Located in the heart of the Guwahati, the largest city of Northeast India, is the beautiful wetland called the Deepor Beel.
The Sanskrit translation of the the name literally means elephant’s lake. The reason of the name can be judged from the fact that this lake is the water source of hundreds of elephants who visit the lake daily. Almost every night between midnight and sunrise hundreds of elephants come here to drink water and to cool off. It is favorite spot for the people of the city for morning and evening walks. In the winters, it becomes a bustling picnic spot.
This lake is also a home to thousands of migratory birds which visit the region every winter. It is also very rich in aquatic life which makes it the home for a lot of birds and other small animals. One can judge the ecological importance of protecting this beautiful natural location from the fact that Deepor Beel was declared a Ramsar Wetland in the year 2002. It was also Bird Sanctuary protecting different local and migratory birds.
However there are several reasons of environmental degradation in this site. Some of them are the garbage dump located nearby and the fishing done by the local villagers. The railway track passing through the region has also caused deaths and injuries to wild animals multiple times. Also a large number of nearby people and organisations dump their sewage into the Deepor Beel.
The state government aims to clean up the lake an promote it as a tourism destination. They also try to control the amount of fishing done in the lake. Many locals are also working very hard towards the protection and preservation of this important wetland.
Feature images by Kandarpa Boro.
