MIGSUN GREEN BUYERS GET REGISTRY AFTER 10-YEAR WAIT

Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh on Sunday handed over apartment registries to homebuyers at Migsun Green Mansion society in Greater Noida, ending a nearly decade-long wait.

- Vinod Rajput

NOIDA: Thousands of birds are at risk as Dhanauri wetland, a crucial habitat for migratory birds and the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, the Sarus crane, faces a severe water shortage, according to environmentalists. Activists alleged that the cause of the crisis is the diversion of a canal that previously supplied water to the wetland. The water supply disruption has been ongoing for almost a month, they alleged.

The Gautam Budh Nagar (GB Nagar) forest department, however, has stepped in to mitigate the situation. It has created an artificial pond within the wetland to ensure the birds do not face a water scarcity. Department officials assured that the water issue will soon be resolved, with the divisional officer of the forest department stating that the disruption occurred after the Upper Ganga Canal's Dadri-Kalaunda water channel was cut off due to the airport's construction at Jewar.

The 5.5-hectare wetland, which is part of a much larger catchment area, is home to nearly 198 bird species. This includes the Sarus crane, a symbol of Uttar Pradesh. The wetland, however, is now largely dry, forcing the birds to cope with harsh conditions. "We noticed that suddenly the wetland is left with no water for birds. We were told that water supply is cut because of some diversion in the canal," said Lucky Nagar, a birder and local resident of Dankaur.