Ramsar site Sirpur Lake to be protected from encroachment: Indore mayor on World Wetlands Day eve

These are now called Ramsar sites.

On the eve of World Wetlands Day, the administration in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday said it will protect Sirpur Lake, a Ramsar site which is home to several bird species, from encroachment.

In the last five to seven months, no new encroachment has been allowed around the lake, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava told reporters.

Many old encroachments have been removed, while in some cases the MP High Court has issued stay orders, Bhargava added.

''We are constantly monitoring to ensure no new encroachment takes place around Sirpur Lake. Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are being installed to prevent dirty water from nearby settlements entering the lake. Water hyacinths have also been removed,'' he said.

An event has been organised at the lake on Friday to mark World Wetlands Day, which will be attended by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey and MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the mayor informed.

Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands located in Switzerland, will also be present on this occasion, Bhargava added.

An intergovernmental agreement for conservation of wetlands made in a conference held in Ramsar in Iran in 1971 designated several sites. These are now called Ramsar sites.