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 The
Keoladeo
National
Park
or
Keoladeo
Ghana
National
Park
formerly
known
as
the
Bharatpur
Bird
Sanctuary
in
Rajasthan,
India
is a
famous
avifauna
sanctuary
that
sees
(or
saw)
thousands
of
rare
and
highly
endangered
birds
such
as
the
Siberian
Crane
come
here
during
the
winter
season.
Over
230
species
of
birds
are
known
to
have
made
the
National
Park
their
home.
It
is
also
a
major
tourist
centre
with
scores
of
ornithologists
arriving
here
in
the
hibernal
season.
It
was
declared
a
protected
sanctuary
in
1971.
It
is
also
a
declared
World
Heritage
Site. |
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The
sanctuary
was
created
250
years
ago
and
is
named
after
a
Keoladeo
(Shiva)
temple
within
its
boundaries.
Initially,
it
was
a
natural
depression;
and
was
flooded
after
the
Ajan
Bund
was
constructed
by
Maharaja
Suraj
Mal,
the
then
ruler
of
the
princely
state
of
Bharatpur,
between
1726
to
1763.
The
bund
was
created
at
the
confluence
of
two
rivers,
the
Gambhir
and
Banganga.
The
park
was
a
hunting
ground
for
the
maharajas
of
Bharatpur,
a
tradition
dating
back
to
1850,
and
duck
shoots
were
organised
yearly
in
honor
of
the
British
viceroys.
In
one
shoot
alone
in
1938,
over
4,273
birds
such
as
mallards
and
teals
were
killed
by
Lord
Linlithgow,
the
then
Governor-General
of
India.
After
India's
independence,
the
rulers
of
the
princely
states
were
allowed
shooting
rights
until
1972.
In
1982,
grazing
was
banned
in
the
park,
leading
to
violent
clashes
between
the
local
farmer
and
Gujjar
communities
and
the
government. |
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The
sanctuary
hosts
a
small
wintering
population
of
the
rare
Siberian
Cranes.
Other
species
include
the
ruddy
shelducks,
gulls,
northern
shovelers,
northern
pintails,
coots,
garganey,
tufted
ducks
and
common
pochard. |
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In
late
2004
however,
the
Rajasthan
government
led
by
Vasundhara
Raje
succumbed
to
pressure
from
farmers
to
prevent
water
from
being
diverted
to
the
sanctuary.
The
water
supply
to
the
park
dropped
from
540,000,000
to
18,000,000
cubic
feet
(15,000,000
to
510,000
m³).
The
result
was
an
ecological
disaster
with
the
marshlands
turning
dry
and
inhospitable.
Most
of
the
birds
flew
off
to
alternate
avenues
as
far
as
Garhmukteshwar,
Uttar
Pradesh
(90
km
form
New
Delhi)
on
the
river
Ganga
for
breeding.
This
resulted
in
many
of
the
birds
being
hunted
for
their
meat. |
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