Ukkadam Lake

Ukkadam Lake, also called Ukkadam Periyakulam, covers about 1.3 square kilometres in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore and has an average depth of under 6 metres. Canals from the Noyyal river feed it, along with water from the Selvachinthamani lake upstream, and it drains into Valankulam lake through sluice gates on its southern side. Coimbatore Corporation has held it since 2010 under a 90-year lease from the state Public Works Department.

Sewage and water hyacinth had badly degraded the lake, and in 2013 it was desilted by the corporation with the NGO Siruthuli and other groups, helped by public volunteers. A bird survey that year counted about 48 species, including little grebes, painted storks and purple moorhens, with the most birds seen in January and February. Local fishermen still fish here. In 2015 a 1.2 km road for two-wheelers was opened along the bund, lit by solar lamps, and it is sometimes called the Marine Drive of Coimbatore.