631
livelihood support to many people. They also
help in navigation and fl ood management.
Problems
(a) Eutrophication, siltation, pollution, overexploitation, encroachment, etc., are some
of the major problems with the wetlands of
West Bengal.
29.2.5.6 In Odisha
Potentials
1. The wetland scenario in Odisha centres around
Chilika.
2. In addition to providing with fi shes for nutrition, habitat for biota, etc., income of the province through tourism, the wetlands also provide
livelihood support to many people. They also
help in navigation and fl ood management.
Problems
(a) Siltation, pollution, eutrophication, encroachment, etc., are some of the general problems
of the wetlands in Odisha.
29.2.5.7 In Bihar
Potentials
1. Most of the lakes are 100–200 ha, but some
exceed 1,000 ha in area. There are >14,000 ha
under chaurs in Darbhanga District alone.
Further, the ‘Diaras’, possibly, account for c
0.863 mha.
2. The other major wetlands, like the Lake
Kawar in Begusarai District, cover an area of
7,400 ha. It is considered one of the largest
FW lakes in South Asia.
3. Further, in addition to providing with fi shes
for nutrition, habitat for biota, etc., the wetlands also provide livelihood support to many
people. They also help in navigation.
4. Further, the chaurs (tectonic depressions),
mauns (oxbow lakes) and freshwater bodies
also act as sponges, and they were nature’s
own initiative for fl ood control. However,
human interventions, notably embankment,
roads and railways, have seriously impaired
the fl ood control function of wetlands.
5. Besides fi shing, cultivation of makhana
( Euryale ferox ) is another vocation. Perhaps
Bihar is the only place in the world where the
fruit is cultivated on a commercial scale.
6. Wetlands are also home to a large range of
birds, mammals, amphibians, fi sh, insects,
crustaceans and reptiles and a variety of
medicinal plants which are used by the rural
masses to treat many kinds of disorders. Some
of the best known species that have therapeutic values include pistia ( Pistia stratiotes ),
tholkuri ( Hydrocotyle asiatica ) and kesuti
( Eclipta alba ). Pistia, for instance, has been
used for centuries to cure skin diseases, dysentery and asthma.
Problems
(a) Siltation, pollution, eutrophication, encroachment, etc., are some of the general problems
of the wetlands in Bihar. For example, approx.
3.8 cm of silt has been deposited in the Kawar
Lake and it has been rendered unsuitable for
aquaculture.
(b) The wetlands are generally drained for different purposes. As a result, the fi sh stocks
have reduced drastically, and the birds have
stopped visiting them. The ‘Sahani’ community, who are regarded as ‘masters of water’,
have already come out of their native place to
work as labourers in faraway places like
Delhi and Punjab.
(c) The wetlands are said to have become dens
of antisocial elements.
Further, the massive infl ow of silt is also
decreasing the depth of the wetlands.
(d) However, the policymakers and planners
have not been giving adequate emphasis on
the importance of wetland ecosystem. But it
is quite known today that a hectare under
pisciculture provides more in terms of money
than a hectare under rice.
29.2.5.8 In Punjab
Originally known for its abundance of natural
wetlands, Punjab, of late, has been facing a severe
erosion of its richest ecosystem.
Potentials
1. Surveys revealed that up to the 1950s, natural
wetlands of Punjab occupied c 60,000 ha,
29.2 Problems
livelihood support to many people. They also
help in navigation and fl ood management.
Problems
(a) Eutrophication, siltation, pollution, overexploitation, encroachment, etc., are some
of the major problems with the wetlands of
West Bengal.
29.2.5.6 In Odisha
Potentials
1. The wetland scenario in Odisha centres around
Chilika.
2. In addition to providing with fi shes for nutrition, habitat for biota, etc., income of the province through tourism, the wetlands also provide
livelihood support to many people. They also
help in navigation and fl ood management.
Problems
(a) Siltation, pollution, eutrophication, encroachment, etc., are some of the general problems
of the wetlands in Odisha.
29.2.5.7 In Bihar
Potentials
1. Most of the lakes are 100–200 ha, but some
exceed 1,000 ha in area. There are >14,000 ha
under chaurs in Darbhanga District alone.
Further, the ‘Diaras’, possibly, account for c
0.863 mha.
2. The other major wetlands, like the Lake
Kawar in Begusarai District, cover an area of
7,400 ha. It is considered one of the largest
FW lakes in South Asia.
3. Further, in addition to providing with fi shes
for nutrition, habitat for biota, etc., the wetlands also provide livelihood support to many
people. They also help in navigation.
4. Further, the chaurs (tectonic depressions),
mauns (oxbow lakes) and freshwater bodies
also act as sponges, and they were nature’s
own initiative for fl ood control. However,
human interventions, notably embankment,
roads and railways, have seriously impaired
the fl ood control function of wetlands.
5. Besides fi shing, cultivation of makhana
( Euryale ferox ) is another vocation. Perhaps
Bihar is the only place in the world where the
fruit is cultivated on a commercial scale.
6. Wetlands are also home to a large range of
birds, mammals, amphibians, fi sh, insects,
crustaceans and reptiles and a variety of
medicinal plants which are used by the rural
masses to treat many kinds of disorders. Some
of the best known species that have therapeutic values include pistia ( Pistia stratiotes ),
tholkuri ( Hydrocotyle asiatica ) and kesuti
( Eclipta alba ). Pistia, for instance, has been
used for centuries to cure skin diseases, dysentery and asthma.
Problems
(a) Siltation, pollution, eutrophication, encroachment, etc., are some of the general problems
of the wetlands in Bihar. For example, approx.
3.8 cm of silt has been deposited in the Kawar
Lake and it has been rendered unsuitable for
aquaculture.
(b) The wetlands are generally drained for different purposes. As a result, the fi sh stocks
have reduced drastically, and the birds have
stopped visiting them. The ‘Sahani’ community, who are regarded as ‘masters of water’,
have already come out of their native place to
work as labourers in faraway places like
Delhi and Punjab.
(c) The wetlands are said to have become dens
of antisocial elements.
Further, the massive infl ow of silt is also
decreasing the depth of the wetlands.
(d) However, the policymakers and planners
have not been giving adequate emphasis on
the importance of wetland ecosystem. But it
is quite known today that a hectare under
pisciculture provides more in terms of money
than a hectare under rice.
29.2.5.8 In Punjab
Originally known for its abundance of natural
wetlands, Punjab, of late, has been facing a severe
erosion of its richest ecosystem.
Potentials
1. Surveys revealed that up to the 1950s, natural
wetlands of Punjab occupied c 60,000 ha,
29.2 Problems