Punjab CM approves Kanjli wetland as Kali Bein Conservation Reserve

CHANDIGARH: The approval of Punjab chief minister to declare Kanjli wetland as Kali Bein Conservation Reserve will pave way for conservation of area which functions as water sponge by recharging ground water and meeting the water requirement for drinking and irrigation purpose for local people. The new status will help for protection of many flora and fauna species which are facing survival battle in this habitat.
Kanjli is upstream of Harike wetland located in the Beas river basin. It is said that the erstwhile Maharaja of Kapurthala, Raja Randhir Singh, built the head regulator on the river Kali Bein, a tributary of Beas river to provide irrigation facility to local people, in year 1870. The headworks resulted into creation of Kanjli wetland, which also subsumes the Kanjli lake.
Kali Bein feeds the Kanjli wetland which once used to be the habitat of ghariyal, critically endangered species. Since the state government has already introduced ghariyal in Harike water system which is ecologically quite similar to Kanjli . Thus the wildlife department is now considering Kanjli wetland as alternative site for reintroduction of ghariyal in near future.
“There is 26 hectare of forest area created along the Kali Bein which provides an excellent habitat for both flora and fauna. This includes variety of plant communities Obligate Hydrophytic to Obligate Xerophytic found in the area. Incidentally, it is the only wetland in the Punjab which supports population of unique insectivore’s plant known as Utricularia Australis or Yellow Bladderworts. The Conservation reserve will ensure survival of many such unique species. This includes those who are not directly dependent on wetland. Like bat colonies roosting on peripheries are common sight in the wetland. Flying Fox, one of the bat species, which has been slotted in the category of Near Threatened by International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will benefit from the new enhanced status,” said a wildlife official.
Over the years, two more satellite wetlands have been formed around Kanjli wetland, which provide good habitat to the migratory as well as non-migratory birds. A number of unique birds belonging to species like waders and ducks can be seen frolicking in and out of water. These include Eurasian Curlew (Near threatened by IUCN, Common Pochard (Vulnerable by IUCN). The protection and conservation measures will automatically be extended to these satellite wetland though they are not under any jurisdiction at present.