(IN) Bharatpur goes dry

[Guest guest]

One of the richest and most varied avian fauna in the world is found in India.

There are approximately 2061 forms of birds of which over 300 are winter

visitors. But the question is where will these guests put up in the dearth of

the natural habitat? Are we prepared well to give them a warm welcome? May be

yes but what about accommodation? Well I think they will just have to manage as

their Indian counterparts are managing (or are they?)Can't say! Haven't seen

them for quite some time.

What Keoladeo Bird sanctuary is facing, the Nawabganj bird sanctuary on the

lko-kanpur highway, is in much the same situation. The lake there is now just a

big dried-up hole!

 

" There is no survivor, there is no future, there is no life to be recreated in

this form again. We are looking upon uttermost finality that can be written,

glimpsing the darkness that will not know another ray of light. We are in touch

with the reality of extinction. "

- Henry B. Hough

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A-dry-Bharatpur-wont-be-much-of-a-bird-sanctu\

ary/articleshow/4808002.cms

 

A dry Bharatpur won't be much of a bird sanctuary

IANS 22 July 2009, 05:28pm IST

 

BHARATPUR (Rajasthan): There is an air of despair among bird watchers and

officials at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary here. The rains have played truant so

far and the swamps are dry. Without aquatic life, that is food for the migratory

birds, many of the winged visitors may not show up this winter, which is bad

news for tourism.

 

Last year's monsoon was good for the region, with more than 800 mm of rainfall

recorded. But this year so far there has been only 96 mm of rainfall in the

district.

 

Hotels outside the sanctuary are running almost empty now.

 

V. Bansal, who owns a hotel near the sanctuary, said: " The sanctuary urgently

needs water; otherwise the birds would lose interest, and this would naturally

affect tourism. Thousands of bird watchers from all over the world come to

Bharatpur. "

 

Girish of Hotel Pratap Palace said: " We hope in the days to come the monsoon

will smile on Bharatpur. "

 

Anoop K.R., the official in charge of the bird sanctuary, said: " The situation

is grim, but we have seven bore-wells to provide water to the birds that are

already here. However, natural water is essential. "

 

According to Anoop, the birds nesting right now in the sanctuary are the

Openbill Stork, egrets, Grey Heron, Black-necked stork and darters or snake

birds.

 

Bird watcher Kushal said the Openbill Storks have returned to the sanctuary

after a couple of years and are there in large numbers. But he fears if there is

no water " they could go away somewhere else " .

 

Chowkidars and watchmen said because of the lack of water in the wetlands, frogs

and tortoises had disappeared. " But some rains in the coming days would bring

them all back, " he said sounding hopeful.

 

Bird lover K.P. Singh told IANS: " Though there are half a dozen projects in the

pipeline to bring in water, work has not begun on any of them. "

 

Water is to be brought to the sanctuary from the Yamuna or Chambal river.

 

" The nearby Panchna and Ajan dams cannot meet the water requirements of the big

sanctuary. You need lots of water to sustain aquatic life on which the birds

feed. "

 

The Rajasthan government is working on a project to arrange regular supply of

water through a pipeline from a Yamuna canal.

 

" Water has to be brought from a canal of the Yamuna. But with hardly any water

in the river in Delhi itself, how can we get water for the Bharatpur sanctuary? "

Singh wondered.

 

Another problem is lack of greenery. The forest department had cleared large

patches of Vilayati Babool (prosopis juliflora) shrubs last month to plant

saplings of indigenous species.

 

" The long delay in the monsoon rains has dried up all the saplings and now you

can see only barren wasteland all around, " an official said.

 

Two years ago Unesco had threatened to de-recognise Keoladeo as a world heritage

site as there was no water in the swamps. The threat again looms large.

 

The birds deprived of feed then had moved to Keitham wetlands near Agra and bird

watchers stopped visiting Bharatpur. Officials hope the situation should not be

like that this winter.

 

Bharatpur was declared a national park March 10, 1982, and accepted as a world

heritage site in December 1985.

 

Though open round the year, the winter months are the best season to see the

rare foreign birds. The migratory birds start leaving towards the end of

February and early March as the temperature begins to rise.

 

In the winter, visitors to the park can see more than 300 species of birds,

including various species of cranes, pelicans, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks,

wagtails, warblers, flycatchers, the Coot Snipes, Spanish Sparrow, Red Crested

Porhard, Rosy Pelican and flamingo. It is also best known for the rare sightings

of the critically endangered Siberian Crane.

 

The sanctuary is also inhabited by sambar, chital, neelgai and wild boars.