Not friendly to guest birds now
![Guest birds at the Korai Beel in Biral of Dinajpur. The birds had found a safe haven there but it could all change as the water body has been leased out for fish farming.](https://www.thedailystar.net/upload/gallery/image/arts/korai-beel-1.jpg)
Fewer flocks of migratory birds are coming to Korai Beel, once a safe haven for them during winter, in the face of human onslaught.
Located in Biral upazila of Dinajpur, the wetland was buzzing with guest birds even seven years ago, a sharp contrast to the present spectacle.
Bird lover Abdur Razzak, who has visited the place recently, said, “The beel was crowded with a lot of guest birds when I last visited the place in 2006. But they have decreased drastically over the years.”
Locals said caretakers of a fish project run commercially in the waterbody had been driving away the birds by generating sounds and throwing stones.
![Photo: Star](https://www.thedailystar.net/upload/gallery/image/arts/korai-beel-2.jpg)
The 54.10-acre wetland was leased to local cooperative organisation, Khamar Samobay Samity, in 2007.
The guest birds had been decreasing in the sanctuary since then, they added.
“We are driving away the birds as they devour the fish cultivated in the waterbody,” said a caretaker, on condition of anonymity.
The guest birds were first spotted in the area back in 1986. Until 2007, they had been flocking to the swamp from Siberia and Europe between the end of November and March.
Azizar Rahman, a local, alleged that the water of Korai had also been polluted by the rampant use of waste materials as fish feed.
Contacted, Md Abdullah Al Khairum, upazila nirbahi officer of Biral, said he was unaware of the birds being forced to leave in such a way by the leaseholders.
He added that he would take care of the matter.
He, however, did not make any comment when asked about the lease of Korai.
Meanwhile, locals expected that the place would be abuzz with both the guest birds and visitors again if the authorities concerned take proper measures.
Comments