The third Uttarakhand spring bird festival was supposed to have been the most elaborate event of its kind to be organised by the forest department in Uttarakhand so far. However, the bird festival appears to have been restricted largely to the participation of the department and certain voluntary bodies and organisations active in the environmental sphere.
The festival which was inaugurated on Thursday is supposed to be organised in the entire Doon valley but has elicited little of the enthusiasm and public participation associated with a festival.
Inaugurated formally by the State Forest and Wildlife minister Dinesh Aggarwal, the Doon valley spring bird festival is being held at five sites including Asan-Timli, Rajpur- Sahastradhara, Thano-Maldevta, FRI-Jhajhra and the Rajaji tiger reserve.
Though rounds of discussions and meetings were held in the past to facilitate a well managed event, the official approach seen in the first two days of the four-day fest appears to be focused on a limited section of the public which is not enough for promoting bird tourism in Garhwal, as claimed by the department.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Uttarakhand birdwatching programme was launched in February 2012 from Asan conservation reserve to promote bird tourism. Under this programme, 27 bird watching camps have been conducted during the last three years at various rural tourism destinations.
More than 600 forest staff, nature guides and students have been involved in these camps supplemented with large scale events like the spring bird festival. An activist pointed out that the latest event is supposed to be aimed at improving the profile of Uttarakhand as a crucial State for bird conservation and birdwatching destination but it appears to be aimed mainly at benefiting those making their earnings from tourism and other spheres.
This bird festival was slated to be organised in a more inclusive and visible manner capitalising on the location of State’s capital. However, activities in the first two days have been lacking in inclusiveness and visibility compared to the previous bird festival.
The success of such events should not depend mainly on particular individuals which doesn’t seem to be the case here. The focus of the speech during the inaugural function appeared to be more on income generation activities like eco-tourism and riverbed quarrying and less on specifics for achieving the stated aim, said an official on condition of anonymity.
The information put up on the website set up for the bird festival, was not updated even on the second day of the event though officials have often stressed on the importance of efficient online communication to boost income generation activities.
“One of the main purposes for setting up a website is to maximise publicity and generate more interest in the event but the managers appear disinterested considering the absence of updated information and details of the festival on the website even on the second day,” said a bird lover.