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Appearances can be deceptive. Spread over 1,000 sq km in southern Orissa, the vast expanse of the Chilika lake seems more like a paradise on earth. Its picture postcard sight is both idyllic and serene. But, beneath its bewitching surface, Chilika is being gradually throttled to death.

Over the years, the rivers and rivulets flowing into the lake brought with them more and more silt. Consequently, the bed has been rapidly rising, causing a shrinkage that threatens the lake's existence. The troubles go much beyond physical dimensions. Chilika is beset with ecological dangers as well. With its sole link with the sea getting choked, the lake is being deprived of its supply of saline water. From an estuarine lake, Chilika is close to turning into a fresh water lake, and the unique biodiversity that it supported is creeping perilously close to a disaster. But there's hope for Chilika: a concerted conservation effort is on to save the lake. Backed by years of scientific research, the interventions being attempted are both bold and pathbreaking.

Connected to the sea by only the Magarmukh channel—an inordinately long waterbody—the Chilika was starved of saline water; the link was virtually choked by silt. Selected dredging started. The silt along the Magarmukh was dug out and the obstacles to free flow of water cleared. Over the years, the channel had almost shrunk to a narrow nullah with a depth of no more than a foot. The scooping out of sediments has given it more respectable measurements: a depth of 2.5 m deep and a width of 200 m.

"The fight to save the Chilika is as big as the lake itself," explains Ajit Patnaik, chief executive of the state Government-run Chilika Development Authority (CDA). "It's possibly Chilika's last chance to survive," adds Abhash Panda, a Bhubaneswar-based environmentalist. Hopes are high, if somewhat tinged with apprehension. For though similar initiatives were undertaken in the cases of Srinagar's Dal lake and Manipur's Loktak lake, they were mere ponds compared with Chilika.

After widening the Magarmukh channel, the logical next step was the fashioning of a new mouth. The existing opening to the sea was about 35 km down the long channel and the sea tides rarely made their impact felt on the lake. After studying scientific *data, last fortnight another mouth was carved in the sand bars at Sipakuda, 8 km down the channel. This will allow saline ingression from the sea throughout the lake and improve tidal flux by 45 per cent. It will also help in proper flushing of sediments into the sea and bring back fish and other economic species to the lake.

The results of the multi-disciplinary action plan are already tangible. After the intervention began a little over two years ago, silt is being flushed out effectively to the sea. The tidal waves from the sea are also getting in unhindered. Salinity has already risen and at Satpada point on the lake, salt content has jumped from a meagre 1.2 ppt (particles per thousand) to a much healthier 16 ppt. The rise in salinity has had its effect. Penaeus indicus, a species of prawn indigenous to Chilika but thought to be extinct from the lake, made its first appearance after years this June and July.

Fishermen living in villages on the periphery of the lake made a commercial killing by netting them in tonnes. And, given the shrinking veins of the lake, fish landing had been going down. In 1985-86, it was around 8,000 tonnes a year. In 1998-99, the figure had slid down to an abysmal 1,000 tonnes. With the lake mouth now more amenable to fish migration, fishermen should have bigger harvests in the coming months.

"What is reassuring is the realisation that scientific intervention can turn the tide in Chilika after all," says a relieved Patnaik. In a project funded by the Union government, several organisations like the Remote Sensing Agency, IIT Chennai, and the Central Water and Power Research Centre, Pune, have now come together to study the unique features of the Chilika and suggest corrective measures. The Orissa Remote Sensing Application Centre carried out a study using satellite imagery to come up with the catchment treatment plan. Areas most erosion-prone were identified and steps taken in a phased manner to intervene in the soil erosion and silting. This is vital. Though Chilika is fed mainly by the tidal inflow from the seas, at least 52 rivers and rivulets flow into the lake. Alongside, joint forest management is being undertaken with the participation of local villages in the area. Felling of trees for fuel wood in catchment areas will also be prevented.

There are other initiatives as well. A sediment monitoring programme is being carried out to find out how much silt is being carried in by the rivers. Monitoring through remote sensing techniques will also continue. In addition, there will be attempts to manage weeds. The results are already encouraging. Given its declining salinity, the lake was being overrun by fresh-water weeds. From a mere 40 sq km in the 1970s, weeds covered as many as 390 sq km of the lake in 1993. They are still there, but their expansion has now been checked. The latest updates show that weeds cover about 370 sq km of the water area. The results and the support to the restoration effort—the Central Government has committed Rs 30 crore to it—have elated conservationists.

Sceptics, however, have their grouses. "What is being done as of now is as good as scratching the lake's surface. The gravest of ills are still unattended," alleges Biswajit Mohanty of the Wildlife Society of Orissa. Huge tracts of the lake are currently under illegal prawn farms that a deeply entrenched mafia runs, and their nets and bunds block the free flow of water as well as the migration of marine species in and out of the lake. Worse, though the CDA is masterminding the revival of Chilika, the lake comes under the purview of a host of departments like fisheries, soil conservation and tourism. And often, these government agencies work at cross purposes. For example, a floating restaurant was being planned at Chilika to attract tourists, unmindful of the fact that tourist influx could be an added stress on the fragile lake.

These issues are still to be addressed. And it is quite clear that saving the Chilika will take more than scientific intervention. After all it is also about the sensibilities and sensitivity to the lake's unique qualities.

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