The Andhra Pradesh State Wildlife Management authorities have identified that illegal aquaculture activities are going on in a stretch of more than 1,700 acres falling under the purview of Kolleru Lake.
Last week, the Wildlife Management Division of the Forest Department constituted a 52-member task force to identify and raid the illegal aquaculture ponds in the Kolleru Lake area.
The task force, during the raids, found that many groups of locals had excavated patches in the 5th contour of the lake and converted them into aquaculture ponds. Kolleru is Asia’s largest freshwater lake and a Ramsar Convention site.
