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IIn the concrete jungles of Delhi suburbs, it is not uncommon for real estate developers to promise you a private forest of your own with a condominium. But many would find it hard to believe that Noida, Greater Noida. Gurgaon and Faridabad also have hidden forests, some dating back hundreds of years. For those planning a quick getaway to Corbett every time a long weekend hits, NCR can really be a great place to start. According to avid Rohit Sharma, it certainly costs less, and one can also try bird watching.
Here are five NCR forests that are not only waiting to be discovered but also to be understood and protected.
Dhanauri Wetland, Greater Noida
The bumpy ride a few kilometers from Greater Noida is the breeding ground for the stork crane, the state bird of Uttar Pradesh. Situated between the villages of Dhankaur and Tusrana, the Dhanauri wetlands are cut in two by a road that connects the villages to the city.
As one enters the wetland, the cries of storks and various other birds can be heard.
Forest Department and District Administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar Listed in 2019 69 wetlands as part of the region. This list includes the Dhanauri wetland, which covers 7.5 hectares.
Anand Arya, a fervent bird and patron, is leading a crusade against the government’s “absolute indifference” to the conservation of Dhanauri, and is to be given the status of a Ramsar site, meaning a wetland of international importance, and declared Gaya A Saras Bird Sanctuary.
Arya told ThePrint that the process is bogged down in bureaucratic entanglements and that even RTIs and letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have yielded no results. Arya was among the birds who discovered the wetland in 2014.
“It has been six years since the order of the National Green Tribunal recognizing the Dhanori wetland under the Wetland Rules. But till now no major steps have been taken for its documentation in the process of converting it into Ramsar site,” he says.
Fateh Chand Sharma, a local villager in Tusrana, says that if the government converts the site into a sanctuary, the area can also be developed better, the wetlands can be preserved, and perhaps a source of income to the villagers. helps to provide. “This wetland is famous since the time of the British. And even now on weekends, many people come in private vehicles to enjoy the beauty of the place,” says Sharma.
Read also: A leopard entered the Yamuna Park in Delhi. Then one of your ministers took it out illegally
Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon-Jhajjar
Sultanpur National Park after being closed from 18th March 2020 will finally reopen in November this year. Before the Covid pandemic, the park would be closed for the birds season from June 1 to September 30 every year.
National Park providedRecognition of Ramsar site In August 2021, and had a footfall 8,00-1,000 on the weekend before the pandemic. Bird bird Nikhil Devesar said that Kovid has been a boon for birds. “The birds are loving it. They are nesting in places they have never done before,” he said. The park is known for bar-headed geese, greyleg geese, pintails, common pochards, painted storks and spoonbills .
Sultanpur has always been the more ‘recognized’ forest in terms of tourist visits and accessibility. And it helps that accreditation means it’s organized and tourists can plan trips and have good bird experiences, even hobbyists. There are four watchtowers located at different points. There is also parking, toilets and drinking water facilities. There is an Educational Interpretation Center to provide proper guidance to the tourists.
Mangar Bani, Faridabad-Gurgaon
It can be hard to walk around in Mangar Bani when you miss that leopard sighting Quite common in the area. But as soon as you see peacocks every few metres, you get immersed in the beauty of this forest, considered sacred by the local residents.
Forest analyst Chetan Agarwal, who worked with Mangar, says that the forest survived Due to its sacred status from the eye of real estate and ‘developmental’ projects. Residents say that the saint-like figure Gudaria Baba attained samadhi in a cave in the forest. And that place has now been converted into a temple. On Tuesdays, villagers in large numbers come to the temple to offer prayers. The forest is situated in the foothills of Aravalli.
Sunil Harsana, a local resident and Aggarwal’s colleague, points out that man-made forests or artificial biodiversity projects can never really recreate nature. He says that plants have their own way of survival, and many examples of this are in Manger. He says the dhow tree, or Anogeus latifolia, is a prime example of the battle for survival in manger, and how it continually ‘clones’ it so that it can survive the changing seasons as well as grazing animals.
Read also: Delhi Ridge: How It Went From a Colonial Jungle to Murder Scene to a Morning Walk Garden
Bhondsi, Gurgaon
in 2017With an aim to make people interact more with nature and wildlife, a 100-acre nature camp was inaugurated at Bhondsi by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The camp was made up of Bharat Yatra Kendra – a 600-acre ashram that belonged to former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar.
But the plan seems to have been abandoned midway. A visit to Bhondsi reveals that all that remains of the nature camp are bird drawings every few metres, most commonly seen in the region. A forest official on condition of anonymity said they are now resuming work. Bhavneet Arora, a bird who lives near the farm, also confirmed that there is no infrastructure in the area.
The forest is home to fire-capped tits (very rare and recently sighted), white-breasted waterhens, red-wattled lapwings, white-throated kingfishers, rufous treepies, and jungle babblers.
The forest is easily accessible by road, but without any direction, bird watching can be difficult, unless you are a birdwatcher. The spot also seems to be popular for those who want to ‘have a beer in nature’ – a men’s car spotted by ThePrint.
Read also: From January to June, Wildlife Board granted permits that could be ‘catastrophic’ to protected areas
Sector 47. man-made forest of
In Noida’s Sector 47, a group led by women came together to not only reduce the creation and dumping of waste, but also to create a unique forest. Deepa Bagai, an ex-IAS officer and part of the women’s group, who were instrumental in creating this forest, says, “We planted it after the following Miyawaki Technique, where you get a 100 year old forest in ten years. Many endemic species are planted too close to each other so that they grow tall rather than wide and very quickly form a dense forest-like canopy. The forest is now two years old, and Bagai says even the forest department can’t believe its health, growth and survival rate.
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