Puducherry’s Bahour lake shrinks amid encroachments, clogged feeder channels
Bahour Lake in Puducherry is shrinking due to illegal encroachments, agricultural activity, and a lack of maintenance on feeder channels. Local farmers and activists are calling for urgent desilting and restoration to preserve this vital irrigation source.
Why it matters
The degradation of traditional water bodies threatens local food security and water management in the face of climate change.
Bahour Lake, Puducherry’s second-largest freshwater lake and an important irrigation source, is gradually losing its water-spread area because of unchecked cultivation, encroachments and poorly maintained feeder channels, according to farmers and environmental activists.
Spread over 1,765 acres, the lake has been shrinking over the years due to human interventions, including agricultural activity within its water-spread area and the issue of pattas by the Revenue Departments of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, they said. Small bunds, pathways and other alterations have reportedly been created to facilitate cultivation.
The lake, believed to predate the Chola period, was deepened during the reign of the Cholas. It is fed by the Bangaru Vaikal, which branches off from the Sornavur Anaicut on the Thenpennaiar river, around 16.8 km away. The channel has a surplus weir, while a portion of the tank, including its bund, falls in neighbouring Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.
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