: Maharashtra Bird Watcher Singlehandedly Helps Revive 63 Lakes Across 43 Villages #IndiaNEWS #Environment A Pied Kingfisher diving into the water for a catch, a Heron swooping for fish and perhaps

Maharashtra Bird Watcher Singlehandedly Helps Revive 63 Lakes Across 43 Villages #IndiaNEWS #Environment
A Pied Kingfisher diving into the water for a catch, a Heron swooping for fish and perhaps a low-flying Bronze-winged Jacana are some of the usual sights you may spot in lake Navtalab in Gondia district, Maharashtra.
It would be hard to believe now that just a few years ago, the lake was filled with overgrown weeds and was a dirty and deteriorating water body.
It is the efforts of Manish Rajankar, an avid birdwatcher and regular visitor, that condition of a dozen lakes in the area was transformed.
There is a huge population of birds that visits these lakes but, it was disappointing to see the conditions of the lake constantly deteriorating, Manish said.
Manish decided to understand the history and importance of the lake for the local community.
The Vidarbha region houses many tribal communities like the Kohli, Teli, Kunbi, Sonar and other agricultural communities. They are also other communities such as Mahar, Gond, Dhivars and few more, said Manish.
These people primarily fish and are involved in agricultural activities, and some of them also work as domestic help.
Ploughing of a lake tank bed before plantation
The formation of the Maharashtra state in the year 1960 also gave birth to fish co-operative societies where community members could use the water for irrigation, fishing and other purposes.
Moreover, there was no control over the exploitation or even monitoring the health of water bodies known to exist since the 16th century. As per the 1901 gazetteer of Bhandara district, there were 12,000 lakes, and today there are about 2,700 lakes, Manish said.
The bird watcher says it was his curiosity that led him to learn about the communities and earn a fellowship from a Pune-based mentor. I learned the ecological, historical and socio-economic impact of these water bodies on the locals closely, he added.
With the introduction of non-native fish from the fisheries department, the native fish lost their importance and also the habitat. Agricultural practices involving pesticides and chemical fertilisers reached the water body and affected its biodiversity, Manish said.
Non-native fish species like Grass carp, Pangasius pangasius, Cyprinus carpio, Anabas testudineus, Tilapia, Nilotica and Mossambicus got recorded during the study.
The bird watcher turned environmentalist also saw massive biodiversity loss during the de-silting of lakes under the Jalyukta Shivar scheme of the government in 2014, aimed at improving their water carrying capacity.
Plant collection from the neighbouring lake for replantation
The moves led to massive damage on the ecosystem, causing soil erosion, destruction of habitat and other losses of fish species, he added.