The Okhla Bird Sanctuary that used to be the favourite ‘lay over’ of migratory birds at this time of the year is virtually empty. This is because the winged visitors have been forced to abandon the haven in Noida for want of water.
The sanctuary, which earlier possessed a massive water body channeled in from the Yamuna River, has currently been rendered dry by the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department for cleaning the Okhla barrage.
As if the departure of over 15 species of water birds was not enough, now the vast stretch of parched land in the sanctuary will also drive away winter migratory birds from there, experts lament.
Spread across an area of four kms, the sanctuary constitutes a large lagoon-like stretch with thick vegetation on its fringes - a perfect environment for birds. However, the sanctuary which used to attract over 30 species of migratory birds between October and November annually has been inhabited by barely a dozen birds this time.
Birds like the Common Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Temmincks’ Stint and Eurasian Spoonbill which thrive only in water have left the dry and chapped sanctuary for alternate habitats like Surajpur Bird Sanctuary in Greater Noida and Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Gurgaon. To make matters worse, all this is happening during the breeding season of these water birds.
Meanwhile, several winter migrants which usually begin to settle in the sanctuary by this time could not be traced as yet. Hailing from Central Asia and North Asia, these birds include Gadwall, Garganey, Common Quail, Common Pochard, Pallas’ Gull and River Tern.
“The dilapidated state of the sanctuary, which boasts of 320 bird species, is very painful to witness.
The place used to host 43 migratory birds on an average, but ever since the water has been drained out, only about ten of them can be seen now. My biggest fear is that the situation may also deter winter migratory birds from paying a visit to the sanctuary and the trend has already started,” said TK Roy, ecologist and environmentalist.
The Black-winged Stilt, Grey Heron and little Egret are a few of the limited migratory birds that the sanctuary is left with. Since 2011, every summer the sanctuary’s wetland dries up for a month as water is released through the barrage in order to repair its gates. Ecologists opine that summer is the ideal time to do this as just a few migratory birds visit the area during that time.
“Hardly any water birds come to the sanctuary during summers and the ones that visit are those who do not need much water. So, any work on the barrage should be done in summers only as it would do least harm to the ecology then. Drying it up now is very dangerous as it is the peak season,” said Manoj Kumar, an official of the sanctuary.
The irrigation department has attributed the delay in initiating its repair works to the extended monsoon. “When we asked why the work was not done during summers, they said it was because of late departure of monsoon this season. The delay has been a grave loss for the sanctuary. We are unable to do anything because only the irrigation department controls the barrage,” added Roy.
Unfortunately, the sanctuary will remain dried-up for a while as the repair work is not expected to be over before the second week of November. Ecologists and sanctuary officials are miffed at the lack of coordination between Uttar Pradesh’s irrigation and wildlife departments.
“The irrigation department dried up the water without even notifying or taking the consent of the wildlife department. They are releasing water from the gates thereby degrading the habitat of the water birds during their breeding season. This is in gross violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” they said.