Consider the following statements: 1. Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake. 2. Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake. 3. Meandering of Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake. How many of the statements given above are correct? [UPSC CSP 2023]

Only two. Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The Jhelum River flows through and feeds Wular Lake in Kashmir. Kanwar Lake (Kabartal Wetland) in Bihar was formed by the meandering of the Gandak River, per its official Ramsar Information Sheet. Statement 2 is wrong: Kolleru Lake is fed directly by the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru streams, not directly by the Krishna River, though it lies between the Krishna and Godavari deltas.

Which two rivers' deltas does Kolleru Lake, India's largest freshwater lake by area, lie between?

Krishna and Godavari. Kolleru Lake lies in the inter-deltaic region between the Krishna and Godavari river deltas, in Andhra Pradesh. It is fed directly not by these two rivers but by two seasonal streams, the Budameru and Tammileru, and is connected to both river systems by a network of irrigation canals.

Kolleru Lake, in Andhra Pradesh, is fed directly by which two seasonal streams?

Budameru and Tammileru. Kolleru Lake is fed directly by the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru streams, not by the Krishna or Godavari rivers. Read more: IndGeo0125 — Kolleru Lake.

In which year was Kolleru Lake designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance?

2002. Kolleru Lake was designated a Ramsar site on 19 November 2002. Read more: IndGeo0125 — Kolleru Lake.

What has been identified as Kolleru Lake's biggest ecological threat, with satellite imagery showing about 42% of the lake converted by 2001?

Aquaculture (fish ponds). Aquaculture is Kolleru's biggest threat; 2001 satellite imagery showed about 42% of the lake occupied by fish ponds. Read more: IndGeo0125 — Kolleru Lake.

Kolleru Lake was declared a wildlife sanctuary, under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in which year?

1999. Kolleru was declared a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999, covering 308 square kilometres. Read more: IndGeo0125 — Kolleru Lake.

Kolleru Lake: The Lake Two Rivers Don’t Directly Feed

Two rivers flank this lake, yet neither one feeds it. Kolleru sits between the Krishna and Godavari deltas, but its real water comes from two small seasonal streams.

At a glance

A lake between two rivers, fed by neither

245 sq km

Kolleru’s area, India’s largest freshwater lake by extent.

Budameru & Tammileru

The two seasonal streams that actually feed the lake.

2002

Year Kolleru was designated a Ramsar wetland site.

~42%

Share of the lake taken over by fish ponds by 2001.

Birds on submerged acacia trees in Kolleru Lake, near Devi Chintapadu. Kolleru’s wetlands host millions of resident and migratory birds. Photo: I.Mahesh, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Inter-deltaic lakeA lake lying in the plain between two river deltas, shaped by both but fed directly by neither.

Kolleru LakeIndia’s largest freshwater lake by area, in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh, between the Krishna and Godavari deltas.

Oxbow lakeA lake formed by a river’s meandering cutting off a loop, like Kanwar Lake in Bihar.

Tectonic lakeA lake formed by earth-movement, directly fed and drained by a river, like Wular Lake in Kashmir.

On this page

Location and water source
Conservation status
Related Indian lakes
What the PYQ tested
MCQ on Kolleru Lake

Location and water source

Must Know

Where does Kolleru Lake sit?

Kolleru Lake lies mainly in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh. It sits in the inter-deltaic plain between the Krishna and Godavari river deltas. The lake covers about 245 square kilometres, inside a larger Ramsar wetland area of 302 square kilometres. Kolleru is considered India’s largest freshwater lake by area, among shallow, seasonally variable lakes.

Why doesn’t either river feed it directly?

Despite sitting between two major rivers, Kolleru is not fed directly by either one. Its real water source is two seasonal streams, the Budameru and Tammileru. The lake connects to the Krishna and Godavari irrigation systems only through more than 67 major and minor canals.

Q1. True or False: Kolleru Lake is directly fed by the Krishna River.

Conservation status

Good to Know

How is Kolleru protected?

Kolleru was declared a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999, under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, covering 308 square kilometres. It was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on 19 November 2002. The lake historically hosted around 20 million resident and migratory birds, including spot-billed pelicans, painted storks, and greater flamingos.

What threatens it today?

Aquaculture is the lake’s biggest threat. Satellite imagery from 2001 showed roughly 42% of the lake occupied by fish ponds. That encroachment has effectively turned parts of the wetland into a drain.

Q2. True or False: Aquaculture encroachment is considered Kolleru Lake’s biggest threat.

Related Indian lakes

Great to Know

How does Kolleru compare to other exam-favourite lakes?

Kolleru is a deltaic, inter-deltaic lake. It is shaped by two river systems around it, rather than fed directly by either one. This contrasts with Wular Lake in Kashmir, a tectonic lake directly fed and drained by the Jhelum River. It also differs from Kanwar Lake in Bihar, an oxbow lake formed by a river’s meandering rather than by delta drainage.

Exam angle: UPSC often tests exactly this distinction. A lake sitting near a major river is not automatically fed by that river — check the actual hydrology, not just the map position.

Think it through. Why does UPSC keep testing whether a lake is “directly fed” by a nearby river, instead of just asking where the lake is located?

Show the explanation

Location alone can mislead. Kolleru sits between two major rivers yet isn’t fed by either. The question checks whether a candidate understands the actual hydrology, not just the map position.

Q3. True or False: Kolleru Lake is an oxbow lake, like Kanwar Lake in Bihar.

Exam Edge

What the PYQ tested

UPSC CSP 2023, GS Paper I, asked candidates to check three statements about how three different lakes form or are fed, together in one question.

Statement 1: True“Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake” — correct, Wular is a tectonic lake on the Jhelum.
Statement 2: False“Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake” — wrong. Kolleru is fed by the Budameru and Tammileru streams, not the Krishna.
Statement 3: True“Meandering of the Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake” — correct, Kanwar is an oxbow lake.
Answer: only two statements were correct.See the full UPSC CSP 2023 paper.

Q4. True or False: Kolleru Lake was tested alongside Wular and Kanwar Lakes in UPSC CSP 2023.

Quick Q&A

Which two rivers’ deltas does Kolleru Lake lie between?

The Krishna and Godavari deltas, in Andhra Pradesh.

What actually feeds Kolleru Lake directly?

Two seasonal streams, the Budameru and Tammileru — not the Krishna or Godavari.

When was Kolleru declared a wildlife sanctuary, and when a Ramsar site?

A wildlife sanctuary in 1999; a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2002.

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