It's a different kind of green forest belt you didn't know existed, just off a traffic-congested highway in the city! The Abdul Hameed Pakshi Teerth (bird sanctuary) is situated in Ramvadi, opposite the Aga Khan Palace on Nagar Road. The site owes its name to Quartermaster Abdul Hameed, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in the '65 conflict.Sweeping through the main gates manned by smartly turned out guards, one enters the portals of army land - great open spaces and barracks. A few kilometres ahead start the thick woods - dark green and deep, a sheer delight in the monsoons and the mild winters of Pune. Driving through the thick undergrowth is akin to a safari adventure, sans the wildlife. For a visit to this teerth, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is a must to negotiate the tough and slushy terrain.The sanctuary attracts a variety of birds in the 36 artificially-created water bodies, though not in large numbers right now. Migratory birds wing their way to India in the winter months. But ducks sedately traversing the water in single file or a sapphire blue kingfisher, are some pretty sights to be seen.The sanctuary falls under the jurisdiction of the 330 Infantry Brigade, actively involved in greening the city. Says Brigadier L. Harish, Brigade Commander, ``We are trying our best to maintain the sanctuary on a low budget. It is difficult because it's such a vast area.``Our aim is to preserve the plants and allow them to rejuvenate themselves in a natural habitat,'' he continues. In the early '90s, encroachments into the area made the army top brass to transform the rocky, barren land into a lush green zone which would ``conserve the plant species in the Western Ghats becoming rare due to deforestation.'' Therefore, there's a variety of trees that can be distinguished here.A green house was also constructed to grow and propagate more species of rare and medicinal plants of endemic origin. ``The greenhouse is sponsored by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature), whose Honorary Chairman, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburough, even visited the site some years ago,'' says Brig. Harish. Lt.Col. Suresh Patil (retd.), the driving force behind the sanctuary, has taken pains to give a proper shape to the sanctuary. ``For a healthy environment, it's essential that 33 per cent of the total landmass has a green cover. But satellite photo images have shown that in India only 11 per cent of forest area is left behind. This sanctuary creates a vital oxygen farm in the city,'' he says. And citizens could do with as much oxygen as possible, with global warming and pollution on the rise.The locale may not offer anything by way of food n' drink. But visitors need not feel deterred, because it's meant for picnickers and people with a yen for green, who want some peace and quiet, away from urban hullabaloos.
