Desilting work left: Two years on, migratory birds make their way to Dheerpur wetland
The wetland in Dheerpur, north Delhi. (Express photo) The wetland in Dheerpur, north Delhi. (Express photo)
Two years after the Ambedkar University Delhi and Delhi Development Authority wetland project in Dheerpur was inaugurated, the site has started attracting some migratory birds. While a professor associated with the project claimed that the DDA is yet to carry out desilting work in the wetland, he said their intervention has started yielding results. Responding to claims of a delay, a senior official of DDA said he would examine the project and take necessary action.
Suresh Babu, Associate Professor at the School of Human Ecology, said: “The arrangement is that we provide the technical expertise while civil work and earthwork will be carried out by DDA. This includes desilting the malba (debris) which has been dumped in the 25.38 hectares we have to restore. We have submitted a detailed plan. We want 80% of this area to be water bodies. We’ve created a sequence of wetlands — one large wetland and several small ones. The project should be done in five years. The earthwork should have started before the last rains. A brief was also given to the L-G that desilting work is pending with the DDA… they have assured us they will look into it.”
“This year, we are seeing a lot of birds.. We have established a small field station to monitor the area. We are already seeing some winter migrants. We have done some corridor vegetation and introduced some riparian species. We have also introduced grasses like phragmites and hedges. But the wetlands are not ready, else we would have seen more ducks and other birds,” he said.
Among the birds seen in the last year are warblers, pipits and sandpipers. Besides conservation, Babu said the plan was also to create a recreational space. “Around the third or fourth year, we plan to create a trail with viewing points… We don’t want it to be just a conservation area, but also a recreational area for the neighbourhood,” he said.
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