Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary (CKBS), Narendrapur, Kolkata.
This is a destination which is very dear and close to heart to many bird watchers in and around Kolkata. Nearly 200 species of birds have been reported from this site. This is an important Bird Area which hosts a rich variety of birds.
The Sanctuary is maintained by the Forest Division and was used to be maintained well. There is a nice hut as a reception area where an adult needs to submit the entry fee before moving into the sanctuary. The staffs were friendly, adorable and helpful and consisted of local people of the area. The main track used to be walk-able and broad enough for 2-3 people to walk side by side. Even the other side tracks were free from encroaching bushes.
However, over the past one year I noticed a thorough degradation of the sanctuary.
The tracks are not maintained at all nowadays, the entire lot of staffs have been transformed to a new group also consisting of security guards, who are themselves unwilling to stay there specially due to excessive mosquito bites and leech attacks throughout the day. The new reception staff behaved very rudely today with me and talked to me as if I have interrupted his midday leisure.
I also found 2 motorcycles inside the sanctuary premises without any sign of there owners. I was the only one in CKBS today afternoon. Later on when I was coming out of the sanctuary during the time of its closure I found the motorcycle owner was a 25 year old guy and along with him came out from the bushes a girl of similar age!
I am not against Love, but this was quite a shock for me as CKBS is definitely not a love park and should be guarded against such intrusions. If nothing is done against this then certainly a day will come when there will be many things done which is not permissible inside a restricted bird sanctuary, or even something illegal of graver nature. This is certainly not unnoticed by the new reception staff(s) and must be having their consent with some quick money to shut their mouth. This is unquestionably unacceptable!!!
The condition of the sanctuary itself has degraded over the past 1 year. There are so much of encroaching bushes on the track nowadays that a person needs to keep his/her feet cautiously, and cannot relax and concentrate on bird watching itself. The undergrowth has gone extremely dense, a fallen Mango tree, which looked like an arched entrance a year back has now fallen further, and is actually the main track just ahead of the reception area. One has to walk on his/her knees now to pass under the fallen tree. The foliage has gone extremely dense and now you can hear the birds only, sighting them has become a triumphant event, and photographing them is a dream now. A wonderful mushroom/fungi had grown on a dead tree log which I had photographed some days back. That has been burnt down which are evident from the log condition. When nobody is taking care of the park itself and letting all the extra foliage to grow on nature’s will, why are they burning down a beautiful creation of nature???
There is something quite wrong going on in CKBS, and the standards have degraded to the point if it’s demise. If the Govt. (who owns the land) and the forest department (who claims to maintain it) overlook the situation of the sanctuary, we will loose it soon. It was an unkept left alone garden which was found to be bird rich and then the forest department turned it to a sanctuary. If the situation remains ignored, then this will be an unkept sanctuary and will only be a memory in the near future.
