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, one spot barb, daniconius and Gambusia affinis are reported. Rainbow trout and common carp are the main fish found in the lake. The fish yield as per past records was 5.3 kg/ha/year. Recently two new species of diatom was found in this lake.
Kodaikanal Lake, also known as Kodai Lake, is a manmade lake located in the 
Over the years a boat club, boathouse and boat service (with rowing boats and pedalling boats and a public ferry) for the public and tourists has become fully functional and is of aesthetic significance for tourism. Boat Pageant and Flower Shows are a regular feature in the summer season which attracts tourists.http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/599/1/543-554.pdf Managing Lake Tourism: Challenges Ahead Bryant Park is situated adjacent to the lake.
A railway line extended from
The lake is star-shaped, centrally located in the town of Kodaikanal and is surrounded by lush green hills of the northwestern
An earthen dam was constructed to create the lake in a marshy where three streams flowed. The lake catchment experiences an average annual rainfall of 1650 mm. The climate is salubrious with summer temperatures of 19.8 °C (max) and 11.3 °C (min) and winter temperatures of 17.3 °C (max) and 8.3 °C (min). The out flow from the Lake forms the waterfall of 180 foot, called the Silver Cascade, 8 km downstream of the lake outlet.
The Lake has moderate to dense growth of macrophytes of all types. The
, one spot barb, daniconius and Gambusia affinis">outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
city in Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Sir Vere Henry Levinge, the then Collector of Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, was instrumental in creating the lake in 1863, amidst the Kodaikanal town which was developed by the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and early missionaries from USA. The lake is said to be Kodaikanal's most popular geographic landmark and tourist attraction.
Over the years a boat club, boathouse and boat service (with rowing boats and pedalling boats and a public ferry) for the public and tourists has become fully functional and is of aesthetic significance for tourism. Boat Pageant and Flower Shows are a regular feature in the summer season which attracts tourists.http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/599/1/543-554.pdf Managing Lake Tourism: Challenges Ahead Bryant Park is situated adjacent to the lake.
Access
A railway line extended from Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
to Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
with an intermediate station at Ammaianayakkanur (later renamed Kodai Road) was built in 1875, to provide a gateway to Kodaikanal town and there on to the lake through a foot trek of 18 km from the railhead. The nearest railheads to the lake presently are the Kodai Road railway Station at 80 km and the Palani
Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal ...
Railway station at 64 km distance, from the town. Madurai (at 121 km) and Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
(at 135 km) airports are the closest to the Lake. Kodai Lake is well connected by road with regular bus services operating to Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, Palani
Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal ...
, Kodaikanal Road, Theni
Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...
, Dindigul
Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...
, Thiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
, Kumili
Kumili is a historical village and panchayat in PusapatiregaMunnar
Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...
, Erode
Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the E ...
, Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
and Coimbatore
Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
.
Topography
The lake is star-shaped, centrally located in the town of Kodaikanal and is surrounded by lush green hills of the northwestern Palani Hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the hi ...
range, which is the main watershed for the lake.
Hydrology
An earthen dam was constructed to create the lake in a marshy where three streams flowed. The lake catchment experiences an average annual rainfall of 1650 mm. The climate is salubrious with summer temperatures of 19.8 °C (max) and 11.3 °C (min) and winter temperatures of 17.3 °C (max) and 8.3 °C (min). The out flow from the Lake forms the waterfall of 180 foot, called the Silver Cascade, 8 km downstream of the lake outlet.
Flora
Kurinji
''Strobilanthes kunthiana'', known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Malayalam and Tamil and Gurige in Kannada is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The purplish blue flower blosso ...
( Strobilanthes kunthiana), a unique flowering plant is reported from the catchment area of the Lake. It is reported that this flower last bloomed in 2004 and that it blooms once in 12 years. Hill-plantain fruits and plums are popular in the area.
Aqua fauna
The Lake has moderate to dense growth of macrophytes of all types. The littoral zone
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
of the lake is reported to be rich in periphytic biota associated with macrophytes. Diatoms
A diatom (New Latin, Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group com ...
, protozoans
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
and rotifers
The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals.
They were first described by Rev. John H ...
which are also associated with macrophytes are found in the lake. Many aquatic insect larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e and adults, molluscs
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil sp ...
, cladocerans
The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms).
Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...
and the fish Danio aequipinnatus, Rasbora
''Rasbora'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are native to freshwater habitats in South and akistan s_...
,_one_spot_barb,_daniconius_and_Gambusia_affinis.html" ;"title="outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...Condition of the lake
Human health risk assessment of the physico-chemical parameters of the lake water reveals that: # A study conducted by the Department of Atomic Energy confirmed that Kodaikanal Lake has been contaminated bymercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
emissions by the thermometer factory of Hindustan Unilever Company.
# As per microbial
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
analysis, the water is not potable and needs to be processed prior to domestic use.
# Several ecological factors have influenced the plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...
diversity and abundance.
# Eight aquatic macroinvertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate s ...
taxa have been identified.
# Tourists
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
and nearby residents are causative factors for lake contamination and water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
;
# Encroachment of the banks of the lake by buildings has violated the court order which prohibits constructions within 200 ft from the banks of the lake;
# The impact on the quality of water is transitory as compared to closed water body.
# High pollution loads of organic matter
Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
from hotels and other commercial establishments around the lake are causing pollution.
Lake conservation plan
The Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
has initiated a Centrally Sponsored Scheme called the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP), since June, 2001, on 70:30 cost sharing basis between the Central Government and the respective State Government, with the objective of restoring and conserving the polluted and degraded lakes in urban and semi urban areas in the country. On the basis of studies carried out, 62 lakes including the Kodaikanal Lake in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
have been identified as polluted and degraded requiring conservation.
Treatment and eco-restoration works for the Kodaikanal Lake were undertaken by the Government of Tamil Nadu with funds provided by the Govt. of India, under the above stated cost sharing formula, by the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to abate pollution and, thereby benefit the local and floating population. The project envisaged Bio remediation, Sewage Treatment, Low cost sanitation Facilities, awareness, de- Weeding, Interception and Diversion Works, Fencing, Horse sheds, Data Collection and Dredging, at a total cost of about Rs 10.33 crores (US $2.6 million).
Gallery
Kurinji
''Strobilanthes kunthiana'', known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Malayalam and Tamil and Gurige in Kannada is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The purplish blue flower blosso ...
flower which blooms once in 12 years in the lake’s surrounding Palani Hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the hi ...
ranges
See also
*Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
* Dindigul district
* Palani Hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the hi ...
* Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park
The Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is a proposed protected area in Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu India. The park will be an upgrade and expansion of the 736.87 km2 (PRO) Palani (Kodaikanal) Wildlife Sanctuary which was t ...
* Pannaikadu
References
External links
A very non-typical morning view of Kodaikanal lake
{{Hydrography of Tamil Nadu Reservoirs in Tamil Nadu Kodaikanal