When the bird season arrives, around February, the local villagers burst crackers. They scare away the visitors. The villagers don’t want visitors, not the birds, not the bird lovers. Gharana Wetlands fall in a region that has rich soil for Basmati production. It is called “the city of white gold”. Agriculture has brought prosperity where doom is just a shell away from Pakistan border. People want more progress. Men who came as visitors to the land of birds have now claimed the land and are increasingly staking further claims. The conflict goes on.
When I visited the place, the birds had not yet all arrived. The water was low, you get more water if a water pipe bursts in a Basti in the city. Yet, this is the Gharana wetlands, divided by an International border between India and Pakistan.
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| Indian Roller |
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