Chilika Bird festival inaugurated by Naveen Patnaik,Chief Minister of Odisha
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar:As many as 55 selected birders representing nine States, besides Odisha, participated in the three-day long third National Chilika Bird Festival that kick started on Friday.
Inaugurating the festival, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described Chilika as “a pilgrimage for over a million winged visitors of varied species, which undertake flights to the mighty but calm Chilika Lake Asia’s largest brackish water lake.”
Naveen applauded Odisha Tourism and Eco-tour Odisha for organising the event, “which promises to add another feather in Odisha’s hat a soaring birding hub.”
Minister,Tourism Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said, “Our guests’ well-being is paramount to us. Localised and global scares be it the avian flu or the Covid-19 pandemic, have changed the way we interact. But the show must go on. Odisha’s sensitisation and capacity building programme in response to the pandemic has been one of the most in-depth and inclusive.”
Forest and Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha said, “the soul of Odisha Tourism resides in Chilika. Our conservation efforts will continue to be synergised with our tourism development efforts.”
“India’s first Ramsar site, Chilika, has flourished due to a symbiotic natural and social contribution from hydrological interventions by our institutions, to annual enrichments by migratory birds,” he said.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said, “Chilika’s Mangalajodi is a pioneering work in community-led conservation and an unparalleled birding destination.”
From protective actions like removing encroachments to the massive census exercise conducted a few days back, and promotional campaigns such as the Chilika Bird Festival along with other niche destinations such as Satkosia, Bhitarkanika and Hirakud will be the most sought after birding hub of Asia-Pacific region.
He said census revealed that 11.42 lakh birds across 190 species visited Chilika this year. The Government has planned to expand Ecotour Odisha’s successful community-managed hospitality to over 100 camps in the coming years.
PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden H S Upadhyay said, “Chilika is one of the safest havens for the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins, which are flourishing here.” Upadhyay offered a scientific insight into the natural processes which preserve the salinity of the lagoon, a central factor for the flourishing biodiversity. “More than 600 community members, mainly tribals, are engaged in preserving the salinity of the lagoon,” he said.
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