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Butterflies of Coimbatore Wetlands – A 5 Years Study
Wetlands of Coimbatore
Coimbatore is blessed with many wetlands dotted along the Noyyal River fed system . There are about 30 plus wetlands . There are also specific numbers of wetlands which are not Noyyal fed . These wetlands have been the lifeline for many centuries for the people of Coimbatore Region .
From the pristine Ukkulam ( near Semmedu , Siruvani foothills ) to the large Sulur lake , the 45 Km stretch dots many waterbodies . Some of the water bodies like Ukkadam , Perur , Singanallur and Kannampalayam are famous for the birding . Asian Waterfowl Census 2017 conducted on 22 wetlands returned 127 bird species with 7079 bird counts . This indicates that the water bodies are home to both resident and migrant birds .
Except a few wetlands in the upper western originating region , the quality of water in the wet lands are far from satisfactory and will not be part of the scope and description here . Various steps are being taken up on the wetlands like desilting , strengthening the bonds , improving the inlets and outlets , clearing off encroachments , etc . We only like to mention and record the fact that whenever desilting and clearing activities are taken up , they have to be scientifically managed so that the eco system prevailed is not drastically altered leaving the birds nowhere to land and wiping out the micro fauna and flora , some of them could be very rare and local and may never stage a comeback .
Kannampalayam , Pallapalayam , Ravuthar Road ( Irugur ), Achankulam , Sulur , Singanallur , Kumarasamy lake , Selvampathy Lake , Krishnampathy Lake , Kolarampathy Lake , Ukkulam , Senkulam , Perur Puttuvikki , Valankulam , Ukkadam , Selva Chinthamani , Kurichi , Narasampathi , Vedapatti , Nandankarai , Perur-chettipalayam and Kalapatti are the wetlands of importance , found in Coimbatore .
In fact , some wetlands like Singanallur are attempted now to manage well . Singanallur Tank and the area around it have been declared as biodiversity conservation zone . A press release from the Coimbatore Corporation recently declared the area as a conservation zone . The release said that the objective was to protect the 288-acre water body that was home to 720 species of flora and fauna , including 10 endangered species birds , 200 herbs and fresh water tortoise by declaring the place a conservation zone , because urbanisation threatened its ecology . The work of NGOs in this initiative is commendable and we hope all wetlands are similarly focused . of
PATTAMPOOCHI A TNBS MAGAZINE WINGS 2 VEINS 1
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