Bonal Bird Sanctuary
History
The sanctuary has its origins in thetank of bonal, a water conservation tank built by the 17th century ruler of Shorapur, Pam Naik, later during the British Raj, Meadows Taylor, the British administrator at Shorapur, extended it to 1,600 acres with 12 feet average depth, as he mentions in his autobiography, The Story of My Life. It was one of largest amongst the twelve such water tanks built in the drought prone region, and gradually started attracting migratory birds. Most of these tanks were using were also used for fishing, and numerous families were dependent on it. In 1998, heeding to calls by conservationists, the state government transferred the area to the Forest Department from the Fisheries Department. Subsequently, fishing was banned the tank, but it took many more years before it was formally declared a bird sanctuary. Finally in 2010, government declared its plans to invest Rs. 1 crore towards converting Bonal Tank to a bird sanctuary.
Location
Bohnal Bird Sanctuary is 10 km west to the city of Shorapur.
See also
References
- ^ List of identified wetlands under national wetland conservation Ministry of Environment.
- ^ "Karnataka News : Rs. 1 crore sanctioned for developing Bonal Bird Sanctuary near Surpur". The Hindu. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ "Row over sanctuary status to Bonal tank". Deccan Herald. 25 December 2004. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ "Industries, entrepreneurs asked to set up units in Saidapur". The Hindu. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
- Philip Meadows Taylor. The story of my life, by M. Taylor. Ed. by his daughter (A.M. Taylor). Oxford University, 1882.