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Coastal Andhra or costa is an unofficial region of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It includes the northern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, from the northern border with Orissa to south of the delta of the Krishna River. It includes the districts of Guntur, Krishna, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Prakasam and Nellore.
Livelihood
People living to the coastal regions depend mostly on agriculture, fishing, trading etc. The sea also provides a source of living. Visakhapatnam Port is one of the famous harbours in the country. Kakinada Port and Machilipatnam port are minor ports associated with this region. The coastal Andhra has rich agricultural land owing to the delta fed by rivers Godavari and Krishna. The prosperity of coastal Andhra can be attributed to its rich agricultural land and abundant water supply from these two rivers. Rice grown in paddy fields is the main crop as well as pulses and coconuts. The four districts of coastal Andhra: East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur form the delta area where the two biggest rivers of the state Krishna and Godavari meet the Bay of Bengal. This area forms very fertile agriculture base for the state of Andhra Pradesh and touted as rice bowl of India for its rich rice production. Being lower riparian region and at an elevation of sea level, it has the advantage of being irrigated with canals and dams that are built upstream. This creates lot of contention with upper riparian region of Telangana where the average height of the lands exceed 300 m above sea level and the river water cannot be flowed by gravity.
Lakes and wetlands
Statistics show that there are 259 coastal wetlands in Andhra Pradesh covering an area of 18,552 sq. km. (Source: Wetlands of India report, ISRO), out of which 88 are manmade. Lakes Kolleru and Pulicat are the two wetlands in Coastal Andhra. Kolleru, a natural sweet-water lake, is situated in the West Godavari district and serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for the two rivers. The lake also is an important habitat for up to 50,000 resident and migratory birds. The lake was declared a wildlife sanctuary in November 1999 under India's Wildlife Protection Act, and designated a wetland of international importance in November 2002 under the international Ramsar Convention. Pulicat is a brackish water body located in Coastal Andhra. This is the largest salt water lake in the country, located near the village Pulicat and spreads between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Konaseema is a small delta region in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Often people confuse Konaseema with Coastal Andhra/Kosta. The River akhanda Godavari splits into several distributary branches, including the Gouthami, Vasishta, Vintheya, and Vruddha Gouthami, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The triangular region surrounded by these rivers and Bay of Bengal is called Konaseema.
