To attract migratory birds, Bhindawas sanctuary to set up shallow water body

Ravinder Saini

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Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, November 28

The Forest and Wildlife Department will develop a water body on 55 acres at the Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary here to attract migratory birds. The project will come up at a cost of Rs 40 lakh and several points would be established around the water body from where bird lovers can spot the winged guests.

Though the sanctuary already has a lake spread over 700 acres but overgrowth of water hyacinth and other weeds have covered most of it, making the migratory birds shift their habitat to other water bodies in nearby villages.

In Dighal, Mandhothi, Baland, Dhaud, Ritoli and Jharli villages, within 10-km radius of the sanctuary, these birds can be seen swimming and chirping in ponds and waterlogged fields.

Sources claim that the overgrowth of hyacinth and other weeds in Bhindawas wetland not only diminishes the availability of food for the birds but also poses a serious threat to their habitat.

Over 60,000 migratory birds of different species from Siberia, parts of Europe, Afghanistan and China would arrive at the sanctuary over a decade ago but now their count has declined by 45 per cent. Now, just 33,000 birds can be spotted in the winter season, sources add.

“The project of developing a shallow zone over 55 acres will prove useful not only in attracting the winged visitors but also tourists and bird watchers. The land has been made even and the digging is underway,” Divisional Wild Life Officer (DWLO) Deepak Alawadhi said, adding that the project would be completed by March next year.

He said the level of water in the shallow zone would be kept up to a maximum of 2 feet as migratory birds prefer shallow water which makes it easier for them to catch their prey. The water level in the main wetland of the sanctuary remains high most of the time, which is also a cause for the declining numbers of the winged guests.

“The work to remove hyacinth from a part of the Bhindawas lake is also in progress,” added Alawadhi.