Sasthamkotta Lake

Sasthamkotta Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the Kerala state of India. The name of the lake is named in the honor of ancient Sastha temple which is located on its bank. The lake supplies water to the entire Kollam district and meet the drinking water needs of the people. It also provides fishing resources. In November 2002, the lake was notified as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Location of Sasthamkotta Lake
The lake is located at Sasthamkotta in Kollam District. It is situated at a distance of 30 kilometres from Kollam.

Geography of Sasthamkotta Lake
The lake is encircled by hills on three sides and in the south of the lake, there is a bund, which has been constructed to separate the lake from the adjacent rice fields. The water of the lake is free of common salt, other minerals and metals.

The lake is enriched with flora and aqua fauna. Decent number of resident troupes of monkeys and insects like butterflies, odonates and hymenopterans are part of this lake. The Common Teal or dabbling duck is the smallest migratory bird found in the lake. Some of the vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered species reported by WWF in the lake comprises of Puntius ticto punctatus, Horabagrus brachysoma and Parambassis thomassi.

The list of aqua fauna in the lake is long which includes 27 species of freshwater fishes like pearl spot and catfish, two genera of prawns, 21 species of herrings and sardines of the family Clupeidae etc.

Conservation of Sasthamkotta Lake
There are a number of factors that are threatening and hampering the quality of the lake. Some of the factors are increasing anthropogenic pressure like encroachment of parts of the lake for agriculture; soil erosion of the banks from the encroached land and effluents from domestic sewage to name a few. To overcome these problems and preserve the lake, the Kerala State Government prepared a Conservation and Management Action Plan (MAP) in 1999.

Visiting Information of Sasthamkotta Lake
The nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The nearest railway station is the Sasthamkotta railway station. The closest town is at Karunagapally. From here one can avail four-wheeler services. Also, it can be reached easily with an hour`s drive from Kollam town.