Tuesday 23 October 2012

Damdama Lake, Nature and Man, fighting for space?

 
 
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Today, when we went on a picnic to the Damdama Lake off Gurgaon, we were disappointed to see that the water body had shrunk a great deal. The paths that have been made to connect some of the construction sites have in effect cut off the paths of the water body, leaving large tracts cut off from the main water body. I was saddened to see the dam left high and dry! Many years back, the dam used to control the flow of water. Now, it seems to be a testament to the fact that Damdama is drying up fast! Uncontrolled development in the form of reclamation of land has put a great strain on the resources of a lake that was once home to a large number of fish species including eels, Singhara, Malli, Patra, and Saulli (all local Hindi names of fish that swarmed the lake). Today, I visited the Lake after four months and noticed that the lake has shrunk further. Soon, it seems this wonderful lake will be lost forever, unless of course the authorities do something to save it before it disappears! In spite of the shrinking water body, some spirited birds have made an appearance, and I have tried to photograph them. These photographs are an impassioned plea to preserve this precious Natural Resource before it is too late!
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A Perfect Landing by one of the Birds!
 
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Well, I guess this bird must be wondering about where all that water has gone!
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Throughout, one could see wild birds co-existing along with domesticated animals. They seemed to be at home with the buffaloes and the men working on various construction sites. There were people working all around and the birds didn’t seem to be bothered by them!
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Unfortunately the photograph pasted below shows one of the water beds which is now completely dry. This water bed used to be deep under water, and today it is totally cut off from the rest of the water body because of a path made further on to connect one of the construction sites!
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In the picture above you can see how part of the water basin has been cut off from the rest of the water body. Soon, there will be no more water here!
 

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