Harike alligators may have swept away to Pak side by floodwaters

GS Paul

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Amritsar, August 29

With the Beas and the Sutlej being swollen due to excess water release, it has affected the flora and fauna of the rich biodiversity belt at the downstream of the Harike Wetland, which is the confluence of the two rivers. The Department of Forest and Wildlife, Punjab, and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature-India (WWF) are anxious to know the well-being of alligators (gharials), dolphins and fish.

Survey of canals soon

To know the exact situation, the WWF along with the Forest Department will conduct surveys of river stretches and canals with a focus on gharials or dolphins. Once the water flow recedes, it will be conducive to get the surveys done.

Gitanjali Kanwar, coordinator, wwf-india

The excess flood water was released from Bhakra and Pong dams recently that reached Harike through the Sutlej and the Beas. The water flow was reportedly over 2.40 lakh cusecs. The surplus water was released to the Pakistan side. The concern is that gharials might have been swept away from their original destination in the Beas conservation reserve.

Recent reports suggested that “juvenile” gharials were spotted after three decades in Pakistan’s Punjab province stream that flows from here. It was believed that these were swept away to the other side of the Radcliffe Line. The Beas Conservation Reserve — a 185-km stretch of the Beas — is a perfect habitat for the gharials.

Since 2017-21, as an extension of the state’s programme to reintroduce, preserve and breed these critically endangered species in Punjab streams, the Department of Punjab Forest and Wildlife Preservation, in collaboration with the WWF-India, had released 94 gharials in the Beas Conservation Reserve.

Between 40-50 per cent of the released gharials were sighted during the field surveys. Similarly, river dolphins were also sighted.