Gharana National Wetland in R S Pura cries for development

With the International Wetland Day being observed across the globe today, ‘Gharana’, declared as national wetland and situated along the Indo-Pak International Border in R S Pura Sector, cries for help and demands immediate attention of the Government.

Spread over 500 acres of land, Gharana wetland is one of the famous spots along the International Border that caters to hundreds of species of Siberian Birds including Bar Headed Geese (Raj Hans) every year.

It deserves development and protection for prolonged life and health of the wetland, said a villager.

‘This is decades old wetland but instead of improving and developing the site, its condition has worsened despite release of funds and the spot is not being properly maintained by the authorities,’ he stated.

Due to poor condition of the wetland, the number of Siberian Birds visiting this place is declining every year.

‘The wetland is situated on a wonderful location along the International Border and it can be developed into a good tourist spot, which would not only increase flow of visitors but also generate earning source for the villagers,’ an official on the condition of anonymity said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government should frame a policy and prepare a master plan to develop and protect the Wetland, he added.

‘The land should be demarcated and fenced while basic facilities should also be arranged for the visitors, which would boost tourism in the area,’ he added.

Meanwhile the World Wildlife Federation-India, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Centre for Environment Education and Paryavaran Mitra, today also organised ‘Gharana Wetland Birding Fair’ to mark the International Wetland Day.

World Wetland Day is celebrated every year across the globe on February 2.

‘The bird fair is being organised at Gharana to highlight the rich variety of migratory birds found on the site in winter season, besides making the Government and civil society aware about the importance of conserving the rich habitat,’ an official spokesman here said.

Earlier in the morning, hundreds of students from about 35 schools and Non-Governmental Organisations participated in the campaign and took out an awareness rally to protect and save the wetland.

The students carrying placards- ‘Save Environment, Save Gharana’, ‘Gharana ko Bachao’- marched though bordering villages to make the residents aware about the development of the wetland.

Pampore wetlands abuzz with migratory birds

Though their size has shrunk due to encroachments, the less known Pampore wetlands are nowadays abuzz with thousands of migratory birds who have crossed over thousands of kilometers to cherish Kashmir valley’s snow season.

Thousands of migratory birds including red crescent pochards, geese, pintails, herons, shorebirds, gadwall, cranes, ducks, and coots come to Kashmir valley. “Most of these birds could be seen in Pampore wetlands,” says advocate Nadeem Qadri, executive director of Center for Environmental Law (CEL).

Qadri, who heads a conservation project for Pampore wetlands granted by Wildlife Trust of India New Delhi last year, believes the major problems faced by Pampore wetlands are; human interference as they (Pampore wetlands) are very close to human habitation and agriculture fields.

“Use of chemical fertilizers in the agriculture fields is deteriorating the water quality of those wetlands and poses a serious threat to the aquatic life along with wild flora and fauna. In certain cases we came across the illegal encroachment and growing unplanned human habitation which we see as a growing problem,’ Qadri informed.

He said that during his field trips to these wetlands his team found some people are earth filling the portion of wetland but their (Qadri’s team) timely intervention stopped the work.

Solid waste management and its proper disposal, Qadri said is one of the main problems faced by the Pampore wetlands. “While discussing with local population we came to know that some vested interested persons have blocked the irrigation channels and inlet /outlet canal to the wetlands are defunct with the result water is stagnating in those wetlands resulting in pollutant accumulation which is serious threat to migratory birds & aquatic life,” he added.

The executive director CEL added that lack of proper sanitation facilities and the waste water find its way to the wetland and throwing domestic waste into wetlands had aggravated the situation. “Illegal encroachment in surroundings of wetlands and most of the inlet/outlet channels being chocked and blocked besides converting wetland into paddy fields are other major problems,” Qadri said.

The CEL has also formed a patrol and anti-poaching team headed by Qadri has been formulated. “In order to receive daily updates a Control Room has been established at our Head Office at Pampore and daily monitoring is done from there. Information about poaching, if any, provided by any member from team of volunteers is quickly acted upon,” Qadri added.

Fashkori Wetland Reserve

A notified wetland, Fashkori Wetland Reserve is located at Tulbagh, Pampore. “This wetlands is presently under administrative control of revenue department. As per the mandate of law these wetlands should be under the direct administrative control of Wildlife Protection Department, so that Migratory birds can be protected along with their habitat,” Qadri recommends.

Migratory Birds Reach Shallabugh Wetland

While the migratory birds have already started to visit the valley’s several wetlands, the Shallabugh Wetland located some 8 kilometers from district Ganderbal has also started receiving the flying visitors.“We have received here over one lakh migratory birds that come from different parts of the globe,” in-charge, Wetland Shallabugh, Abdul Rashid Wani said.

Spread over about 14.6 square kilometres, Shallabugh wetland receives lakhs of flying visitors every year. This year, the number of the flying visitors, as per the officials, is a bit lesser than the previous years. However, the Wani said, “We are quite optimistic about receiving the good number of these migratory birds, like in previous years, in days ahead, provided the water here does not freeze.”

Last year, Shallabugh wetland had received over six lakh flying visitors, which is a record.The migratory birds come to the Valley every year, covering thousands of miles from far off lands.Connected with the famous Aanchar Sar and the Sangam Sar on the South, Shallabugh wetland is the Asia’s biggest wetland reserve.“This season, the 'migratory birds started to throng the wetland since November and the outward migration is expected to start from March and end in mid-April," Wani said.

The migratory birds which visit this wetland mostly come from Siberia, Central Asia, Northern Europe, Ladakh, China and Central Asia.

Some of the popular migratory birds visiting the Shallabugh reserve include goose, bar goose, white heeled duck, shoveller, red-crested Pochard, white-eyed Pochard, common Teal, Pintail, Mallard, Gadwall, Coot, Hoonk and Graylag.Among these, Pintail, Common Teal and Gadwall are the birds visiting this wetland in great number than others.To check the menaces of hunting in the Shallabugh Wetland, wildlife wetland department has increased the vigil here. Besides, being a wetland and the home for the lakhs of flying visitors, Shallabugh in the past used to be an important tourist destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. The pollution in this wetland since decades by the valley's premier health insititue, Sher-i- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura coupled with the inflow of wastes and litter emanating from different hamlets on its peripheries is distracting the tourists.

The officials in wetland had communicated the problem to the SKIMS authorities, who took some measures initially. But the enthusiasm died down later.An environmentalist and a Research Scholar of Dab Mohammad Abbas Bhat said the emanations of bio-medical wastes from SKIMS are the hazardous substances which affect and destroy the flora as well as fauna in this wetland.“Use of pesticides, DDT and insecticides by farmers whose run off reaches ultimately this wetland ultimately causes death to thousands of these species which force them to change the habitat and influence their mating patterns,” he said.