Okhla Bird Sanctuary turns dry, UP govt can’t answer why

NEW DELHI: The Okhla Bird Sanctuary now looks like a desert with a cracked water bed and few birds of prey flying around. The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to release all water from the Okhla barrage has not just driven away birds but it may also be impacting other wetland flora and fauna. The UP irrigation department claims water has been released to carry out maintenance. The forest department says it was not consulted before releasing the water.

No forest ranger or guard was seen at the sanctuary on Friday and the sanctuary office remained closed. Birders,who visit the sanctuary regularly, say it is a bad idea to release water in October when migratory birds start arriving. “Earlier maintenance work was carried out between April and May. Why release water at a time when birds from Central Asia and Europe come to the sanctuary? A lot of local birds must also have flown away,” says Anand Arya, photographer and birder. He adds that rampant encroachment around the sanctuary has degraded the eco-system. “The Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana managed to notify its eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), unlike the UP government. It has taken them 10 years to decide on ESZ,” he says.

The National Green Tribunal recently ordered all illegal construction work within a 10km radius of the sanctuary to be stopped. Real estate projects had started construction activity within the sanctuary’s potential eco-sensitive zone, in violation of the norms.

The UP government is now considering an ESZ within 1km of the sanctuary.

The UP forest department, however, was not consulted before releasing water, which will leave the sanctuary dry for almost a month. “The annual maintenance is being carried out. Water is always cleaned after monsoon and its level will be restored once the work is finished hopefully by next week,”says Ashok Kumar, divisional forest officer.

The executive engineer of the UP irrigation department, R N S Yadav, said he doesn’t know why the Okhla Bird Sanctuary has gone dry. “It is not under my jurisdiction,” he says.

All’s not well here

About 10 species of threatened birds including critically endangered and nearly threatened ones—have been found here

Over 320 bird species have been recorded, out of which 20 are common resident water bird species, 44 common resident woodland species and 43 migratory birds

UP govt has diverted all water from Okhla barrage for maintenance work, leaving the sanctuary dry

It has not only driven away birds but is likely to affect other wetland flora and fauna