MP Satnam Singh Sandhu voices concern over dip in migratory birds, deterioration of wetlands in Punjab
Anshita Mehra
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 8
Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu on Thursday voiced concern over decrease in the number of migratory birds and the deterioration of wetlands in Punjab.
During the Zero Hour, Sandhu said, “Nature has bestowed us with mountains, rivers and forests. However, the way we have waged a war against the nature is alarming. We are harming our future and heading towards destruction.”
“Migratory birds throng India in large numbers but their count has decreased in Punjab. The state has seven wetlands, five of which are Ramsar sites. The remaining ones lack protection. Punjab’s polluted rivers are a major factor behind this decline,” he said.
The MP stated, “Species like sandpipers, plovers, gulls, terns, Eurasian coots and painted storks are among the rare migratory birds that visit Punjab’s wetlands annually. However, their numbers are declining. From 2021 to 22, 95,928 migratory birds were recorded at Ramsar sites. In 2022 to 23, this number dropped to 85,882. At Harike wetland, 65,000 birds arrived in 2023, which is 12 per cent less than 2021.”
He added that Buddha Nullah, a heavily polluted tributary of the Sutlej in Ludhiana, has become a harbinger of death.
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