Punjab: Restoration of ponds can bring back rare bird species

Punjab: The Punjab government recently unveiled its ambitious project to clean 15,000 ponds (chhappars) in 13,500 villages in the state. With a sum of Rs 4,573 crore earmarked for the task, it seems the focus is on reviving and refilling ponds, which are the traditional essential ecosystem of village life. Acknowledging this, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had in 2023 said that village ponds are the “centre of rural life” and maintain balance in the delicate ecosystem. The bench had issued guidelines for the preservation of a pond dug by an NRI on land donated to his village. While the state government has realised the importance of refilling the ponds, according to city-based ornithology enthusiast and wildlife photographer Amit Sharma, these are also an important habitat for rare bird species. “Village ponds become home to many summer migrant birds, who travel from all over India and even foreign countries to come to this part of the world,” Amit said. “Harike wetland is a major habitat, but apart from that village ponds are a permanent habitat for summer migrant birds, who are not restricted to any sanctuary area,” Amit said. He, along with many bird lovers in the area, has been documenting the migration and habitat of birds in and around Amritsar to ensure the preservation of their habitat. “When ponds are encroached upon or they dry up or are not cleaned, the birds change their habitat. Even a slight change in the physical structure of their habitat forces the birds to move from there,” he said. He gave the example of Red Crested Porchard and Eurasian Wigeon, which were recently spotted near ponds in rural Amritsar. Amit said, “A water treatment plant installed in the UBD canal system last year has increased the depth of the barrage due to desilting.
This minor change may have brought the rarely seen Red Crested Porchard into the canal system and later it may have made its habitat in the local pond. Similarly, the Eurasian Wigeon was never seen in Amritsar before. There are other species like Lesser Whistling Duck and Jack Snipe, which were first seen along the canal system in the Vallah area in Amritsar.” Amit has documented the bird sightings through photographs and has also uploaded them on a Cornell University web portal created for citizen-scientists across the world to share bird sightings and their habitats. He says that if efforts are made, cleaning of village ponds will bring more bird species to Amritsar and help create a sustainable ecosystem for them. Currently, Harike Wetland provides the largest sanctuary for migratory bird species in the region. According to the Harike Census 2023 conducted by the Punjab Wildlife Department and WWF-Punjab, the bird population has fluctuated over the years. A total of 65,624 birds were counted in 2023 – the lowest number in recent years. However, the 2025 count is expected to be between 70,000 and 80,000.