Greater Noida: Minister promises to protect Surajpur wetland

The Gautam Budh Nagar forest department on Friday observed World Wetlands Day at the Surajpur wetland and bird sanctuary. State excise minister Jai Pratap Singh, who is in charge of Gautam Budh Nagar district, took part in the event and said that the government will take necessary steps to protect the wetlands, which play a pivotal role in groundwater recharge.
World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 of every year to spread awareness about the need to protect wetlands.
The forest department will set up a drinking water facility for visitors at the bird sanctuary located in Greater Noida’s Surajpur area. The Surajpur wetland is spread on 60 hectares and the forest area around it spans 308 hectares.
The additional chief executive officer of Greater Noida authority KK Gupta, Gautam Budh Nagar divisional forest officer HV Girish and other officials were also present at the event. School children, through cultural events, appealed to the public to work together to save the wetlands and green zones.
“Wetlands and forest areas work as the lungs of the city. Our government will take necessary steps to protect the wetlands and forest areas,” the excise minister, who is on a three-day visit to Noida, said.
The forest department said that it will develop facilities for visitors at the Surajpur wetland and bird sanctuary.
“We have decided to develop some facilities so that the visitors or families who come to the sanctuary can sit inside the green area. Apart from this, we also want to provide drinking water facility, which is not available at the sanctuary. We will also decide how many persons can be allowed to visit the sanctuary per day,” Girish said.
The forest department is also planning to charge a fee from the visitors.
“The minister has promised all possible help to protect the sanctuary. We want to decide a fee so that we can control the number of visitors. If we do not limit the number of visitors, it will be difficult to protect the wetland and the sanctuary. We will make a proposal on the fee and send it to the government for approval,” Girish said.
After attending the event, the minister also reviewed developmental projects in Noida and Greater Noida. He directed officials to finish projects as per the stipulated deadline of each project.
-
Deserted streets, downed shutters as Udaipur remains on edge | Watch
Streets wore a deserted look and shops remained closed amid eerie calm in Udaipur on Wednesday, the first morning after a man was beheaded for supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who was suspended from the party earlier this month for her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
-
Four killed after tower crane collapse in Navi Mumbai, 2 others critical
In a tragic incident, four persons including two labourers, one crane operator and a car driver, died due to a crane accident Navi Mumbai on Tuesday evening. They working at an under construction site of City and Industrial Development Corporation's Taloja phase 2 project in Navi Mumbai The accident occurred after the tower crane used to transport construction materials atop Taloja collapsed from the 14th floor and landed on them.
-
NIA arrests two from Jammu and Kashmir for cross-LoC trade, terror funding
The NIA has arrested two accused in Jammu & Kashmir in the cross-LoC trade and terror funding case. Earlier, the NIA had conducted multiple raids across the Valley in the terror-funding case. NIA spokesman in a statement said that on Monday the NIA arrested two accused Tanveer Ahmad Wani of Achagoza, Rajpora, Pulwama and Peer Arshad Iqbal, alias Ashu of Khwaja Bagh, Baramulla.
-
Three-tier security in place across Jammu and Kashmir for Amarnath Yatra
With a day left for the start of the Amarnath Yatra, high-level security is in place across Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Kashmir valley, where foolproof security arrangements have been made for the peaceful conduct of the yatra, which is taking place after two years. Three-tier security will be in place for the entire yatra route, including the mountains in the south and central Kashmir.
-
LeT behind blasts in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, 2 operatives arrested
Ahead of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved recent blasts in Kotranka and Budhal areas of the Rajouri district with the arrest of two Lashkar operatives. The police have launched searches for Talib Shah. “A huge cache of explosive material, including five improvised explosive devices (IEDs), was recovered at the disclosure of the LeT operatives”, additional director general of police (ADGP), Mukesh Singh said.