Harike Pattan Bird Sanctuary opens door to public
However, the proposal has drawn criticism from animal welfare organisations. Dr Sandeep Jain, member of wildlife board and co-ordinator of Care for animals and protection of environment (CAPE) said: “This will disturb the natural habitat of the rare migratory birds, which come in lakhs every year only because it is removed from tourists.
Dr Sudhagar said: “A total of 8,600 hectares is dedicated to the bird sanctuary. We will make only 10 percent of it open to tourists. Only a project report has been submitted and the team has yet to visit Harike. This year we have started visit of students, wildlife experts and researchers, but no boating is allowed as of now. But we may start restricted boating by the end of the year. It is a well planned project with an aim to increase the number of migratory birds at this sanctuary.”
The confluence of Sutlej and Bear rivers take place at Harike and the department aims to show the point to tourists through boating and to allow them on the nature trail. Eco-huts will be the next proposal for overnight stay, which will be managed by villagers.
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