Mining Threatens Swan River, Punjab's Sarus Crane Habitat

NANGAL: The channelization of the seasonal Swan River in areas bordering Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has helped in reclaiming thousands of acres of agricultural land, but is also threatening the local Sarus cranes with extinction. Sarus is the tallest flying bird in the world, that was once on the rise in the area.

Wildlife experts said after its regular sightings in Punjab's Nangal marshy areas almost a decade and a half ago, its sighting now is rare as most of them either vanished with the gobbling up of ponds and increased illegal mining or they migrated to other areas. The Sarus crane attains a height of up to 6 feet, with a wingspan of 8 feet. It is the tallest of all the 15 species of cranes in the world. Its habitat is shallow wetlands, marshes, ponds and fields.

"The destruction of ponds and marshy land on the banks of the Swan has destroyed the natural habitat of many wildlife species, including the Sarus crane," wildlife photographer Prabhat Bhatti said.

He said the banks of the Swan that fall in Himachal's Una district and Punjab's Ropar district were once the breeding ground for the Sarus cranes. As per an estimation by Bhatti, who is based in Nangal town, some 100 km from Chandigarh at the foothills of the Shivaliks in Ropar district, 18 Sarus cranes were spotted in the area by the state wildlife wing 15 years ago.

"In the latest survey, only a pair of Sarus cranes was spotted," said Bhatti, who believes their habitat has been destroyed mainly due to the channelization of the rivulet and increased construction and mining activity. He has been monitoring over 18 Sarus cranes since 2005 in the marshy areas of Swan. He photographed 14 Sarus cranes at one place in 2008.

The Red Data Book – a compendium of species facing extinction – has put the Sarus in the "vulnerable" category. Earlier, the wildlife wing had sighted the Sarus in the Sahaila Pattan area of Gurdaspur district too. As per wildlife experts, their sighting has declined notably.

"Also, there are no trained forest department staff specializing in wetlands conservation and management," he added. IANS

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