Quo vadis Sasthamkotta?

The overexploited Sasthamkotta Lake, one of the 25 Ramsar sites in India, is now facing another lethal threat, all thanks to a new drinking water scheme, the Chavara-Panmana Water Supply Scheme, due to be commissioned on January 12th despite warnings by expert committee that the lake cannot bear up further abuse.

Ideally, the outflow from a water body should be limited to 60% of its inflow: as of yet, Sasthamcotta Lake’s outflow has exceeded 70% of its inflow (37.5 million litres per day is utilised to supply Kollam district + additional 12 million litres per day under the new scheme). The Water Resources Minister, however, maintains that this new water supply scheme will not affect the lake since there is sufficient water. Is the Ramsar Site heading towards its demise?