Bailout for the Beel

The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students

The Deepor wetlands in Assam are seeing decreasing number of avian guests every year. Hemanta Phukan wades through the birdwatchers' concerns'

Wetlands function like nature's kidneys ' they clean and control the effluents polluting our cities and towns. In addition, wetlands are ecological hotspots immensely inviting to the nature watchers.

The Deepor Beel (Beel is a colloquial term for Wetlands), one of the sites listed in the Ramsar Convention, is the stomping ground of around 270 species of migratory and resident birds. The other Ramsar site in the north-east is the Loktuk Lake in Manipur. In February 2009, the Assam state government declared 4.14 square kilometers a sanctuary, of the total 10sqkm of Deepor Beel, in an attempt at conservation and protection against encroachment and pollution. The Deepor Beel is surrounded by the river Brahmaputra and the Jalukbari hills in the north, Rani-Garbhanga Reserve forests in the south, Basistha river in the east and the Kalmoni river in the west. Earlier, the beel was connected to the Brahmaputra through Barhola beel and the wetlands of Pandu area, but it was disconnected when National Highway 37 was built. 70 per cent of Deepor Beel falls under the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authorities (GMDA), and the rest is connected to Rani-Garbhanga and Jorasal Reserve Forests, contiguous with the forests of neighbouring Meghalaya.

Nearly one hundred migratory birds visit Deepor Beel every year in the winter, beckoning bird watchers by the droves from all parts of the country and abroad. Out of 270 bird species found at the site, as many as 70 species are migratory birds, flying in from the other side of the Himalayan range, including Mongolia and Siberia. Divisional forest officer, Guwahati Wildlife Division, S.K. Seal Sarmah said, 'The forest department with the Gauhati University and local NGOs carried a one-day survey on March 30, 2010 and found a total of 7,535 birds of at least 64 species. Out of these, 24 species are of migratory birds and 40 species are of resident birds.' Of late, several migratory as well as resident birds have been missing at this Ramsar site, including the Spot-billed Pelican, Bar-headed Goose and Baer's Pochard. It was way back in 2005 that 25 Baer's Pochard birds were spotted by a group of bird watchers from Switzerland; nobody has seen them ever since. Ditto with the Bar-headed Goose, which used to traverse 2000 kms from Mongolia till a few years back. There is also great concern for the Greater Adjutant Stork, numbering about 800 all over the world, 60 per cent of which is found in Assam. Bird watching remains the main attraction at the wetlands. For ornithologists interested in tracking flight routes of migratory birds coming to Deepor Beel, the forest department conducted surveillance with the help of remote sensing satellite, for the first time in the region. A UN sponsored scheme was executed in February last with the help of a Mumbai-based NGO. 'Radio transmitters were fitted on the birds to trace them. Most of them came to Deepor Beel from across the Himalayas in the summer; they proceed to China and Mongolia,' Sarmah said.

The Deepor Beel is also a water source for the wild elephants. Herds of tuskers cross the Kamakhya-Jogighopa railway line to come to Deepor Beel, thus endangering their lives in the process. With increase in rail traffic, elephant accident cases here have gone up in recent years; the last accident took place on February 28, killing one elephant. However, the Wildlife Trust of India, WWF and the NF Railway have started round-the-clock patrolling along the railway tracks to avert further accidents.

Fishing is proving to be a serious threat to the birds and aquatic animals. 'Local people are not aware and fishing practices continue despite the declaration of the site as a sanctuary,' said Lakshman Teron, a local youth who guides tourists and research workers at the Ramsar site. Guwahati Wildlife Division DFO Sarmah, however, said that actual demarcation of the sanctuary had not yet been made. 'On April 22 and 23, a joint survey was planned by the Forest Department with the State Revenue Department to demarcate the declared sanctuary area of 4.14 square kilometre. But early monsoon disrupted the planning and it was postponed,' he said.

Another problem the Deepor Beel faces is water pollution. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) utilizes an area up stream from the Beel, at Boragaon village, as a garbage dumping ground. Polluted water ends up getting mixed with Deepor Beel. Plastic bottles are often seen floating on water. 'The Forest Department has taken the matter seriously. We talked to the GMC in this regard. Upon testing the Beel water in the State Science and Technology Department laboratory, water contamination was found within the permissible limit, but the GMC has assured that they will stop dumping there as soon as another suitable dumping ground is found,' he said.

For conservation of a natural site, participation of the local community is a must. Their lifestyle has immense implications for the local environment. 'People are not aware and they do not know that a site like Deepor Beel has the potential for eco-tourism and hospitality industry', said Teron. Even the economic situation has much to gain from inclusive development that answers what's-in-it-for-me conundrum for the people.


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It's time for Africa

The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students

As the football frenzy of the World Cup erased geographical barriers, Gautam Bhimani also tails another sport trying to make geography history.

It was another nippy night at one of the sports ultimate arenas, imposing Soccer City, on the outskirts of Johannesburg's South Western Township (SOWETO). Just before midnight local time, Spanish Skipper Iker Casillas proudly held aloft the 14-inch tall, 6 and a quarter kg 18 carat solid gold FIFA World Cup, a first for his highly skilled but hitherto underperforming footballing nation. Moments later, the giant 'Calabash' (the native African pot that inspired the design for Soccer City) erupted in a riot of colour and noise. One final flourish that drove home the message that South Africa, indeed the whole continent of Africa had left a lasting impression on the world.

The moment took me back to Vienna on 29 June, 2008, as I wandered around the Champagne soaked Spanish dressing room at Vienna's confetti laden Ernst Happel Stadium, hours after the Spanish Matadors had just lifted the EURO 2008 trophy, their first step towards a unique double.

It also took me back a few weeks to a quieter moment on a different continent. To a different sport. A sport not quite as fanatic as football. A sport called cricket. With football pushing its boundaries, thanks to the first ever world cup staged historically and successfully on the African continent, cricket too continues to break geographical barriers and sees the game played at tiny venues like the island of Dominica, returning to war torn Zimbabwe and seeking to be played in the bustling bylanes of Beijing. The latest addition to an ICC recognised venue is far from obscure or remote but is still unheard of in cricketing terms! Just a short 35-minute drive from one of the world's most sought after sandy strips, tanning territory of the rich and famous, sun-soaked South Beach in Miami Florida, is the sleepy township of Lauderhill, on the fringe of the better known beachfront town of Fort Lauderdale. Lauderhill's 110 acre sports complex also boasts of a cricket-only facility, Central Broward Regional Park Cricket ground, the only ICC-approved ground in the United States.

Sitting here, penning this down at bustling Mandela Square in the heart of Johannesburg's posh Sandton district, dwarfed by the legend's giant statue, surrounded by a cacophony of high decibel Spanish fans testing the limits of their Vuvuzelas, and as South Africa prepares to cope with withdrawal symptoms, I can't but feel the stark contrast to my experience of being an integral part of cricket's brush with a quiet nondescript virgin setting a few weeks earlier. The most obvious contrast, of course, is the fact that here in South Africa it is 2 degrees below zero at 8:15 in the morning (it's already been dubbed the coldest world cup ever) and the cricket was basking in the Miami sun at 37 degrees.

Not to take away from the fact that cricket in the United States was still breaking new ground and could be sowing the seeds of another sporting revolution. Flashback across the Atlantic. May 2010. Even before this new revolution had got off the ground, the New Zealand team had already started to break the ice (no reference to the weather in Johannesburg), thanks to an early exit from the ICC World T20. They spent a fruitful one-week vacation in the Miami area (7 days without an international fixture would feel like hibernation in this day and age!) and in that time made their way to the imposing Sunlife Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins Football team and the Florida Marlins Baseball team. There they proceeded to tutor some of the nation's top baseball legends in the art of cricket and in turn the likes of Jake Oram and Kyle Mills tried their hand at bat. Baseball bat that is. One must not lose sight of the fact that several terms are not mutually exclusive to the two sports!

But even more of a fascinating exchange of thoughts and ideas happened a couple of days later at the venue for the actual cricket matches in Lauderhill where the local ESPN USA baseball camera crew had to be taught cricket from scratch in 24 hours flat! I was part of that unique briefing session and it was a sight to behold! The image was a classic, as the crew was seated on an all-American John Deere tractor, attired in loud tees and reverse baseball caps with hot dogs and mustard waiting in the wings. The conversations were worth being a fly-on-the-tractor for. 'Maaan, why doesn't the batter guy run every time he bunts the ball"... "get outta here, the catchers don't get to wear mitts?"... "hey hey, he was not the third man who walked out, he was seventh"... "silly point huh it's a silly game?"......

At the end, baseball married cricket and the new couple went hand in hand the next day taking the first few hesitant steps on the honeymoon. The high priest overseeing the entire union was USACA President Don Lockerbie. He was aware that thanks to the sluggish pitch and the absence of teams like India, Pakistan and the West Indies, the honeymoon was not going to be spectacular, but nonetheless he was over the moon and confident that this was just the beginning of great things to come. Lockerbie, whose brainchild this whole operation is, has an aura of fallen Texan Billionaire Allen Stanford, albeit minus a few pounds (the weight and the money!).

He had enough reasons to be happy as there were some technological breakthroughs. The games were not just televised around the world but also watched by many on their sleek new iPads and iPhones, thanks to the live streaming on the web. For the locals though the biggest breakthrough was the fact that one diving catch from the first game made it to ESPN's prestigious SportsCenter Plays of the Day, usually exclusive territory for American sports. But despite all the hype and the ground that was broken, as my thoughts came screeching back to the southern hemisphere, it became clear that football's quadrennial extravaganza is untouchable in size and stature. Whether you follow the sport or not, the football world cup is more than an event. It is one single entity that manages to bridge all barriers, that reaches out to every corner of our vast planet via one tiny spherical polyhedron better known as a football.

I stepped on to the Emirates Airbus A340-500 at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International airport bound for Dubai, still coming to terms with the startling realisation that despite the fact that cricket may be larger than life in our country, and we may have taken 'giant' strides promoting it in the US of A or elsewhere on earth, it remains but a mere speck on the horizon against the beautiful game that for the past month had summoned the attention of the world to the southern tip of the vast continent of Africa. One shining example: At Centurion Cricket ground, more people turned up to watch football on a giant TV screen than have ever turned up for even a live world cup cricket match. Now that the final whistle has blown, normal life can resume. For the next four years at least.

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