|Settlement

There are seven blocks within the three districts that surround Chilika Lake. These blocks are Ganjam, Khallikote, Chilika, Tangi, Kanasa, Brahmagiri and Krushnaprasad (Fig). The villages in and around Chilika are represented in four different Assembly Constituencies: Brahmagiri, Khurda, Chilika and Ganjam. In total, there are 273 villages (among which 132 are primarily settled by fishermen) around Chilika Lake.

|Chilika Livelihood

Basically there are two occupational groups in the Chilika area: fishing and non-fishing. Non-fishing occupations include agriculture or small businesses from which people earn their livelihood. A majority of Chilika’s population is involved in fishing activities.Fishermen typically belong to lower castes whereas the non-fishermen belong to higher castes. T hese non-fishermen are typically migrants from outside the local area. However, due to recent increases in the market price of prawns and fish, there has been a substantial change in occupational structure of these people (i.e., the migrants) in that they are also becoming involved in fishing activities.

The socioeconomic condition of the local population depends to a great extent on the available resources of the lake, specifically its fisheries. The social structure of the area is dominated by traditional fishermen. The majority of households in the Chilika area depend on fishing and the rest depend upon agriculture, business and government jobs.

|Chilika Livelihood Images

|Chilika Village Level Information