Dhubri, June 7: It finds mention in the Directory of Asian Wetlands as a global biodiversity hotspot, but Sareswar Beel, 15 km off Dhubri town, has yet to make it to the Assam forest department’s list of priorities. Repeated pleas by non-governmental organisations to conserve this repository of ecological diversity have fallen on deaf ears. Nature’s Friend, one of the organisations that have been trying to protect the wetland, advocates turning it into a bird sanctuary.
Encroachment upon the adjoining forest reserve, rampant denudation of the green cover and heavy siltation caused by erosion of the topsoil of the nearby hills threaten the very existence of the wetland, which is home to some of the most exotic avian species found in the state.
Kuladhar Das of Nature’s Friend, who is conducting a study on the wetland’s unique flora and fauna, said the winged species found there include egrets, herons, water hens, cormorants, storks, marsh sandpipers and kingfishers.
Sareswar is also rich in fish species with as many as 45 small and big fish found in abundance. A narrow channel links the beel with the Gadadhar, which is one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra.
During the rainy season, the beel becomes the breeding ground for different species of fish that enter the water body through the channel.
“We want the beel to be declared a bird sanctuary, but the forest department cites the lack of a survey report for not doing so,” Diptiman Dutta, secretary of Nature’s Friend, said.
He hoped the report being compiled by Das would convince the forest department about the importance of giving Sareswar Beel the status it deserves.
Das said the look of the beel had changed for the better — Nature’s Friend has planted sal trees along the wetland — because of his organisation’s efforts, but deforestation in the adjoining areas remains a danger.
Dhubri divisional forest officer A.S. Laskar said he was aware of the demand for Sareswar Beel to be declared a bird sanctuary. “As and when I receive a practical proposal, I shall definitely recommend that the wetland deserves to be declared a conservation reserve, which is as good as a bird sanctuary. We did likewise for Hakama Beel in Bilasipara, but I believe Sareswar has more potential in view of its biodiversity.”