Residents voice concern over illegal encroachments on Hygam wetland

Srinagar, Mar 06: Illegal encroachments over the years have affected the pristine glory of Hygam wetland and conservation reserve in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district with residents voicing their concern for its conservation.
Local residents said lack of measures by the government for its conservation has affected its pristine ecosystem which they said has caused a decrease in the arrival of migratory birds.
Ishfaq Ahmad, a resident of Hygam said the once famous water body has been partially damaged due to the illegal activities like encroachments and throwing of silt and waste into it and it has lost its glory.
“It has been illegally encroached at many places. People take away wood from it. We have also seen people extracting soil from it for domestic use,” he said.
Hygam, a Ramsar Site (a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention), is an important part of Jhelum floodplains comprising an important habitat for migratory water birds within the Central Asian Flyway.
Ishfaq said earlier lakhs of foreign birds used to visit the water body and it was once a major attraction for locals as well as non-locals.
“Over the years, the government has not paid much attention to it which has caused its deterioration. Many times we took up the matter with the department but they are not serious about its conservation. Serious efforts are needed to restore its glory,” he said.
He also said that half of the wetland has been occupied by the people which affected the aquatic life in it.
Ashraf Ahmad, another local resident, said at the wetland dead logs and fallen trees have stopped the movement of water.
“Many people have cut the trees in it and cut water supply by erecting stops to prevent flooding of their houses and have now cultivated paddy crops in it,” he said.
He said the solid waste dumping by the inhabitants of nearby habitations is also an issue which locals said needs to be addressed. The domestic waste generated in the habitations is thrown by the individuals in and around the wetland at times.
Hygam wetland or Hygam Rakh is locally called as the largest reed bed in Kashmir. Notably, as per locals it was notified as a game reserve for duck shooting as far back as 1945.
While expressing serious concern over the deteriorating condition of Hygam Wetland, Ajaz Rasool, hydraulic engineering expert and environmentalist said the wetlands need to be maintained round the year to attract birds and tourists.
“I went there recently. Weed has grown to a large extent that it has covered it. Silt of two water bodies has also occupied and filled the wetland. At many places even a boat can’t pass over the water,” he said.
Rasool said it is true that the wetland has been encroached adding that a playground has been constructed on its boundaries, cow sheds, tin sheds have also been raised by the locals.
“Even inside the boundaries of the wetland people planted apple and fruit trees and converted the government land into paddy land,” he said.
The environmentalist said the wetland would have provided livelihood to the locals had it been conserved and saved from time to time.
“During the time of Maharaja Hari Singh, the wetland was reserved for him and common people were not allowed there,” he said.
Rasool, who is also advisor of Environmental Policy Group (EPG), a non-profit organization, expressed concern over lack of professional manpower with the Wildlife Department saying that the existing employees lack training of wetlands.
As per Integrated Management Action plan of Wetland Reserve Kashmir (official document), mammals known to occur in the area include Common Otter Lutra lutra and Golden Jackal Canis aureus; amphibians include Rana cyanophyctis and Bufo viridis.
“The wetland supports a rich fish fauna, with large populations of Cyprinus carpio, Crossocheilus species, Puntius conchonius and Gambusiaaffinis,” it said.
“The invertebrate fauna is also very rich; macro-invertebrates include a variety of Mollusca, Annelida and Arthropoda and zooplankton includes at least 51 protozoans, 25 rotifers, and 40 crustaceans (mainly Cladocera and Rhizopoda),” the document said.
Wildlife Warden, Wetlands Division Kashmir, Ifshan Deewan said the department is working for the conservation of the wetlands including the Hygam wetland.
“We have conducted many programs. We have planned many activities for its conservation. We are working on it. This year saw the arrival of four lakh birds which is the highest number of birds this year,” she said.
She said they have kept an integrated management action program for it and the department has included many components to restore the wetland including dredging.
She also said that coordinated efforts by the Department of Wildlife Protection to conduct the Annual Water-bird Census (AWC) this year will go a long way in creating a sound database of various water bird species particularly the migratory waterfowl that visit the wetlands of the Valley during winter months.