The Hindu : Yamuna Park faces threat from villagers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Yamuna Park faces threat from villagers

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, JAN. 14. The Yamuna Bio-Diversity Park, being developed by Delhi Development Authority and the Centre for Environment Management of Degraded Eco System of University of Delhi near Wazirabad and Jharoda Majra villages in North Delhi, is now facing a threat from villagers around it as they have cut open its barbed wire fencing and often push in their cattle for grazing.

The park, spread over 156 acres, is being developed jointly by DDA and a team of Delhi University officials and scholars headed by the Director of the Centre, C.R. Babu. Supposed to serve as a heritage site of bio-diversity that thrives on the Yamuna river basin stretching from the Shivaliks at the foothills of Himalayas to the Gangetic plains of Allahabad where the Yamuna merges into the Ganga, it already boasts of 4,000 trees and 150 varieties of fruit species. Besides, wetlands have been created therein with over 50 species of aquatic plants and 50,000 fish larvae have been introduced in the water bodies created in the area. The park now also has 1,000 bamboo saplings of eight different species, which were introduced recently.

But all the hard work that has gone into the making of the park now faces a grave risk of being brought to a naught due to rampant intrusions by cattle and villagers themselves. The DDA officials fear this could have a serious impact on the growth and development of the park, which is to become home to over 5,000 eco-systems comprising around 35,000 plant and animal species. It would also seek to revive 50 threatened species of the Yamuna river basin and serve as an ideal alternative heritage for migratory and resident bird species.

While the intrusions by people would harm the flora and fauna in general, grazing by cattle would threaten the preservation of wild genetic resources of agricultural crops, an official said, adding that the barbed wire fencing installed along the perimeter of the park has been cut open at several points by villagers.

A senior DDA official and member of the recently-constituted Bio-Diversity Foundation said the villagers deliberately enter the park area as they feel it has intruded on their land and trampled upon their rights by cutting off their direct access to a nearby road. In order to deal with the situation, DDA has now roped in private security guards. But that appears to be making little difference as the area is very large.

The Director (Landscape) of DDA, Savita Bhandari, said efforts are on to nip the problem before it worsens. The Authority is keen to showcase the park as a wildlife safari and bird sanctuary as well and so is seeking to strengthen the security system in order to protect it.

The officials say the park will also help in ground water recharge and augmentation of fresh water availability as the project involves cultivation upon a wetland. Further, the conservation of the eco-system of the region is expected to have a benign impact on local weather patterns and temperature. And while enhancing the aesthetic value of the city, the park - which would conform to international standards and norms -- will also serve as an important venue for eco-tourism in the city. It will also possess all the regular features associated with such parks the world over such as laboratories, poly-houses and chick houses.

Already, an Interpretation Centre has been set up in the park and would be opened to the public by the end of this February. As work programmes for the next three years have already been detailed and substantial work has already been done on the park, which may be increased in size to over 800 acres, DDA wants to keep intruders at bay. While around 200 acres has been acquired, another 600 acres would be acquired for the proposed wildlife safari and bird sanctuary, which will be formed in subsequent phases.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi