This article is about bird sanctuary and wetland ecosystem. For the drain, see Najafgarh drain. For lake or jheel, see Najafgarh lake.
Aerial view of Najafgarh Drain
Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary and wetland ecosystem is composed of the wetlandecosystem and wildlife habitat on several kilometres of the Najafgarh drain (Delhi end of Sahibi River before it falls into Yamuna) which passes through southwest Delhi in India's capital territory. It includes the portion draining the depression or basin area that formed the once famous but now partially drained Najafgarh lake (Najafgarh jheel). It is a refuge to thousands of migratory waterbirds every winter. The winter months are the best time to visit it to see many flocks of wintering waterbirds. It is currently classified as a Protected Forest.[1][2][3][4][5]
The area came to be recognised as an important wildlife habitat after a local naturalist studying the area during 1986 to 1989 called attention to it, recommending it to be conserved as a bird sanctuary. After this, the Delhi wildlife department posted 16 guards in the area to control illegal bird hunters, including diplomats from various international embassies located in Delhi, India's capital. Delhi Administration officials were tasked with declaring about 25km stretch of the drain in rural Delhi, including where it passes through the core area of the now partially drained Najafgarh Lake, protected under the Wildlife Act after Lt. Governor of Delhi Mr. H.L. Kapur was invited to the area for touring the site where he also heard accounts of local villagers telling of the rampant illegal hunting of waterbirds that went on here every year. The staff of the Flood Control and Irrigation Department, numbering about 40, were also given the additional responsibility of protecting the wildlife on and around the Drainage basin.[6][7][8]
Wetland
The Najafgarh drain itself acts as an elongated water body or lake. It has trees planted on both its embankments and an inspection road running on one embankment. During the winter months it attracts vast quantities of migratory birds, and supports local wildlife year-round.[9][10][11] The wetland ecosystem and wildlife habitat on several kilometres of less polluted Najafgarh drain in rural Delhi before entering the main city, including the former Najafgarh lake or Najafgarh jheel area, is very important habitat to migratorywaterbirds as well as local wildlife. It has been earmarked to be declared a bird sanctuary for Delhi.[6][7][8] Sections of the forested embankments of Najafgarh drain are currently classified as the Protected Forests.[12][13][14][15][16] Bird watchers also visit the area now and conduct annual bird-counts.[17]
Issues
Bird strikes on the aeroplanes from the nearby Indira Gandhi International Airport have been a concern.[18][19][20][21][22][23] The airport has undertaken several steps to mitigate the issue of bird strikes, including positioning of 25 zone guns along the runway, deployment of 50 bird chasers, installation of reflective tapes, bursting of crackers, scare crow devices on jeeps, regular grass cutting and pesticide spraying.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Birds most commonly involved in Bird strikes are Pariah or Black Kite, Red-wattled Lapwing, Cattle Egret, pigeons and crows.[31]
1 2 [A bird sanctuary for Delhi soon, By Nirupama Subramanian, Express News Service, City, New Delhi, 7 March 1988, Indian Express Newspaper]
1 2 [Flamingos flock to Capital, By N. Suresh, New Delhi, 7 January 1988, The Times of India]
1 2 [Down by the wetlands, on the wild side, Najafgarh drain, By Vivek Menon, 9 March 1991, Weekend, New Delhi, Indian Express Newspaper (Vivek Menon formerly with WWF-India now with Wildlife Trust of India)]
[Book: A Guide to the Birds of the Delhi Area (1975) by Usha Ganguli, a member of the Delhi Birdwatching Society. She includes sections from "The Imperial Gazetteer of India" annual colonial records of British India from Delhi detailing local wildlife and extent of water accumulation in Najafgarh Jheel basin yearly.]
[Birdwatching Articles from 1961 -70 from Najafgarh lake by Usha Ganguli in "Newsletter for Birdwatchers" edited by Zafar Futehally]
Urban Flooding and its Management, 2006. India Disaster Management Congress.IIPA Campus, IP Estate, Near ITO Road, New Delhi. National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
