WWF-India to organise 2-day awareness prog

WWF-India's West Bengal State Office will organise a two-day awareness programme on April 11 and 12 on the conservation of Santragachi Jheel and the importance of migratory birds.

On the eve of the awareness drive, a meeting was held where besides local residents and members of the state office of WWF-India, senior officers of the state Forest and Environment departments were present. Volunteers collected non-biodegradable scattered waste from the waterbody as a part of the awareness campaign. Collaterals, leaflets and posters stating the importance of Santragachi Jheel and aquatic fauna were distributed among local people and those who come to the area for work. State government officials, members of different NGOs working in the field of environment preservation were also present in Monday's pre-awareness campaign.

"Water Tale", the water campaign programme at Stantragachi, was initiated by the WWF-India's West Bengal State Office in January. An orientation programme involving more than 50 volunteers in the state was taken up. Almost 20 volunteers who are mostly students of different colleges and universities of West Bengal had worked from January to March at Santragachi Jheel area under the programme.

Santragachi Jheel is one of the well-known urban wetlands in the country for several aquatic birds which also serves as a roosting place for many migratory birds in winter months.

However, the waterbody is presently facing anthropogenic impacts such as garbage dumping, accumulation of non-biodegradable wastage at the waterbody side and discharge of sewage from the locality which has decreased the quality of the waterbody.

WWF-India had taken the initiative to study the grades of pollution, types of pollution from different sources of the waterbody and the effect of pollution through several parameters of water quality analysis. The organisation also did a community interaction survey to collect opinion and comments about the present status of the waterbody from more than 100 households, local shop owners and visitors. On Tuesday and Wednesday, school and college students and people from all walks of life will take part in the two-day awareness programme.