Birders wary of DDA’s fish-breeding initiative

Between October and March, East Delhi’s Sanjay Lake has over a hundred migratory birds coming in. But birders think they may soon stop visiting their seasonal habitat as the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) fish-breeding programme and its new adventure park have caused a flutter.

The Central land-owning agency is rearing fish to clean up the lake, according to the DDA officials. Birder Sunil Kumar said the authorities are also removing reeds and water hyacinths in the process — which are critical part of the lake’s ecosystem.

“It’s a misconception that breeding fish will result in more birds coming in. In fact, it’s the insects feeding on reeds and water hyacinths that attract these birds,” Mr Kumar told to this newspaper. Sources in the DDA said the agency has decided to give the lake a facelift because it has assigned the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to develop a residential-cum-commercial complex in the neighbourhood.

Local birders also indicate that the habitat disruption began last year when the DDA began built its largest adventure park along the lake. “The lake stretches up to three kilometers. The park occupies one-third of it. Generally, the migratory birds don’t visit that portion of the lake,” Mr Kumar said.

The adventure park, wh-ich offers soft water sports like raft rides, has been attracting large weekend crowds since its inauguration in December.

At the time of inauguration of the adventure park last year, the DDA claimed that it was using less than 10 per cent of the lake area for the purpose. It had also said that no trees were cut during its construction.

Another birder, Sub-ramaniam Venketramani, said the lake is home to a large number of ducks — both migratory and resident ones. According to him, the migratory ducks include common pochard, northern pintaill, northern shovellers and tufted duck.

Mr Kumar, who is a regular visitor to the lake since November last year, said he has recently seen painted storks, black redstarts, white-capped bun-tings, little cormorants and Indian cormorants at the lake. “We have spotted 131 species of birds here. But, the main nuisance is rearing of fish. The DDA has given the contract to a fishing corporation,” he added.

A DDA official said that the lake water is really dirty. “The NBCC is developing Lake View Complex in a 25-acre area. And that is the reason why the lake is being cleaned up and the contract for breeding fish has been awarded,” the official told this newspaper.