ABSTRACT
The EKW are home to over 100 plant species, rare mammals including the marsh mongoose, the small Indian mongoose, the palm and Indian civets, and the threatened Indian mud turtle. There are also over 40 species of birds, both local and migratory, which include kingfishers, grebes, cormorants, egrets, terns, eagles and sandpipers. The wetlands act as a “sink” for the city of Kolkata, which has no conventional sewage treatment facility for its 12 million inhabitants. Over 3,500 tonnes of municipal waste and 680 million litres of raw sewage enter the wetland system every day. Only 30 percent of the total wastewater is used for aquaculture or irrigation, while the remaining 70 percent flows directly into the Bay of Bengal, which results in the polluting of the estuary and highlights the need for improved efficiency of the system.
