Sunday, February 13 2005 14:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bharatpur: Keoladeo bird sanctuary and the feathered friends that flock at Bharatpur may well go the way of the dodo if its lifeline, the water supply from the nearby Panchana dam continues to be choked to "further political interests", environmentalists warn.

The fragile ecosystem of the unique water bird sanctuary, accorded the Unesco World Heritage status, is facing extinction with the entire 11 sq km of wetland fast turning into a jungle.

This has forced the hundreds of species of exotic birds to leave their age-old habitat and their migratory numbers have dwindled from 70,000 to a paltry 5,000 in winter,honorary warden and secretary of Keoladeo Natural History Society Krishna Kumar said.

He said only the marshy land around the Keoladeo temple has water coming via tubewells, while taking a team of journalists on a tour around the dried up artificial lake over the weekend.

Kumar said, "If the wetland does not get water, it will become extinct and give a body blow to conservation efforts".

Bharatpur and the Keoladeo park had legal riparian rights to the Panchana dam water, but since it has been constructed upstream of the Gambhiri river in neighbouring Karauli District of Rajasthan, it has "stopped the natural flow of the river," he said.

"We shall be filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court soon to enforce our rights," the sanctuary warden said.

Kumar said, "The Tourismand Wildlife Society of India lodged a complaint with the committee, constituted by the Supreme Court, which in turn sought the State Government's comments, but we shall be filing a separate writ petiion before the apex court soon."

Alleging complicity of politicians and local bureaucrats in denying water to the sanctuary, Kumar said the Panchana dam was originally planned to hold 685 million cubic feet (mcft) of water, but the capacity was later upped to 2,100 mcft without getting the necessary permission from the Centre.

He alleged the sanctuary was denied its right of water from the Gambhiri river this year after a lobby of farmers in Karauli district and "their political masters" stalled a Government order of September last year for releasing 500 mcft.

He said only "flowing water with organic content" could save the sanctuary and its eco-system.

The number of birds that flocked the park used to be more than 70,000, but "due to neglect of the authorities", it has fallen to "5,000 with many migratory birds, including the rare Siberian cranes, deserting this destination," Kumar added.

He pointed to a deserted corner of the park where punts, or flat-bottomed boats, were piled up one atop the other, adding tourism, the mainstay of its economy was also now doomed.

Meanwhile, locals of the area are also gearing up for a struggle to save the world heritage. They staged a day-long sit-in last week demanding immediate release of water from the dam.