World Wetlands Day: Fourth consecutive ‘Beas Beda Yatra’ held at Harike Wetland

The boat ride has been organised at this site for four consecutive years. Through walking, observation and conversation, participants engage directly with the ecological realities of the Sutlej. The yatra creates space to discuss the causes and consequences of the Sutlej’s blackened waters, guided bird observation with experts, cultural expression through music, and direct engagement with river and wetland ecosystems.

Jaskirat Singh, one of the organisers and a PAC member said, “World Wetlands Day provides an important context to highlight the role of wetlands in supporting biodiversity, regulating water quality and protecting human health. Harike Wetland remains central to these discussions as both an ecological refuge and a landscape under sustained environmental pressure.”

“Harike Wetland holds particular significance as the confluence of the Beas and the Sutlej rivers. At this location, visitors can clearly observe the meeting of the two rivers, often marked by a stark difference in water colour — the black water of the Sutlej and the relatively green water of the Beas. This contrast is linked to the discharge of untreated urban sewage and effluents from illegal and polluting industries entering the Sutlej through drains and river channels like Buddha Dariya at Ludhiana,” Singh said.

The PAC member also said even the canals are visible through which the polluted water is supplied to southern Punjab and parts of Rajasthan.

The organisers in a statement said, “Recent reporting has highlighted a steady decline in migratory bird numbers at Harike Wetland in recent years, linked by experts to climate change, pollution and degradation of wetland habitats. The Beda Yatra provided a space to engage with these concerns through on-ground observation and discussion. A guided nature walk and bird-watching session was held with naturalists Bageshwar and Navdeep Sood, focusing on links between water conditions, wetland vegetation, birdlife and river ecology.”

Alongside these discussions, music created a reflective atmosphere within the wetland. Performances included Dhadi Jatha — Mandair Brothers and Sunaini Sharma, and classical music on Rudra veena by Sharda Mushti, accompanied by Swaminathan Kumbakonam on mridangam.