State fails to fast-track tourism at Harike sanctuary

Strap: No go-ahead on plan to start pedal boats after putting putting breaks on amphibious bus project

Box: Decline in avian guests

-As per the latest census at the Harike wetland, there has been a dip in the number of migratory birds that have arrived this year

-The number of birds that arrived this year is the lowest as compared to the past six years

-Forest officials said 74,869 birds belonging to 87 species visited the Harike Bird Sanctuary this year, as compared to 90,000 birds last year

Box: 5 new wetlands proposed

-The state has mooted a proposal to develop five more wetlands, for which the international tag has been sought from the Ramsar Convention

-The proposed wetland include Beas Conservation Reserve, Ranjit Sagar Conservation Reserve, Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary, Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve and the Hussainiwala wetland

-The existing wetlands are Harike, Ropar and Kanjli

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, February 17

After putting brakes on the amphibious bus project launched during the fag end of the previous SAD-BJP regime in 2016, the state has failed to fast-track tourism at the Harike Bird Sanctuary, the second largest in the country. The alternative plan to introduce pedal boats or ””””shikaras”””” has not seen the light of day. The amphibious bus purchased from the Swedish automobile giant, Scania, at Rs 8.6 crore is gathering dust for the past three years. Though the Tourism Department had decided to auction the bus after scrapping the project, the process has not been completed.

Dubbed as the dream project of the former Deputy Chief Minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, the ””””Harike Cruise”””” project remained mired into controversies. It finally took off with fanfare after overcoming initial teething issues in December 2016, but lasted for a few days only, as after the change of regime in 2017, the then Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu discontinued the project, terming it as ill-conceived and a waste of public money. Sidhu had announced a ground-breaking project to boost ecotourism at Harike would be launched, but it was nowhere in sight.

As many as 20 employees, including the driver, Derick Merc, who had been hired by a private company for the ””””Harike Cruise”””” project, 150 more persons employed indirectly, were left in lurch.

“This bird sanctuary, one of the Ramsar sites, has a huge tourism potential. It is unfortunate that it has become a victim of political one-upmanship due to which bird lovers are feeling dejected,” said Rajneesh Kumar, an environmentalist. He said if proper infrastructure was provided, it could attract foreign tourists, as the Amritsar airport was not far.

The only silver lining is the ADB-funded project, under which Rs 9.37 crore has been spent on construction of an interpretation centre, bird-watching towers, observation decks, besides parking and other facilities. The department had mooted the proposal to develop restaurants, tented camping sites and tree houses, which went in vain.