Indian Birds Photography: (delhibirdpix) Sultanpur National Park

Shri Jairam Ramesh,

Minister of State - Independent Charge,

Ministry of Environment & Forest,

Government of India,

New Delhi.

Dear Minister, Sir,

This brings to your notice the Pathetic State of Affairs at Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana, The Photographs attached speak for more and better than any one can describe in words.

Please be kind enough to peruse put the machinery of MOEF to remedy the situation once and for all. Let us not hear that it is a State issue and that we take up with the State. Have reproduced below the summary of replies received from Park Officials of the State by two very, very prominent birders of Delhi Bird Group. It is time the MOEF officials, charged with the overseeing of National Parks and Sanctuaries, are made to do their jobs. MOEF CANNOT BE MUTE SPECTATOR like ordinary public.

Issues highlighted by the images below are:

1. The National Park has been completely neglected and is in a sad state of affairs.

2. The Park authorities have failed in their basic and primary duty to arrange adequate quantity of water for the Park.

3. The Park Authorities have failed in their basic and primary duty to stop 'unauthorised ingress' in to the Park.

4. AN EXTREMELY CRUEL method has been practiced to 'deal with unwanted fish'.

If this happens so close to THE MOEF (like it was permitted to happen for Okhla Bird Park and Wild Life Sanctuary), then SIR, their is no hope for the Environment and Wild Life in the Country.

Produced below are excerpts of the summary by two prominent Bird Watchers of Delhi.

__________

I just had a talk with Dr. Parvez Ahmed, Chief Wildlife Warden, Haryana.
He informed me that the lake has dried up due to non availability of water. Tubwells in the area do not have sweet water. Pumping in brackish water is not advisable also. The Park also did not get canal water during this season. In any case, according to him, the drying up of the water is a help in the sense that the African Black fish in the pond have become too big and they are devouring all seedlings and fingerlings introduced to the pond, depriving birds for whom these are put in the water. Once the monsoons start, they would fill up the pond and also introduce seelings. He also confirmed that a National Park can neither sell the fish or remove it.
I personally feel that if the big fish are a threat to the ecology of the Park, they should be removed from there and let free in other ponds or river. Obviously, the Haryana Wildlife Department has no such policy.
Koshy
___________

I just spoke to the Park officials - they are calling the drying of the pond a management decision. The reason being the fish have grown to over 25 kgs and have become too big for the birds. Besides they are eating all the smaller fish. Being a National Park they can't sell the fish, so they thought it would be best to dry the pond.

They confirm they have ample water, and will start releasing the water in 2-3 weeks. In the 1st week July they want to put in the fishlings too

Any park Management expert?

Best

NIK

___________

The park attendant Suresh, who is an old-timer there had a different story to tell me. He says the villagers did not release the canal water this time due to acute water shortage. So if humans don't get water you can forget about the fish. And then he says, the dry weather casualties are very natural and the damage will be recovered shortly. He also promised more birds migrating end of this year and they will fix up everything before their arrival. Sounded more like a artificial resort for the birds than a natural wildlife and bird sanctuary.

If they realize that this is a national park and the can't sell the fish, then what are all these cows doing inside the park eating up all the natural fodder meant for the resident Nilgai. (See attached photos). The park was full of cows and the Nilgai was no where to be seen. I surveyed almost the entire park and could only spot a few Nilgai hiding in bushes in the somewhere in the park. Maybe the cows scared them away.

Regards,
Ajit Pal Singh