A white ibis at Udhwa Bird Sanctuary in Rajmahal. Picture by Anant Kumar Roy

Rajmahal, Nov. 6: Rampant encroachment is threatening the very existence of Jharkhand’s only bird sanctuary in Sahebganj even as the district administration and the forest department indulge in a blame game.

Usually, with the onset of winter, migratory birds flock to Udhwa Bird Sanctuary from places like Siberia, Iran and China. But the birds now seem to have dumped their once favourite hotspot — Pataura and Barkanala lakes — in Udhwa block as thousands of settlers, alleged to be Bangladeshi immigrants, have encroached the area surrounding the sanctuary, disrupting the roosting process.

The number of migratory birds has dwindled over the years. “The bird count was 20,000 in 1995, but it plummeted to 3,000 in the last census. Siberian ducks, teals and coots formed the bulk of the migratory flock, but species like large whistling teal (bari silli) and red-crested pochard (lalsar) are now missing,” said Arvind Mishra, head of Mandar Nature Club and state co-ordinator of Bihar and Jharkhand for Indian Bird Conservation Network. He has been instrumental in conducting the census at the sanctuary since its establishment in 1991.

The birds usually start coming in by September-end and stay till March.

“Intensive illegal fishing and farming in lake areas and mushrooming houses in the forests adjoining the sanctuary are sucking the life out of it. The encroachers deliberately choke the 2km-long channel that connects Pataura with Barkanala so that the water bodies dry up and they then start farming on the lakebed.”

Echoing his views were Hazaribagh DFO (wildlife) A.K. Mishra. “At least nine villages have come up around the sanctuary area over the years. They start farming in the lakebed when water recedes and even hunt endangered birds,” he said.

Adding to the danger is a bird market in Radhanagar, where endangered birds are sold for anything between Rs 200 and Rs 300.

Getting rid of the encroachers is a huge task in front of the administration. “Villagers stake claim on the lake area saying it is their ancestral land, which was occupied for the Farrakka barrage project and later scrapped and handed over to the district administration. Records say the land losers were compensated adequately, but they won’t agree,” said the Hazaribagh DFO (wildlife).

The forest department cannot do much regarding the encroachment. “The villages are under the district administration’s jurisdiction. But they have to tread cautiously as forceful eviction might create a law and order problem and could be blown out of proportion by politicians,” Mishra added.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sahebganj deputy commissioner K.Ravi Kumar said: “The district administration has nothing to do with land encroachment in and around the sanctuary. The area is under the forest department, so we have no authority to interfere in their affairs.”

Rejecting Kumar’s argument, the DFO (wildlfe) said: “I am responsible for the 5.65sqkm area only, the adjoining areas belong to the district administration. It should stop encroachment at the earliest as the land grabbing is also affecting the sanctuary in many ways.” The state forest department is planning to conduct a survey in the area. It has asked the district administration for the map of the lakes and requested the state to grant funds for the purpose.