Keoladeo Ghana sanctuary in Rajasthan was declared a national park and a Ramsar site in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Home to over 350 migratory and resident birds including rarities like the Siberian Crane, Sociable Lapwing, Sarus Crane and the Black-necked Stork, Keoladeo’s prominence has been established at a global level with thousands of tourists visiting the park and sustaining the socio-economy of the town.

There were two principle sources of water to KNP – the rivers Gambhir and Banganga.
However, the River Banganga has long dried up, putting the pressure on the River Gambhir to supply water to Bharatpur. In 1763 Maharaja Suraj Mal built the Ajan Bund in Bharatpur to save his town from frequent flooding and found to his surprise that he had inadvertently built a paradise for exotic birds. More recently in 1991, the Panchana Dam was constructed on the River Gambhir to mitigate flooding and fulfil the irrigation needs of the local agricultural community. Capable of storing over 2100 million cubic feet the dam presently exceeds its expectations of meeting the irrigation needs of the farmers as well as nourishing the Park. In 2004, monsoons were irregular and failed to flood KNP but water in the dam was adequate to meet local needs and provide water for Bharatpur. However, local agitations denied waster supply to the Bharatpur district and KNP. Bureaucracy flouted orders of the honourable Chief Minister, Mrs. Vasundhara Raje to release water to meet KNP’s needs. Politics have compromised an international treasure.

KNP’s administration responded to this death-blowing move by digging bore wells to draw water from the ground. However, water from the River Gambhir carries essential fish fry that resident and migratory birds require. In addition, the ground water is alkaline and assists the proliferation of Prosopis - an introduced exotic tree in the region to reduce soil erosion. The park now faces the danger of being converted to woodlands and a glorified cattle grazing ground.

We request concerned individuals and NGO’s to send an appeal to the following people:

Honourable Prime Minister of India
Mr. Manmohan Singh
7 Race Course Road
New Delhi 110 001
pmosb@pmo.nic.in

Smt. Sonia Gandhi
10 Janpath
New Delhi 110 001
10janpath@vsnl.net

Honourable Chief Minister of Rajasthan
Mrs. Vasundhara Raje
Secretariat
Jaipur 302005
rajcm@raj.nic.in

Central Empowered Committee
Gate no 31, Ground Floor
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Lodhi Road
New Delhi 1100 03
Jiwrajka_k@yahoo.co.in

Please use the points listed below to draft the appeal. We request NGO’s to send the appeal on their letterhead for impact.

• Keoladeo NP is one of the most important wetlands in the world home to more than 350 types of resident and migratory birds including the Sarus Crane, Siberian Crane, Sociable Lapwing, and the Black-necked Stork.
  
• The National Park is a Ramsar Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, if the absence of required management practices continues, KNP can lose its UNESCO World Heritage status.
  
• The Panchama Dam has a capacity of 2100 million cubic feet, while Keoladeo requires 540 million cubic feet. Although the dam is required for agricultural use in Bharatpur, it can easily meet the requirements of KNP as well.
  
• The attempt to use ground water at Bharatpur will not be useful as water birds require fish fry that comes from River Gambhir.
  
• If KNP dies so will the socio-economy of the town that is built around it, with hotels and guides dependent on eco-tourism taking the biggest hit.