Four years after notification, Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary yet to get through transformation befitting Ramsar Site

More than four years after Nanjarayan Tank was declared a Bird Sanctuary through a notification issued by the Environment, Climate Change, and Forests Department, the water body located in the Central Asian Flyway as an important breeding and foraging site for both resident and migratory birds continues to await transformation befitting its designation as a Ramsar Site.

Nature organisations in Tiruppur are expecting the State government to expedite the sanction of ₹7.5 crore that was announced at the time of notification for developing the bird sanctuary, where upto 190 winged visitors have been documented, with the requisite infrastructure to convert it into sight-seeing attraction.

When the notification was made on September 12, 2022, a commitment was made on the funding by the State government.

The notification envisages retention of the land ownership with Water Resources Department, and conversion of the Nanarayan Bird Sanctuary into a revenue-generating tourism spot with the infrastructure developments.

The Vetry Trust, backed by the industrial community in Tiruppur, has cleared hyacinth from a major portion of the tank, resulting in arrival of birds in large numbers. The development of the bird sanctuary in the long-term with the sanctioned government funding has been a felt need for long, T.R. Sivaram, president and Managing Trustee of Vetry Trust, said, requesting the Forest Department to ensure fructification of infrastructure development at the earliest.

The infrastructure development proposed in the Detailed Project Report encompasses creation of Conservation Centre as a Central Complex; Creation of access path for the use of vehicle and visitors to reach the conservation centre; an Interpretation Centre with conference hall facilities; a documentation centre including mini theatre; creation of nature parks (by way of bambusetum, botanical garden, butterfly garden, medicinal tree parks etc); landscaping and other related gardening works in and around the conservation centre; parking centre in conservation centre; and display of pictorial hoardings, boards around the lake.

The project also entails formation of nature trail, erection of watch tower, creation of bird sculptures, creation of seating facilities in and around the conservation centre and other areas, and creation of a kids zone.

The wait for the infrastructure development has been rather long. Infrastructure development has to be preceded by elaborate paper work, said Ravindran Kamatchi, president of Nature Society of Tiruppur, that has been documenting the count of bird species. The project necessitates fulfilment of the Central government’s guidelines on Eco-Sensitive Zone, he added.