Nellore, Dec. 19: The number of migratory birds arriving in the Nelapattu bird sanctuary has come down in the recent past because of the decline of biodiversity in the Pulicat Lake. The birds are drawn to these sanctuaries mainly because the Pulicat Lake used to be an inexhaustible source of food. However, that was in the past. Heavy silt and sand-bar formation across the lake-mouth, year after year, for over three decades have depleted the flora and fauna there. It is not just migratory birds that are at risk. The degradation of the lake has also impoverished fishermen depending on it for their livelihood. With a waterspread of about 461 sqkm on the Coramandel coast, Pulicat is the second largest lagoon in India. It extends between southern Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu, running parallel to the Bay of Bengal. There are two monsoon rivulets, Kalangi and Arni, which open into the lake, and the Buckingham canal that runs parallel to the Coramandel coast, also passes through it. Nearly one lakh fishermen have settled down in 52 fishing hamlets and one lakh more have been eking out their livelihood through fishing or collection of other resources from this lake. However, the lake has been subjected to a variety of ecological crises, both natural as well as man-made, and this has affected it badly. Since the lake is located in two states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, both tend to ignore it, though it provides livelihood to fishermen in both the states. In Andhra Pradesh, people