Declared Ramsar site, Keshopur wetland hopes for tourist influx

Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, January 29

A massive influx of bird watchers is expected at the Keshopur wetland, also known as ‘chamb’ in local parlance, following the status of ‘International Ramsar Site’ conferred upon it by the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance.

The convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran where the first-ever meeting was held in 1971 with the aim of sustaining and conserving wetlands throughout the world. The total number of such sites in India has increased to 10 of which six are in Punjab.

The irony about Keshopur is that birds in droves arrive every winter from central Asian countries but eco-tourists have refused to come because of lack of facilities, including roads and hotels.

According to the latest census conducted last week by Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Rajesh Mahajan, total 26,800 birds belonging to 74 species had arrived this season.

There are six roads that lead to the wetland and almost all are in a deplorable condition. Three years ago, the then Culture and Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu announced a grant of Rs 3 crore to widen one of the roads giving locals the hope that other thoroughfares too would also be re-carpeted, a development which never saw the light of day.

“Keshopur plays a key role in flood control and providing food, fibre and raw material to birds. However, in the last two decades, the conditions have become so bad that ornithologists have completely stopped coming. This year, barely a dozen made their presence felt. Signboards should be installed on the Pathankot-Gurdaspur and Amritsar-Gurdaspur highways giving directions and telling visitors the importance of the 800-acre water body. Hotels should also be established in its vicinity. This will prove to be a boon to the micro-economy of the adjoining villages,” said Manjit Singh Dala, who belongs to one of the oldest families living near the wetland.

Dala’s father Harbans Singh recalls the times when the wetland gave direct and indirect employment to hundreds of people. “In the sixties and early seventies, foreign tourists carrying cameras would arrive in droves and stay here for long. However, decay set in the late seventies following which Keshopur slowly started meeting its watery grave,” he said.

Mahajan added that the Ramsar convention works with six other international organisations before a wetland is given the exalted status. The bodies are Birdlife International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, International Water Management Institute, Wetlands International, WWW International and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Several teams made visits before submitting the final report.