Fresh lease of life for bird sanctuary

Darpan Singh, Agra

There is good news for the famous Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. The state government has chalked out plans to convert the sanctuary, recognised as a wetland by the National Wetland Commission, into a tourist hub and a weekend gateway. The government has accepted a Forest Department proposal to improve infrastructure, agreeing to provide Rs 90 lakh for the sanctuary situated along the Delhi-Agra NH, 20 km from Agra.

Several wildlife activists have hailed the move. Official sources said the step was being taken keeping in mind the fact that the whole area around Sur Sarovar, which was named after Surdas, the famous poet of Braj Bhasha, is of cultural and religious importance. It is regarded as the birthplace of Renuka - Parsuram's mother, the meeting place of Surdas and saint-poet Vallabhacharya, and has an old Shani Dev temple. It is here that the river Yamuna takes a U-turn.

Confirming the development plan, Range Forest Officer Aarbi Uttam told HT on Wednesday, “As part of the plans, the Birds’ Interpretation Centre, guest house, canteen and children’s parks will be upgraded. Information on birds and animals will be provided through an audio-video system. The main gate will be developed as theme gate, which would be a major attraction.” According to Uttam, a high-tech reception centre will be set up to provide information about the sanctuary to visitors and special arrangements made for academicians to help them in research work.

Incidentally, more than 120 species of terrestrial and water migratory birds have been flocking to the sanctuary. Last year, 59 species, including pelicans, painted storks, whistling teels, spoonbills, Siberian cranes, Chinese koots, and flamingos, were spotted. Exotic Siberian cranes, Chinese koots and flamingos are among the winged visitors that left the now dry Bharatpur bird sanctuary, facing a severe water crisis, and are flocking to Sur Sarovar once called Keitham Lake. For the past three years, the birds have been coming to this 783-hectare lake with more than 300 hectares of land under water. A large number of local birds have also made Keitham their home.

According to Uttam, the sanctuary has witnessed better days in the last few years. Last year, 15,000 people, including 1,000 foreigners visited Sur Sarovar and the sanctuary earned a revenue of Rs 6.5 lakh. He said, “I am here for the past five years. Before I joined, Rs 25-30,000 was the maximum revenue that sanctuary could generate.” Though work on some of the accepted plans has begun, delay in fund allocation might prove to be a hurdle. Said an official, “The proposal was made last year and the government has given its go-ahead now. In the meantime, prices of construction materials have gone up. We are seeking a revised allocation.”

Uttam expressed concern over the fact that the Centre’s guideline to declare the area around 10 km radius of the wetland an eco-fragile zone was yet to be implemented as it was located in a crowded area. He said, “The decision has to be taken by the state government. People residing in the surrounding areas were using sodium light and causing a lot of noise pollution which was extremely harmful for the birds.” According to him, DFO Niraj Kumar recently proposed to the higher authorities that high-rise buildings should not be constructed in the vicinity of the sanctuary. Though an assurance was given in this regard, any concrete step was yet to be taken to check the practice.