Date: 24th November’ 24
Location: Najafgarh Jheel & Nehar Sahibi
Walk expert: Ritu Rao
No. of participants: 6
Theme: Awareness walk towards conservation of Sahibi River and Najafgarh Jheel
A brief summary of the walk:
Ritu Rao led this amazing awareness walk on Sunday, 24th November
Ritu Rao is a research scholar at the Teri School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi. Her research interest is the sustainability of water with a special focus on water bodies. She is working on Najafgarh jheel and its primary water source, the Sahibi River.
This particular walk was unique and different from the regular walks we have organized so far—the walk aimed to understand the story of the rise and decline of the Sahibi River and Najafgarh Jheel. The participants arrived by 07:45 am at Nehar Sahibi Farm. Ritu Ma’am gave a short presentation about the background of Jheel at the farm. She helped us understand the origin of the jheel and how it is now on the verge of extinction due to human greed once a jheel spanning an area of 2400 Acres has now been shrunk to only 74 acres.
The walk started at 08:00 am with a discussion on the current state of Jheel with the help of a presentation by Ritu Ma’am. The participants got to witness the drastic change in the state of river Sahibi and Jheel over the past decade. She also talked about how encroachment by humans has led to the collapse of an important bird habitat. Once a home to migratory birds such as flamingoes is now shrinking at an unimaginably fast rate.
After the enlightening session at Nehar Sahibi, we drove towards the Jhatikra region of Najafgarh jheel to see how human settlements have engulfed a major region of wetland. High-rise buildings have been developed over the years on the land of wetland. We drove a few more kilometers to see the deteriorating condition of Jheel. Healthy discussions were held on the measures that should be taken to improve the situation.
We ended the walk with a pledge to raise our voices towards the conservation efforts being made for the Jheel and Sahibi river.
We thank Ritu ji for her valuable guidance and a super fun and informative session for all the participants. Participants enjoyed walking along the Najafgarh jheel. It was a walk full of wonderful learning.
List of species spotted during the walk:
We observed species of butterflies, and birds during the walk. Some notable species during the walk were:-
Birds:- Rose-ringed parakeet, Cormorant, Black-necked stork, Red-naped ibis, Spot-billed ducks, Black kite, Eurasian coot, White-throated kingfisher
Butterfly: Plain tiger, Common Mormon, Small grass yellow, Mottled emigrant