AGRA: The city of Taj has added another feather to its cap with Soor Sarovar, a scenic lake, also called Keetham, just outside Agra on the Agra-Delhi highway (NH 2), is being declared a 'Ramsar site' on the list of wetlands of international importance. This is the eighth wetland in Uttar Pradesh to be declared as a Ramsar site in India.
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention – an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by Unesco, which came into force in 1975.
Declared a national bird sanctuary in 1991 by the state forest department, the entire lake – pentagonal in shape – is formed in a catchment area of 7.13 square km. With artificially created islands for shelter and breeding grounds to the migratory birds, the lake is home to more than 106 species of migratory and resident birds. The site is important for bird species which migrate on the Central Asian flyway, with over 30,000 water birds known to visit the reservoir annually.
Besides supporting numerous resident and migratory birds, the sanctuary has around 300 pythons and more than 60 species of fish.
Talking to TOI, Diwakar Srivastava, deputy conservator of forest, National Chambal Sanctuary project in Agra, said that though there will not be much change, the site will surely be recognised internationally.
The UP government is also making a plan to develop the bird sanctuary as an eco-tourism site, state forest and environment minister Dara Singh had said while addressing a gathering of bird watchers on the occasion of World Wetlands Day on February 2 this year.
Six other UP wetlands which had been declared Ramsar sites in the beginning of this year include Nawabganj in Unnao, Parvati Aranga in Gonda, Saman in Mainpuri, Samaspur in Raebareli, Sandi in Hardoi and Sarsai Nawar in Etawah. However, the upper Ganga stretch from Brijghat to Narora was the state’s first Ramsar site in 2005.
Agra city will now have four internationally recognised spots for tourists— three Unesco world heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal and one wetland. Tourism industry is likely to get a boost because of this. Rajeev Saxena, vice-president of Agra Tourism Guild, said the newly recognised Soor Sarovar wetland offers significant tourism opportunities which can be an important source of income for communities around.