Bharatpur sanctuary being cleared of harmful shrubs

Jul 2, 2007, 11:08 GMT

Jaipur, July 2 (IANS) The Rajasthan government has launched efforts to weed out a wild shrub growing in the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur that is said to be affecting the flora and fauna of the sanctuary.

Prosopis juliflora, commonly known as 'vilayati babul', is said to have spread in over 20 km area of the bird sanctuary, which itself has an area of less than 30 sq km.

'This step should have been taken long back ... but better late then never,' Naresh Kadyan, chairman of People for Animals (Haryana), told IANS.

He said the shrub hampers the growth of trees like neem and ber - which provide food for birds. The sanctuary in Bharatpur is home to over 300 varieties of birds and around 90 types of aquatic animals.

Rajasthan Forest Minister L.N. Dave told IANS: 'We are doing everything for the bird sanctuary and are weeding out the babul and bringing more water to the park to make it more beautiful.'

The forest department has constituted various committees in nearby villages to uproot the babul completely from the sanctuary. Each committee would take charge of one particular area. Government officials hope to make the entire sanctuary free of babul in two years.

The government is also working out a plan to ensure proper water supply to the park, which has been facing acute water shortage for long. Many of the water bodies in the sanctuary have dried up and the region has received scanty rainfall for some years. But the monsoon this year has brought a fair amount of rain.

Plans are now afoot to lay a 16-km pipeline from the Govardhan drain, which transports the floodwaters of the Yamuna to Uttar Pradesh, to supply 350 million cubic feet (MCFT) water to the park. This will cost around Rs.600 million.

'A pipeline would be laid to bring this water to Bharatpur sanctuary,' a forest department official said.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service