Ritam Halder, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Updated: Mar 06, 2016 01:29 IST
Preparations for the three-day Art of
Living event on the banks of Yamuna have reportedly forced birds to migrate
from the area.
As the site has been cleared of all
bushes and vegetation, species such as larks, pipits, warblers and other rare
birds found in this zone are rapidly disappearing because of the destruction of
the riverine habitat.
The World Culture Festival (WCF) being
organised by the Art of Living Foundation on March 11-13, expected to see a
gathering of 35 lakh people, has spread out over an area on 1,000-odd acres on
the ecologically fragile Yamuna floodplain.
Bharati Chaturvedi, director of the
Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group and an avid birder, said many
birds such as river lapwing, red avadavat, warblers, yellow-bellied prinia,
oriental skylark and striated babbler, among others, have been forced to
migrate.
“Grasslands are one of the most
vulnerable ecosystems. The entire event site has been levelled and the small
water bodies that existed earlier have been filled up and the natural
vegetation like reeds along the sandy banks has vanished. This is breeding
season but this disruption may result in no breeding at all for many species,”
Chaturvedi said.
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