Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary

🔹 About

1. It is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam, India

2. A permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river

3. A wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has been listed since November 2002

🔹 Concerns

1. A garbage dump and encroachment for human habitation and commercial unit

2. A railway track which is set to be doubled and electrified, on its southern rim

3. Deepar Beel’s water has become toxic and lost many of its aquatic plants that elephants would feed on

🔹 Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the eco-sensitive zone of Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

Deepor Beel

✅It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Assam and the State’s only Ramsar site besides being an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International.

✅It is located towards the southwest of Guwahati city, Assam and is the erstwhile water channel of River Brahmaputra.

✅The lake expands up to 30 sq. km in summer and reduces to about 10 sq. km in the winter. The wildlife sanctuary measures 4.1 sq. km within this wetland (beel).

✅It has both biological and environmental importance besides being the only major storm-water storage basin for Guwahati city.