Global bird watching site at Carambolim revived
 

PANAJI: Lotuses blooming, once again, welcome tourists of a different kind at a spot near the Carambolim railway station. After being suffocated by the overgrowth of the Salvinia Molesta weed for more than a couple of years, the Carambolim lake, an international birdwatching site, has received a new lease of life. ... ...A farmers' initiative has resulted in purging the unique wetland of the troublesome weed, which throttled acquatic life and deprived the winter visitors of their feed during their sojourn to escape the cold climes back home. Much to the disappointment of ornithologists and tourists, the number of birds had shown a progressive decline due to the thick carpet formed by the weed due to its uncontrolled growth.

Though described as a bird watchers' paradise in international travel brochures, in spite of its lack of facilities, there were growing apprehensions that the lake was dying. It was a home to at least 50 species of birds during winter and other months but the weed stiffled smaller grasses, fish and acquatic growth, thereby restricting the breeding of birds. Taking advantage of a scheme which offers Rs 10,000 per hectare, the Karmali Vikas Xetkari Mandal mooted a project to clean the lake.

The method used was simple. The farmers opened the sluice gates at the south-eastern end of the lake whenever water reached the high mark during torrential rains and released the flotsam into a rivulet leading to the Cumbarjua canal. This was the system followed by villagers earlier. Saline waters were let in during the earlier part of the monsoon to stiffle unwanted growth. Or the weed was released through the floodgates. However, this practice faded out.

Zonal Agricultural Officer (Tiswadi) S V Patil co-ordinated the effort, which took the farmers two months during heavy spells, with the use of canoes to jettison the weed, which had caused the atrophication of life in the ancient water body.

(Gomantak Times)