06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

asis of available data from an earlier study
conducted during 1993-1998 (Respond Project,
1998), which is prior to the opening of the
second artificial mouth on September 23, 2000.
Unpublished results available from author's
laboratory (P. K. Mohanty, data not shown) on
limnological features on the basis of our recent
field survey undertaken during November 4-6,
2001, however pointed to a qualitative change
with respect to temperature, salinity, pH,
dissolved oxygen etc. in Chilika, particularly
after the opening of the new mouth.
j. Meteorology: Meteorology of Chilika lagoon
plays an important role in the hydro biological
process. The monthly variations of different
meteorological parameters are shown in
Figures 3 and 4 (Mohanty, 1990).
vi. Short summary on vegetation and animal life
The lagoon is rich with its flora and fauna.
Available information on the flora of Chilika
indicates the occurrence of more than 700 plant
species in Chilika and the surrounding area (CDA,
2001). A survey of the fauna of Chilika lagoon
carried out by the Zoological Survey of India
during 1985-87 recorded over 729 species of
wetland fauna including 217 species of fishes and
156 species of birds (ZSI, 1995).
Chilika supports some of the largest congregation
of aquatic birds in the country, particularly during
the winter. Flocks of migratory waterfowl arrive
from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral
Sea, remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of
Mongolia, Central and South East Asia, Ladakh
and the Himalayas, to feed and breed in its fertile
Ill. Population Profile
Chilika Lake
waters. Chilika lagoon occupies a unique place for
its rich resident and migrant avifauna. The
number of bird species recorded from Chilika has
been listed to be 167. On an average about 90-100
bird species numbering about 20 lakhs visit Chilika
every year during the months of winter (Forest
Department of Orissa, 1997). Both the flora and
fauna of Chilika includes rare and endangered
species.
The entire region of Chilika inclusive of the lake is
spread over three coastal. districts of Orissa
namely Puri, Khurda and Ganjam. According to
the available census (Census of India, 1991), the
total population of the above region is 2, 24, 891
belonging to 293 villages and two Notified Area
Councils namely, Balugaon and Rambha. The
villages are distributed under seven blocks:
Brahmagiri, Konas, Krushnaprasad of Puri; Tangi
and Chilika of Khurda; and Khallikote and
Ganjam of Ganjam district (Figure 1, Table 2).
It may be noted that the eight villages with a
population of 10120 belonging to Konas block are
not directly in connection with Chilika, but are
located on the banks of rivers Daya or Luna linked
with Chilika. The people from the said villages
very much depend on fishing from Chilika, and the
aforementioned rivers provide the waterway for
the purpose. The fishermen communities are
included in Scheduled Caste (SC) that number 65,
398. SC includes the castes such as keuta,
kandara, kaibarta, tiara, nolia etc. All the
castes speak Oriya with exception to nolia, who
speak Telugu. It may be noted that the workers in
Table2: Blockwisedistributionofvillagesa10ngwithpopulationproffieinandaroundCbi1ikalagoon.
ND. Df TDtal Sc. CultivatDrs Agr!. labDurer livestDck labDurer ••
District BIDcks villages pDpulatiDn Caste male female male female male female
Puri Brahmagiri 25 15861 2730 2865 4 308 5 478 9
Kanas 8 10120 3858 1240 2 279 2 850 0
Krushna prasada 131 66009 14833 7999 25 2757 136 4129 231
Khurda Tangi 11 14028 6100 690 6 163 1 2155 27
Ghilika 54 53786 21055 4248 22 2459 20 5210 22
Balugaon. 12404 2974 414 53 250 5 240 1
Ganjam Khallikote 36 23502 6710 1654 172 1244 442 1149 47
Ganjam 28 19968 4200 2593 355 670 709 1117 13
Rambha. 9213 2938 496 2 243 276 376 3
Tolal 293 224891 65398 22199 641 8373 1596 15704 353
It Notified Area Council (HAC). - Include labourers Dve on OsheL]' Ill1d flsblng.
Source: Census 01 India (1991).
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