Guwahati: Deepor Beel, Assam's lone Ramsar site, is fast losing its vitality and ecological balance.
The situation is turning worse every consecutive year, forcing locals and conservationists to explore if the freshwater lake located near Guwahati will manage to retain its most coveted tag of Ramsar site.
A Ramsar site is a wetland that has been designated as being of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Assam's Deepor Beel was designated as Ramsar Site in 2002 to undertake conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance for sustaining a range of aquatic life forms besides 219 species of birds.
Pramod Kalita, a local resident and an individual involved in the conservation of Deepor Beel, said that the beel is losing its ecological balance as the level of pollution has been on a rise.
"Normally several thousands of migratory birds come to Deepor Beel every year during the winters. However, in 2023 we could spot only 11000 migratory birds visiting the Beel, which is concerning. In 2022, there were 28000 birds here," said Kalita while adding that a wetland should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports 20,000 or more water birds. (As per Ramsar Convention of Wetlands, Ramsar, Iran 1971).
The locals still remember Deepor Beel as a serene wetland full of Kohuwa grass which also used to be a lifeline for the people who lives in and around the Deepor Beel. The wetland with its natural resources directly or indirectly supports the people of 14 indigenous villages (1,200 families) with livelihood options. While the freshwater fish is a vital source of protein and income for these communities, the health of these people are also directly dependent on the health of this wetland ecosystem.
"We have been living in this village for generations. The Beel gives us everything from livelihood to fodder for our domestic animals," said Dhaneswar Kalita, a local resident and a fisherman.
Why is Deepor Beel important?
Experts say that the Deepor Beel acts as a natural stormwater reservoir during the monsoon season for Guwahati, an ever-growing city that houses approximately 14 lakh people. The Basistha and Kalmani rivers and local monsoon run-off are the main sources of water to the lake, between May and September. Khonajan channel drains the Beel into the Brahmaputra river, 5 km to the north. The Beel has a perennial water spread area of about 10.1 square km, which extends up to 40.1 square km during floods.
Deepor Beel is the main storage basin for Guwahati's drainage system during the monsoon season. The lake's water level drops from about four metres during the monsoon to about one metre during the dry season.
Besides the drainage system, the freshwater lake is also a stopover for the residents of Guwahati for fresh air. The Beel also attracts tourists from different parts of the country and abroad while visiting or passing across Guwahati. It is also a breeding ground for at least 200 species of birds including over 70 varieties of migratory birds.
What is the status of Deepor Beel now?
The locals have been voicing their concern since 2009 when a portion of the freshwater lake was converted into a dumping ground of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation. The municipal waste amounting to about 600 tons per day polluted the water of the Beel affecting the ecology and environment.
"The situation started to turn worse after the GMC started dumping the solid waste in the dumping site," locals said.
Although severe protests from the locals forced the government to shift the dumping ground to a nearby area, Beltol, the pollution continued as the present site for dumping ground is located near Pamohi canal, which is also linked to the Deepor Beel. The waste had contaminated the soil and the liquid continued to flow to the Deepor Beel affecting the wetland and its aquatic life.
"Pollution was not evident till 2011-12. The annual census of the birds before 2006 indicated that close to 260 variety of birds came to Deepor Beel. It is shocking to see only 11000 birds visiting the Beel in 2023, which is very concerning," said Kandarpa Boro, a local.
It may be mentioned here that a recent study by the Pollution Control Board of Assam (PCBA) found that the concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) lied above the prescribed standard of 3.0 mg/l, which indicates that the water of Deepor Beel is contaminated perhaps from the dumping site at Boragaon area or from urban stormwater runoffs.
The pollution affecting livelihood of fishermen
The fishermen folk who are dependent on the freshwater lake are suffering and bearing the direct burnt of this pollution. "The fishermen families like us have been dependent on the Beel for generations. However, the yield from the Beel has decreased substantially over the years," said Biren Kalita, a fishermen while adding that fish from the Beel also stinks these days.
"Earlier fish from the Deepor Beel used to have good value. But these days, fish brought out of the water and kept for few hours start to stink. We have to sell the fish immediately or they perish," he said.
7Weaves Research Foundation, a Guwahati-based research foundation, that had been studying the ecology of the freshwater lake for last several years, also said that the number of birds have decreased substantially over the years.
"We are not confident that the Ramsar Site status will not be withdrawn from Deepor Beel. Sighting at least 20,000 birds is a criteria for qualifying for Ramsar site status. Last year's statistics showed that only 11000 birds were counted, which is alarming. This year the birds have started arriving early, so we are hopeful. But it is high time we take steps to ensure that the conservation efforts are in place," said Tanya B Talwar of the 7Weaves Research.
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