VEMBANAD LAKE

About:

• Vembanad Lake is also known as Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake (in Kuttanad) and Kochi Lake (in Kochi).
  
  
• Spanning several districts of Kerala and covering a territory of more than 2033.02 km², it is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest Lake in India.
  
  
• It is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island and is a popular backwater stretch in Kerala.
  
  
• Vallam Kali (a.k.a Nehru Trophy Boat Race) is a Snake Boat Race held every year in the month of August in Vembanad Lake.
  
  
• In 2002 it was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention.
  
  
• The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake.
  
  

Recent findings of Central Water Commission (CWC):

• The Vembanad Lake was able to absorb only 0.6 billion cubic metres (BCM), of the 1.63 BCM caused due to excessive rainfall.
  
  
• Lake’s capacity shrunk due to congestion; intense rain, lack of spillways and reservoirs led to surge. The situation may have been better if the capacity of the lake was larger.