KANPUR: A group of students from College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology (CAET), Etawah accompanied by wildlife activists and members of an NGO, visited Sarsai Nawar wetland of the district as part of a campaign named 'Techfest Green Campus Challenge' organised by IIT-Mumbai to conserve ecologically sensitive spots in the region.
Monil Girdhar, a third year Btech student at CAET, who is also representing his college team called 'Green Step' in the campaign, said, "As part of the campaign, we are conducting an assessment of wetlands which are an important part of our ecosystem but are on the verge of extinction. Rampant encroachments and apathetic attitude of authorities concerned are the primary factors behind their destruction."
During a recent survey, it was found that the wetlands in Mainpuri and Etawah districts are breathing their last with rampant encroachments in and around these water bodies, he said. "During a survey in Sarsai Nawar, startling facts came to the fore. People have been allotted 'patta' on the wetlands for agricultural and fishing practices by the authorities, which is shocking," said Ujjawal Kumar Tripathi, another student of CAET. He said the measures adopted by the authorities are of no use. "The plan of maintaining wetlands is good, provided it is taken up seriously by the forest department with the participation of locals," he said. "Migratory birds come here every year. More importantly, the place is home of the state bird Sarus," he added.
"On Saturday, we came across a huge flock of nearly 200 Sarus (grus antigione) birds besides darters, pikes, kingfishers, ibis, painted stork, black neck stork, cormorant and lesser whistling teel at Sarsai Nawar wetland with the Green Step team," said Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, society for conservation of nature.He said these wetlands, besides being a natural habitat to lakhs of migratory birds from Middle East, China and Siberia besides other West Asian countries, play a vital role in balancing the very fragile ecosystem in the region. "We will educate the villagers by telling them about the shrinking wetlands, their importance and protection," said, Sanket Mishra, another student of CAET and member of Green Step.
As per the earlier records, out of 161.27 ha of wetland in Etawah, 64.48 ha was in the possession of farmers of six villages including Chhota Udaipur, Bal Singh, Kishanpura, Daulatpur, Sarsai Nawar and Kuberpura and the rest was with the gram panchayat. Analysis of the data indicated that nearly 64 per cent of the area owned by the farmers was in the wetlands.More than half of the earnings of the families come from the land they cultivate within the wetland and another one third from cultivation outside it. Sanjiv Chauhan, a volunteer of society for conservation of nature recalled that Etawah suburbs had abundant wetlands which vanished following regular allotment of fishing-patta contracts by the Fishery department of the district."Nearly 10 hectares of wetlands in Sarsai Nawar are under Fishery department in Etawah district, which further swallowed the rich wetlands of the belt by regular allotment of the wetlands to the Machua community living in and around the five wetlands of Etawah district. Besides, the wetland in Sarsai-Nawar is also being used by farmers for agricultural purposes these days. The government should take urgent steps to save our wetlands before it is too late," said Chauhan. He said Sarsai-Nawar, Rohini-Hardoi, Samthar, Sarawa and Ramayana should be declared as protected areas.
According to government records, there are over 100 water bodies in Etawah and Mainpuri districts and are in the possession of either patta holders, Nagar Nigam, revenue and private parties. But many exist only on record. "The best way to protect wetlands is not by legislation but by making people aware of what they stand to lose if this ecosystem perishes. An awareness programme should therefore be given top priority," said Shivam, a wildlife enthusiast. To check depletion of wetlands, earth filling in the wet and low-lying areas should be stopped, he said.
Shri Kishan, a former village head, said, "Wetlands like Sarsai Nawar are shrinking with each passing day because of the pressure of encroachment. The Sarsai Nawar is half the size of what I had seen in the 80s. We had even started bird-watching at Sarsai-Nawar in 1985.
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