Kanwar Lake of Begusarai now included in the list of ‘Ramsar Sites’; Bihar’s first and 39th lake of the country

Kanwar Lake of Begusarai has been declared as the 39th ‘Ramsar Site’ of the country. This is the first ‘Ramsar site’ of Bihar. Along with this, the name of the Kanwar lake of Begusarai has surfaced internationally. Arvind Mishra, the State Coordinator of the Indian Bird Conservation Network, says that it was being tried for a long time. The Ramsar Authority decides which Wetlands can be included in it.

In 1972, an international convention was held in Ramsar, Tehran. There was a serious discussion about Wetland and it was decided that the necessary Wetland should be given international recognition and its list released.

The specialty of Kanwar lake is that this sanctuary is the largest lake in the northeastern part of the entire country. It is spread over 6 thousand 3 hundred 11 hectares. Once upon a time there were millions of migratory birds. Now the lake is getting less water due to encroachment on a large part of the square. The condition of the lake is getting worse due to this. Birds are also coming down due to birds being hunted in the lake. After the inclusion of the Kanwar Lake Sanctuary in the Ramsar site, the government’s planning for wetlands will be affected.

It is noteworthy that environmentalist Professor Ashok Ghosh has surveyed this area. It showed that the size of the lake was 6,786 hectares in 1984, reduced to 6043.825 hectares in 2004 and reduced to just 2032 hectares in 2012. The depth of the lake has also decreased rapidly.

Every year 3.8 cm of silt is settling in the bottom. Due to the large amount of silt freezing, large areas of the pool have turned into marshes, where poisonous weeds have grown and do not dissolve enough oxygen in the water. This is worsening the biological system. The lake’s natural diversity is being eroded. The way to get water into the lake has stopped. The water has become acidic and dirty.

Dissolved oxygen has been found to be 7.6 mg per liter, which is not beneficial to animals. Skin and digestive diseases have started spreading among people who use its water nearby.

Environment lovers believe that the area can be developed as an agricultural cum bird sanctuary with an integrated provision of the habitat of birds with agriculture. Traditional organic farming system should be adopted in the entire area. The entire notified area should be protected.

Its boundaries should be determined keeping in mind only those who had settled there long before the notification was done. All stakeholder groups should have an active stake in the integrated management of the wetland.

Stringent statutory measures are required to protect this notified area. For this, mapping the original form of the lake and then a notification will have to be issued. Determine the map of the lake and the catchment area by a committee in which the panchayat representative and other stakeholders are involved so that no encroachment occurs.

It is necessary to remove the silt of the related drain from the reservoir so that the water flow system in the lake can work. Encroachment into the lake bottom, illegal cultivation, preventing entry of pollutants into the water area, and creating awareness about it will be necessary to adopt various programs to enable the stakeholders to manage the lake.

The case of Prof. Rakesh Sinha raising questions in the Rajya Sabha on to save the lake of Kaver lake of Begusarai went viral on the social site. The Rajya Sabha MP said how we are losing cultural heritage and tourist destination. The biggest example of this is the Kavar lake of Manjhaul in Begusarai district, which is a lake of 5,467 hectares which was later acquired by the Government of Bihar on 6,311 hectares, which is the largest lake in Asia. He said that its water was so good that people used to come here to see it. He said that millions of colorful Siberian birds used to come here in the month of November-March. Due to the drying up of the lake, it has stopped coming now. Re-invite these guests who added beauty to the atmosphere here. Those who had a different form and thought that their second home should be India. It is a seven-year-old Purani lake. Today it has dried up, which no government has noticed. The MP said that the Government and the Ministry request that the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, and the Government of Bihar should try to revive it. The MP said that there should be such an environment that these guests come again in our country and it should not only remain in memories but also be seen on the ground.

How to reach Kanwar lake?

Kanwar lake is in the Begusarai district of Bihar. The nearest airport from here is Patna. The distance from Patna to Begusarai is 150 km. It is situated at a distance of 16 km from Begusarai and Kanwar lake is near Jayamangala Garh at a distance of six km from here. There is a two-room bungalow in the Jaimangala stronghold from the Forest Department. You can also stay at Begusarai’s hotel.