Valley gets back its winged visitors

The thousands of migratory birds taking flight over Hokesar wetland don8217;t just herald the arrival of spring in Kashmir.

The thousands of migratory birds taking flight over Hokesar wetland don8217;t just herald the arrival of spring in Kashmir. According to wildlife officials, the significant increase in their number has been facilitated by the decline in violence in the state.

According to the wildlife department8217;s figures, more than 1.5 million birds have visited the valley8217;s wetlands this year, the most in nearly two decades. In the nineties, when militancy was on the upswing, there had been a sharp drop in the numbers of winged visitors. 8220;The increase is obviously owing to improvement in the situation,8221; says wildlife warden Abdul Rouf Zargar. 8220;Hokersar received 5 lakh birds this year, up from a meagre 64 thousand in the nineties.8221;

The birds have attracted poachers, and suddenly wildlife officials find themselves facing a major problem. Says Zargar, 8220;We8217;ve seized 24 guns from poachers in raids across the valley, the largest since the outbreak of militancy.8221;

Though game hunting 8212; including the hunting of chiru, a Tibetan antelope 8212; was allowed in the state under Jammu 038; Kashmir8217;s Wildlife Act of 1978, it was banned in 2002, when the Act was updated and brought on par with the law applying to the rest of the country.

Among the seized weapons were single- and double-barrel guns, and locally available 8220;punter guns8221;, that do the most damage by spreading out lead shot over wide area. These guns were confiscated from the Wular lake region, one of Asia8217;s largest wetland reserves. Also seized were scores of snares, which had been laid near sites frequented by game.Though, Zargar is happy about the growing concentration of the game across the Valley, the hangover of militancy still looms large. 8220; A considerable area of the Valley8217;s wetlands stands encroached. Besides, due to reduced watch and ward staff in the nineties, a large swathe of the wetlands has been silted, which has also shrunk the water area,8221; says Zargar. 8220;We will need huge investment to restore the pre-militancy health of our wetlands.8221;

Actually, the number of the game types visiting the valley has declined from 22 to 16. 8220;But it will need more improvement in the situation to bring back all the birds,8221; Zargar says.

Some birds like coots, greyleg geese, shovellers, pintails and mallards have been regular visitors, even through the most violent years of the early nineties. And this year also, their number is the maximum. In Hokersar, their large-numbered flight makes the noisiest buzz. 8220;Spring is the best game season in Kashmir. Birds teem the water bodies in vast numbers,8221; says Zargar.