Noida: The Okhla Bird Sanctuary Conservation Collective has urged the irrigation and forest departments to strengthen maintenance protocols and minimise disruption to wetland habitats during barrage repair work. The group also called for the use of technology and adherence to timelines to prevent prolonged dry spells that could affect birds and the sanctuary ecosystem.The collective members held several rounds of meetings with the forest and irrigation department officials. On behalf of the collective, the founder of Ecojeev Life Foundation, Shalini Singh, said a meeting was held with the divisional forest officer, GB Nagar, on May 24, followed by meetings with the chief engineer-II (Yamuna) and executive engineer, head works division, Agra canal, Okhla, to finalise a proposal acceptable to all and aimed at preventing disruption to the bird habitat in the sanctuary.The collective expressed its concern over the pre-summer and pre-monsoon drainage in recent years. “Mid-October to mid-November is the annual maintenance schedule for the barrage, which also disturbs the migratory birds, but when the water is drained during March-April, it impacts both the migratory birds and resident birds, which is the breeding season for them,” she said.The sanctuary had dried up between March 17 and 26 last year and again on March 18 this year. Singh said there is no explanation for the drying up, but it was done for some important repair and maintenance work.“The last four repairs resulted in drainage and drying up of the sanctuary water pool between mid-Oct to the beginning of Nov 2024, mid-March to the end of March 2025, end-Oct to mid-Nov 2025 and mid-March to about mid-April 2026. The sudden drop in water levels resulted in the drying of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, including essential reed beds that are crucial habitats for several resident and migratory birds. It also disrupted the natural wetland flora and allowed invasive species to take over. The lowest level of the waterbody, the benthic zone, drying kills crucial benthic micro-organisms, worms, and small fish, which are crucial for the food web supporting the sanctuary’s migratory and resident waterbirds,” she said.The proposal requests actionable adjustments to the current repair and maintenance framework with a focus on the reduction of drainage frequency and appropriate planning.“Deployment of modern techniques that involve underwater welding and epoxy painting using camera-fitted and remotely operable vehicles can reduce the number of days of drainage,” Singh said.The collective, in its proposal, said if the drainage is necessary, the current Oct-Nov window should be adjusted to the end-Sept to mid-Oct period, so as to avoid extending too much into the migratory waterbirds’ main arrival period from early Oct.The birders have also proposed that higher-level approvals from both irrigation and forest departments should be made mandatory for any maintenance work so that apart from irrigation, the barrage also fulfils the purpose of conserving one of the important wetlands of north India.
