Ahmedabad: Seven islands in Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary encroached

Nal Sarovar is a marshland with shallow waters spread over 120 square kilometres. (Express Photo by Javed Raja)

Seven islands part of the protected Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary near Ahmedabad have been encroached, the Gujarat government informed the assembly Tuesday during the Question Hour. However, the government has been successful in clearing encroachment from one such island.

The state government in a written response to a question raised by Viramgam Congress MLA Lakhabhai Bharwad stated that there were 300 islands spread across the water body that forms a part of the Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary as on May 31, 2019, of which seven have been encroached. In the last two years, legal notices have been issued to the sarpanches of these villages that have encroached the islands, the government stated.

In 2016, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had slammed the government for the “rampant poaching” in the bird sanctuary. The Indian Express reported how CAG had taken note of the 18 cases of poaching reported at Nal Sarovar between 2010-15 during which 6,559 nets installed by poachers were also recovered.

Nal Sarovar is a marshland with shallow waters spread over 120 square kilometres, about 60 kilometres away from Ahmedabad. A paradise for migratory birds, Nal Sarovar was declared a Ramsar site in 2012. The sanctuary is a wetland site designated to be of international standards under the Ramsar Convention.