River are discharged into the lake affecting its water quality, thus encouraging the growth of water hyacinth and phumdis. All these activities have direct bearing on ecological instability of the lake. These can interfere in navigation and overall aesthetic value of the Lake.

The thickness of phumdis has decreased in the Keibul Lamjao National Park thereby threatening the survival of Sangai (the Brow-antlered deer) and interference in the migration of fishes from Chindwin–Irrawady River system of Myanma resulting in changes in the species composition. With the phumdis becoming thinner, the hooves of the limbs of Sangai get stuck in the marsh and results in their drowning. The livelihoods of people dependent on the sale of edible fruit and other water plant products have suffered due to steep decline in the growth of these plant species.