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Keoladeo Ghana National
Park
(Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary)
Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur Bird
Sanctuary) is a Ramsar site under the Ramsar
Convention, and also a World Heritage site. It has
been the only wintering ground for the central
population of the endangered Siberian Crane (Grus
leucogeranus ). The park is unique in being bound by
a stone-masonry wall and agricultural fields and
villages in immediate surroundings, thus lacking a
buffer zone. Located in Rajasthan in Northern India,
Bharatpur bird sanctuary is a unique reserve for
avifauna and Indian Wildlife.
The name 'Keoladeo' is derived from the name of an
ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva located
in the sanctuary's central zone. Old records show
that the area supported thick forest which in local
parlance is called 'Ghana'. Hence the name Keoladeo
Ghana National Park.
The park is an artificially created and maintained
wetland site with water fed into the marshes twice a
year from inundations of the Gambira river, which
are collected in an artificial dam called Ajan Bund
and then released through sluices, canals and dykes,
thus creating a uique reseve for Indian wildlife
providing such as resident and migratoy birds. The
first inundation is made in mid-July, soon after the
onset of the monsoon. The second takes place in late
September / October when Anjan Bund is drained so
that crops can be cultivated on its arable land in
winter.
During the monsoon period (July - September) the
area is flooded to an average depth of 1-2 m. From
October to January the water level gradually falls,
and from February onwards the land begins to dry
out. By June very little water remains. As the water
levels recede, new land features with new food
sources surface, attracting different birds. This
slow transition is one of the factors for the
diversity of birds being so high, making it a unique
resource of Indian Wildlife.
There are not many wetlands left in northern India,
because wetlands in the past have been perceived by
local populations as dangerous places as they were
the breeding grounds of malarial mosquitoes,
poisonous snakes and dangerous animals like
elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers. Also, wetlands
are prone to catastrophes like flooding which made
life difficult for the local population. As wetlands
make very productive agricultural land if they are
drained, a lot of wetlands surrounding the Ganges
and its many tributaries were brought under western
style development, which lead to their being drained
for cultivation purposes. The conversion of wetlands
to agricultural land accelerated after India gained
its independence and embarked upon a national push
for agricultural self-sufficiency. The millions of
people who live in north India are fed by the crops,
which are grown on these former wetlands. This
dwindling of wetlands led to Bharatpur becoming an
increasingly protected and stable habitat for
waterfowl. The result has been higher concentration
of birds at Bharatpur, which in turn has been
attracting increasing numbers of ornithologists, who
arrive here in the hibernal season.
Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur Bird
Sanctuary) besides the wetland, contains various
other habitats from woodland, scrub and pasture to
denuded saline patches. Wetlands comprise half the
area, while the others occupy the rest. The wetland
is a part of the Indogangetic Great Plains, and for
most of the year the effective area is only 10 sq
kms. The rest of the area remains dry. The soil is
predominantly alluvial, with some of it clay due to
the regular inundations. The unique ecosystem of
Keoladeo Ghana makes its preservation an essential
aspect of the preservation of Indian Wildlife.
Best Time to Visit
Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary is open throughout the
year, still the ideal visiting months are from
August-November for resident breeding birds and
October- February for migrant birds.
How to Get there
Air : The nearest airport is situated at Agra, which
is 56-kms from Bharatpur.
Rail : Regular rail services connect Bharatpur with
all the major cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai,
Jaipur and Agra. The Bharatpur railway station is
6-kms from the park
Road : An excellent network of roadway services
connects Bharatpur to all the major cities of the
Rajasthan and its neighbouring states like Delhi,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana. Bharatpur is well connected
by road from Agra (56-kms, 5 hours), Delhi (176-kms,
5 hours) and Jaipur (176-kms, 6 hours), all of which
have airport facilities too.
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