Dibrugarh: The Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland), located near Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district has witnessed a significant drop in the number of migratory birds since the blowout at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well in Baghjan in 2020.
Maguri Motapung wetland, which is home to at least 304 bird species, is just 9 kms from Tinsukia town and is a famous tourist destination, where tourists from all over the world come to watch the migratory birds during the winter season.
However, the number of migratory birds that came to the wetland sharply declined during the last three years. In May 2020, the beel was adversely affected by a blowout and fire at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well.
The resulting oil spill killed a number of fish, and snakes as well as an endangered Gangetic dolphin, and the fire had burnt a large portion of the grassland.
According to environmentalists, due to the Baghjan gas well blowout the entire ecosystem of Maguri-Motapung beel was affected and it greatly impacted the birds and aquatic life of the wetland.
“Mahuri-Motapung beel was a paradise for migratory birds. But after the Baghjan blowout, the entire ecosystem of the wetland was affected. Earlier, during this season, numbers of migratory birds were spotted in the wetland but the number of birds has sharply declined. Even, the local birds which are coming in large numbers were not seen like earlier,” Ranjan Kumar Das, bird watcher and vice principal of Tinsukia College, told Northeast Now.
“Those were the days when Maguri-Motapung was paradise for migratory birds! After the Baghjan blowout and heavy siltation, the entire ecosystems of the wetland have been damaged. I predicted this situation back then in 2006 in one of my articles where I mentioned that due to heavy siltation one day most of the wetland will be filled up with silt deposition and there will be no migratory birds in the wetland. This is all due to the illegal sand mining at the confluence of the Dangari-Dibru river which is going on for a long time.”
“Due to the Baghjan blowout, the entire flora and fauna of the Maguri-Motapung beel were affected. Due to the deposition of condensate, the population of local fish has been affected. We cannot get the early charm of the Maguri-Motapung beel, which is known for birds. Various species of migratory birds come here during the winter season but now they are not seen in the wetland,” Das, who is also an ornithologist, said.
Nirantar Gohain, an environmentalist said, “The degradation of the Maguri-Motapung beel happened due to the Baghjan gas well blowout. The wetland has lost its past glory. Earlier, the wetland was full of migratory birds during this season, but now they are nowhere to be seen. Oil condensate destroyed their habitat.”
“It has also impacted tourism. Earlier, tourists used to come in large numbers to see the rare birds, but now the number of tourists declined as well. A bird habitat has totally finished but who cares,” Gohain said.