Guwahati: A total of 817 water birds of 61 species were recorded at Deepor Beel, the only Ramsar site in Assam, during the autumn bird count conducted as part of the inaugural session of the Winter Birding Festival (WBF) 2023.
The count was conducted on September 4 by a 43-member team of 7 WEAVES Research Foundation, divided into four groups.
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“This time the number of water birds is reducing. The reason is the blockage of the water course of the lake by a sluice gate for which water birds do not want to go down to deep waters,” said Pramod Kalita, general secretary, Deepor Beel Suraksha Mancha.
“As the movement of water in the lake was closed by a sluice gate, no water flows from the Brahmaputra river. As a result, water is polluted in the lake and this is the main reason behind the decreasing number of water birds in Deepor Beel,” Kalita added.
In the last survey in April, the number of bird species found was 59 and in December 2022, it was 160.
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“Huge mountains of solid waste are turning Deepor Beel into a stinking drain. Moreover, the entire drainage system of Guwahati is connected to Deepor Beel,” Kalita said.
“The biodiversity has been impacted but the government has made no efforts for its revival. The wetland is dying and nobody is bothered,” Kalita added.
On January 4, 2023, the bird count by Guwahati Wildlife Division found 26,747 birds of 96 species in Deepor Beel. There was an increase in the number of species since the last count that took place in 2022 where 10,289 birds of 66 species were reported.
An earlier census carried out in 2002 had recorded a single-day sighting of 19,000 water birds.