Population in Sultanpur bird sanctuary increases to 80,000 this year

Gurugram: The total population of migratory birds as well as local species of birds in Sultanpur bird sanctuary have crossed 80,000 in the latest counting conducted by forest department officials.

In the previous year, the population of the birds recorded in the bird sanctuary park was 50,000. The substantial increase in the population of the birds comes at a time when there were claims that the population of the birds would reduce due to deadly air pollution in the national capital region.

Apart from the Sultanpur sanctuary, a large number of migratory birds are seen in the Manger forest and Damdama Lake of the Aravalli region.

It is important to note that there are more than 80 species of foreign birds that come and breed Sultanpur bird sanctuary every year in the month of October to March.

Some of the most famous species of birds include Bar-headed Goose, Purple Heron, Common Teal, Cattle Egret, Rufous Woodpecker, Fire-capped tit, stork billed kingfisher and Red Throated Flycatcher.

The Sultanpur-Najafgarh-Jhajjar corridor is also an ideal place for domestic and migratory birds to stay in the winter season. The Jhajjhar bird sanctuary is also one of the few bird sanctuaries present in the state.

Set up in 1972, it is the only location in Haryana where a large number of foreign and domestic birds come and breed, the sanctuary was declared as a national park in 1991.

Challenges, however, galore for the bird sanctuary as the water levels in the bird park is receding at a fast pace.

To increase the water levels, there are now plans by the authorities to divert the water that goes to the Yamuna from the city towards

Sultanpur.

To gauge the amount of water flowing through the Yamuna, a survey by the Gurugram metropolitan development authority (GMDA) found that over six crore litres of sewage water flow daily from Gurugram to the river.

Even as there are plans to build a sewage water treatment plant at Daultabad, there is no clear deadline that when will this plant be operational. The low levels of water are resulting in less number of birds coming to the park.

Spread in the area of 1.42 square kilometres, the bird park was notified as a national park on July 5, 1991. The national park has been carved out of the land of villages Sadhrana, Chandu, Sultanpur and Saidpur.