by Parrot Bird Sanctuary is the greenest spot in Chandigarh. It is the only one in the country to be located in a populated area of a city, is located in the heart of Chandigarh’s famous grid-patterned sector 21. Certainly is home to thousands of green parakeets.
1.80 hectares are open for the public to visit out of the 2.9 hectares. There is yet another significant explanation as well. According to experts, the number of parrots has decreased over time. Therefore, who knows what the future holds.
Vision of Environment society, Chandigarh for Bird Sanctuary
S K Sharma, the then-secretary of the Chandigarh-based Environment Society, had a vision for a Bird Wildlife Sanctuary. He saw thousands of green parakeets roosting in Sector 21 park in 1975 when flying over the old Ropar-Ambala road in an east-west corridor.
According to his recommendation to the government to turn the park into a wildlife sanctuary in Chandigarh. A large number of parrots persuaded the authorities, and the park was transferred from horticulture to the forest service. Thus was born Parrot Garden, as it was known until 1998, as a Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the city’s second after Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandigarh.
Parrot Bird sanctuary is the greenest spot in Chandigarh. It is the only one in the country residing in a populated area of a city. As it has its place in the heart of Chandigarh’s famous grid-patterned sector 21. Certainly is home to thousands of green parakeets.
The need of renovation at the Sanctuary
Despite its reputation, the authorities have allowed the WLS to deteriorate due to mismanagement. Further, the municipal corporation has control over the sanctuary’s 1.80 hectares. There’s a lot that needs to be fixed. It includes uncovered ditches, broken benches, and concrete placed at the base of several trees in the bird sanctuary.
Subsequently, a team of experts from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) assessed this bird sanctuary and found it to be deficient in many areas, giving it a score of 50 out of 100 and recommending steps to improve it to 100 percent. The team stated the following reasons for losing out in their letter:
- there was no management plan,
- no signage at the entry gate, and
- no details for visitors.
Moreover, there was also no wildlife checklist or surveillance in the protected area. Despite this, the team appreciated the fact that the locals were well conscious of their privilege and that there were no encroachments on the property or other resource constraints.
When contacted, MC commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav said that he was unaware of the issues and that they would be resolved as soon as possible.
Likewise, the forest and wildlife department stating that it is working to improve the ecosystem in order to attract more parrots to the bird sanctuary. “I have provided directions for the planting of more fruit trees in order to attract more parrots in the sanctum,” Debendra Dalai, chief conservator of forests, said.
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