Indore’s Sirpur Lake marked ‘important bird area’

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has recognised Indore’s Sirpur Lake as an ‘important bird area’, with more than 20,000 birds of over 150 varieties voyaging across the oceans every year to find a safe haven in the water body.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has recognised Indore’s Sirpur Lake as an ‘important bird area’, with more than 20,000 birds of over 150 varieties voyaging across the oceans every year to find a safe haven in the water body.

Sirpur Lake is now a part of the list of globally important habitats for conservation of birds. (HT photo)

The BNHS, a non-governmental organisation undertaking various researches in the field of nature’s conservation, has added Sirpur Lake and Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve to its list of important bird areas in Madhya Pradesh, Bhalu Mondhe, a city-based conservationist, said, adding that the state now has 19 such sites.

With the recognition, the two areas are now part of the list of globally important habitats for conservation of bird population.

“The BNHS studied data of last ten years, and recognised the zone as important bird area,” Mondhe told HT.

The lake on an average hosts 20,000 birds of over 150 varieties, including many threatened species, every year during winters, he said.

Sirpur Lake, once a dying waterbody, has been conserved and brought to life by sustained efforts of the Nature Volunteers group and the Indore Municipal Corporation, said Mondhe.

In addition, the BNHS has pointed out threats Sirpur Lake is facing from industrial and sewer pollution, lack of solid waste management, encroachments and industrial development in the lake’s catchment area.