Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

2021-06-18T12:57:13Z

193.109.130.75:

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Asola-Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary
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| map = India
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| map_caption = Map of [[India]]
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| location = [[Delhi]], [[India]]
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| coordinates = {{coords|28.4762|77.23|region:IN-DL|display=inline, title}}
| area = {{Convert|6874|acre|ha}}
| established = 1986
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[[File:Leopard_Male_Nagarhole.jpg|thumb|[[Indian Leopard]] is found at Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary.]]

'''Asola-Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary''' covering 32.71 km2 area on the [[Delhi Ridge|Southern Delhi Ridge]] of [[Aravalli hill range]] on Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi as well as northern parts of [[Faridabad]] and [[Gurugram]] districts of Haryana state.<ref name="killer monkeys"/><ref name=protect1>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/haryana-government-moots-buffer-zone-to-save-asola-sanctuary/articleshow/67752163.cms Haryana Government moots buffer zone to save Asola sanctuary], Times of India, 30 Jan 2019.</ref> [[Biodiversity]] significance of Ridge lies in its merger with [[Indo-Gangetic plain]]s,<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi"/> as it is the part of the [[Aravalli Range#Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor|Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor]], an important [[wildlife corridor]] which starts from the [[Sariska National Park]] in [[Rajasthan]], passes through [[Nuh district|Nuh]], Faridabad and Gurugram districts of [[Haryana]] and ends at Delhi Ridge.<ref name=protect1/>

This protected area contains one of the last surviving remnants of Delhi Ridge hill range and its [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]] forest habitat and its dependent wildlife.<ref name="killer monkeys"/> Once the whole Delhi Ridge was a forested area, but development has destroyed several parts of it.<ref name="killer monkeys">[http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/invasion-of-the-killer-monkeys-1203286.html Invasion of the killer monkeys], 24 October 2007, ASIA-PACIFIC, independent.ie</ref>

Historical place around sanctuary are [[Surajkund]] and [[Anangpur Dam]] (both in Haryana), [[Tughlaqabad Fort]] and [[Jahanpanah#Adilabad|Adilabad ruins]] (both in Delhi), [[Chhatarpur Temple]] (in Delhi).<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi"/> There are several dozen lakes formed in the abandoned [[Open-pit mining|open pit mines]] in and around the sanctuary. It is contiguous to the seasonal [[Pali village#Pali jharna|waterfalls in Pali-Dhuaj-Kot villages of Faridabad]]<ref name=sura>[https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/state/punjab-and-haryana/faridabad/water-will-be-stopped-by-making-a-dam-on-the-hills-of-pali-village/articleshow/70320771.cms पाली गांव की पहाड़ियों पर डैम बनाकर रोका जाएगा झरनों का पानी]</ref> and the sacred [[Mangar Bani]].

==Location and access==
It is located in South Delhi District all along Delhi, [[Faridabad]] and [[Gurgaon]] interstate border. It can be accessed from several points from Delhi and Haryana. On Delhi-Faridabad order, it can be approached from [[Tughlaqabad]] ([[Mehrauli-Badarpur Road]]) to [[Surajkund#Surajkund International Crafts Mela|Surajkund Mela]] Road ({{Convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}}) near [[Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range]], or from [[Mehrauli]] via [[Chhatarpur Temple]] {{Convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} near Sanjay Colony (Bhati Area). It is about {{Convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] in Delhi, the [[Delhi Junction railway station|Delhi Railway station]] is about {{Convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} and [[Maharana Pratap]] Bus Stand is about {{Convert|32|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the sanctuary.<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi"/><ref name="killer monkeys"/>

==History==
===Etymology===
The sanctuary gets its name from the contiguous [[Asola (Delhi)|Asola]] village near [[Tughlaqabad]] in the [[National Capital Region (India)|Delhi NCR]].<ref name="killer monkeys"/>

===Protected status===
[[File:Egyptian_Vulture_N.p.Ginginianus_Keoladeo_Ghana_National_Park_Bharatpur_Rajasthan_India_18.02.2013.jpg|thumb|left|[[Egyptian vulture]], adult male in Aravalli range.]]
Legal protected Status of southern ridge was uncertain till 1986 when community lands of the villages of Asola, Shapur and Maidangari ({{Convert|4707|acre|ha}}) were notified during 1986 and the lands of Bhati ({{Convert|2167|acre|ha}}) were notified in 1991 as a sanctuary.<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi">[http://forest.delhigovt.nic.in/wildlife/asola.html#asola ASOLA BHATI WILD LIFE SANCTUARY] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816140938/http://forest.delhigovt.nic.in/wildlife/asola.html#asola |date=16 August 2011 }}, Department of Forest, Delhi Government</ref>

In 2011, [[Supreme Court of India]] has mandated that all states must define an [[Eco-Sensitive Zone]] (ESZ) around the forests to limit the adverse aspects of [[human impact on the environment]]. In 2017, [[Government of Delhi]] had notified 15.55 km2 SEZ. A January 2019 plan by [[Government of Haryana]] envisages notification of 12.17 km2 (1,217 ha) area as SEZ, of which 11.82 km2 falls in Faridabad (100m to 1000m zone covering [[Anangpur Dam|Anangpur]], [[Mangar bani]], [[Badkhal Lake|Badhkhal]], [[Pali village|Pali]], [[Mewla Maharajpur metro station|Mewal]], [[Ankhir]] and [[Mohtabad]]) and 0.35 km2 in Gurugram (100m zone covering [[Bandhwari]], [[Gwal Pahari]] and [[Balola]]). The limits of ESZ on Harayana side end along the northern side of [[List of highways in Haryana#Major District Roads (MDR)|MDR137 Gurugram-Faridabad State Highway]]. The southern side of this highway already has 12.33 km2 of protected forests (6.825 sgkm in Faridabad and 5.51 km2 in Gurugram) which are not included in this ESZ. The limit of ESZ is only 100 m in certain places to exclude highly urbanised areas, such as from [[Surajpur, Haryana|Surajpur]] to [[Badkhal lake|Badkhal]] and also around [[Amanpur, Haryana|Amanpur]].<ref name=protect1/>

Earlier this area had a history of [[illegal mining in India|illegal mining]] for [[sand mining|red badarpur sand]] and stone which were in hot demand for building activity and construction. Thus the area came to be known as Bhati mines. Several large open and deep pits across sanctuary, are the abandoned mine pits, have now turn into lakes.<ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/illegal-mining-in-sanctuary/591195/0 Illegal mining in sanctuary], 16 March 2010, [[The Indian Express]]</ref>

==Biodiversity significance==
===Eco-impact===
[[File:Peacock_in_its_habitat.jpg|thumb|left|[[Peacock]].]]
[[File:Red-headed_Vulture_Adult_Male_Bandhavgrah_National_Park_16042013.jpg|thumb|[[Red-headed vulture]], adult male in Aravalli range.]]

There are about 193 species of birds reported from Asola along with large number of medicinal plants, more than 80 species of butterflies, hundreds of other insects, mammals such as [[leopard]]s, [[nilgai]] (blue bull, the largest antelope of the country), [[blackbuck]] (fastest land animal surviving in the wild in the country), [[black-naped hare]], [[Indian crested porcupine]], [[small Indian civet]], [[golden jackal]] and [[jungle cat]].

Delhi Ridge is the northernmost extension of one of the oldest mountain system of the world, Aravalli range, which begin in the state of Gujarat near [[Great Rann of Kutch]].<ref name="killer monkeys"/> Biogeographically it represents outlier of Aravalli Mountain Range among protected area in India.<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi"/> It has a high potential for establishing conservation education and nature interpretation programs. It is Delhi NCR's green lung, carbon sink, source of [[Groundwater recharge|ground water recharge]], and shelterbelt against advancing [[aridity]].<ref name="Department of Forest, Delhi"/>

===Fauna===
[[File:Charging Leopard-001.JPG|thumb|Charging Indian Leopard.]]
This is an important habitat for the [[Indian leopard]]. [[Endangered species]] in the sanctuary include [[red-headed vulture]] and [[egyptian vulture]], and the [[Government of Haryana]] has a [[Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore#Vultures|vulture conservation program in place]]. [[Near-threatened species]] include [[painted stork]], [[white-faced ibis]] and [[european roller]]. Rare birds include [[black francolin]] and [[grey-headed fish eagle]].<ref name=protect1/>

====Leopards and jackals of Aravalli====
{{see | Forests_Department,_Haryana#Leopareds | l1= Leopards of Haryana}}

[[Aravalli Range#Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor|Sariska to Delhi leopard wildlife corridor]], of which "Asola Bhati wildlife sanctuary" is one of the northernmost important part, is a 200 km long important [[biodiversity]] and wildlife corridor which runs from the [[Sariska Tiger Reserve]] in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge. This corridor is an important habitat for the Indian leopards and jackals of Aravalli, who often migrate between Delhi and Sariska. Urban development, specially the highways and railways bisecting the Aravalli range and wildlife corridor in several place pose a great risk. Large parts of Aravalli are legally and physically unprotected, with no wildlife passages and little or no wildlife conservation work resulting in deaths of over 10 leopards in 4 years between January 2015 to January 2019.<ref name=hitunp1>[https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/death-proof-of-leopardlife-in-asola-sanctuary/story-XFkBEhQ05I2vew9M1KDSFI.html Death, proof of leopard life in Asola sanctuary], Hindustan Times, 31 Jan 2019.</ref><ref name=today1>[https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/10-month-old-leopard-dead-haryana-gurugram-faridabad-expressway-1442898-2019-01-30 10-month-old leopard found dead on Gurugram-Faridabad Expressway], India Today, 31 Jan 2019.</ref><ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com">[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/leopard-killed-in-accident-on-gurugram-faridabad-road/articleshow/67755160.cms Leopard killed in accident on Gurugram-Faridabad road], Times of India, 30 Jan 2019.</ref>

Leopards pugmarks have often been sighted at "Asola Bhati wildlife sanctuary" and the contiguous forested areas of Gurugram-Faridabad Aravalli hills such as [[Mangar Bani]], [[Badkhal Lake]] wildlife area, [[Mohbtabad, Haryana|Mohbtabad]], [[Sohna#Roz-ka-Meo industrial estate|Roj ka Meo]]. Gurugram-Faridabad Highway bisects these forested wildlife areas, which often results in the accidental death of wildlife including leopards. In January 2019, [[Wildlife Institute of India]] announced that they will undertake the survey of leopard and wildlife, using [[pugmark]]s and [[Camera trap|trap cameras]], subsequently leopards and jackals will be tracked via the [[Wildlife radio telemetry|radio collars]].<ref name=hitunp1/>

According to a 2019 study by [[Bombay Natural History Society]] (BNHS), 27 species of 14 families are found in the area, the number of [[golden jackal]] has doubled from 8 to 19 in 8 km tract where rodents and hares are their prey base along with the staple diet of [[jujube|zizipus jujube]] (jhad ber), leopards have increased too, [[ruddy mongoose]] and [[jungle cat]]s are often sighted too, though [[striped hyena]] have been vanishing.<ref name=jack1>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/golden-jackal-numbers-double-in-asola/articleshow/68029020.cms Golden jackal numbers double in Asola], Times of India, 16 February 2019.</ref>

===Flora===
Plant species include [[butea monosperma]] (dhak or flame of forest), [[anogeissus]] (dhok), [[Wrightia tinctoria]] (inderjao), [[Elm|Indian elm]], [[neolamarckia cadamba]] (kadamba), [[prosopis cineraria]] (jaand), [[tinospora cordifolia]] (giloi), etc.<ref name=protect1/>

==Conservation==
[[File:Black naped hare photographed in Yala National Park.jpg|thumb|right|Black-naped hare.]]

===Restoration projects===
In 2000, the Department of Environment of Delhi Government commenced a 5-year rehabilitation of {{Convert|2100|acre|ha}} of Bhati Mines area in the Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary at the cost of Rs.823 lacs, which was extended for a further period of 3 years with an additional outlay of Rs.493.19 lakhs. Till 31 March 2006, 700,000 saplings were planted. The project was further extended for another 3 years. A second Eco Task Force was created for Asola Wildlife Sanctuary of 5000 acres.<ref>[http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/environment/Environment/Home/Achievements/ Plantation/Greening of Delhi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126100652/http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/environment/Environment/Home/Achievements |date=2011-11-26 }}, Department of Environment, Delhi Government</ref>

As of 2019, Haryana is also undertaking conservation works in the sanctuary and ESZ including establishment of ESZ, rainwater harvesting, restoration of degraded land and habitat, agro forestry, herbal plants, etc. The use of [[organic farming]], [[solar energy]] and [[horticulture]], non-polluting [[Small Scale Industry|small scale industries]] will be promoted and felling of trees will be prohibited while regulating the urban and construction activities in the ESZ.<ref name=protect1/>

=== Lakes ===
There are several lakes in and around the sanctuary, all of which are the abandoned minepits of Bhati mines, are being restored as the wetland habitat. These lakes include [[Bhardwaj lake]], [[Death valley lake]] (also known as "CITM lake 2"), [[CITM lake 1]], [[Dolphin lake]], [[Nallah lake]], [[Zile Singh lake]], [[Sangam Vihar lake]], [[Mahamai lake]], [[Radhe Krishan lake]] and several more. Surajkund, [[Lake peacock]] and [[Badkhal Lake]] to the south also lie adjacent to the sanctuary.

===Rehabilitation of urban monkeys===
{{anchor | Urban monkeys of Delhi | Monkey menace of Delhi}}
[[File:Monkey_india_delhi.jpg|thumb|left|Rhesus macaque or Indian monkey of Delhi.]]

Delhi city as per some officials has anywhere between 5,000 and 20,000 stray [[rhesus macaque]] (''Macaca mulatta'') monkeys, though this could easily be too low. Parts of the city, especially on the southern edge, are besieged with these teeming animals, who sit on the roadside as traffic passes, or else play in the branches of the tree cover above. Dealing with the monkey problem has been a slow process, Hindus believe that the animals are manifestations of the monkey god [[Hanuman]] and feed them [[bananas]] and [[peanut]]s especially near temples. Culling them is out of the question. Delhi's attempts to persuade a number of other states to accept the city's monkeys have also fallen flat. The authorities in other states have said they had enough monkeys of their own to be dealing with, never mind taking in extra troublemakers from Delhi. In 2007 the federal government demanded that the city authorities act against the monkeys. Exasperated by the monkeys, which had previously broken into a government office, torn up and destroyed secret documents and even broken into the complex in which Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]]'s office is located, bitten staff and members of public, they called for action. In May 2007, under pressure from various politicians and campaigners, the [[Delhi High Court]] ordered the authorities to begin rounding up the stray monkeys and relocating them to a specially constructed sanctuary. That, they believed, would be the end of the problem.<ref name="killer monkeys"/>

Authorities have established a sanctuary by erecting a {{Convert|45|ft|m|abbr=on}} wall of hardened plastic that contains an area of many acres in Asola-Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi. Since April, officials captured and released 1,650 monkeys into the reserve. Trucks will deliver shipments of caged inmates trapped in the city. The city pays monkey catchers 450 rupees (£5.50) per animal and has planned to increase the number it employs. "We trap them in cages and transfer them to the reserve," explains an official in the city's wildlife department. However the released monkeys are not well contained inside the reserve walls as they climb over it and attack and pinch people in the neighboring village where they like to go for foraging.<ref name="killer monkeys"/><ref>[http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/d807e0804ef2fb2cae82bffe99daf05a/AD_Env_MONKEYFEEDER_eng.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&lmod=1201714214&CACHEID=d807e0804ef2fb2cae82bffe99daf05a Public Notice: Stop feeding the monkeys in public places in Delhi]</ref>

Menace of wild urban monkeys in Delhi sprouted the popular [[urban legend]] of [[Monkey-man of Delhi]] which has been fictionalized in popular culture in the [[Bollywood]] [[Hindi]] feature film [[Delhi-6]].

=== Conservation Education centre ===
The main attraction in the Asola area now is the Conservatuion Education centre (CEC) in the Forest Department building run in collaboration with the [[Bombay Natural History Society]] and Government of Delhi. Visitors are made aware of Flora and Fauna, along with information on how to help to conserve them. The film shows and slide shows are conducted by the CEC staff.

=== Nature's trail ===
The Nature trail, {{Convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} long route, run by the staff of CEC through the scrub jungle that surrounds the building is enriched with interesting facts about the nature, [[flora]], [[fauna]]l and [[topography]] of area, including the patches of [[Anogeissus]], [[Balanite]] and [[riparian]] belt representative of [[Aravalli Hill Range]].

===Special programs===
CEC Delhi BNHS organises trips to Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary every winter and summer for children.

==Threats==

===Lack of wildlife crossings and protective wall ===
To separate the sanctuary and ESZ from the urbanised areas, the Delhi side of the ESZ already has a boundary wall but the urbanised areas in Haryana lack the boundary wall.<ref name=protect1/>

The area lacks [[wildlife crossing]]s and accidental death of rare and endangered wild animals is a common occurrence on the roads along the sanctuary. In four years between January 2015 to January 2019, at least 10 leopards have died in accidents or conflicts in this corridor. In 2015, a 7-month-old leopard was killed near Pali chowk after being hit by a heavy vehicle on the Gurugram-Faridabad State Highway. In January 2019, another 10-month-old female leopard was killed on the same spot by another heavy vehicle. Roads and highways bisect the wildlife corridors, and at night light beams from vehicle travelling at high speed blind the animals, resulting in hit and run deaths. Experts and activists have been demanding the elimination of roads and highways and introduction of wildlife crossings.<ref name=today1/><ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com"/>

===Bandwari waste-to-energy plant and landfill ===
[[Bandhwari#Bandhwari landfill|Bandhwari landfill and waste plant]] has been causing environmental pollution. A waste-to-energy plant on which govt has already spent INR300 crore is being expanded with another INR400 crore with two of sand mine pits to be used for dumping the untreated toxic waste, this has caused serious environmental threat to the sensitive ecology.<ref name=risk1>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/only-30-from-5-villages-show-up-for-impact-study-on-bandhwari/articleshow/63405359.cms Only 30 villagers turn up for impact study], Times of India, 2018.</ref>

In 2017, [[National Green Tribunal Act|National Green Tribunal]] (NGT) asked the [[Central Pollution Control Board]] (CPCB) to the test the groundwater sample near Bandhwari plant as the landfill site has a stream of dirty black water pollution the aquifers and leeching in to the forest in the area which is known to discharge [[industrial waste]] and [[construction waste|construction debris]] in the Aravalli forests along the roads in Gurugram-Fridabad area.<ref name=risk3>[https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/ngt-asks-cpcb-to-test-groundwater-sample-near-bandhwari-plant-1008325-2017-08-01 NGT asks CPCB to test groundwater sample near Bandhwari plant], India Today, 1 Aug 2017.</ref>

===Water scarcity ===
{{see also|water scarcity}}
Haryana side of Gurugram-Faridabad Aravalli hill forests lack availability of water due to which wild animals are not seen there much. Government of Haryana used drones for aerial survey and dug 22 [[ephemeral]] pits in 2018 to store the rain water which become dry during the summer months. In January 2019, govt announced the plan to make the pit [[Perennial stream|perennial]] by connecting those with pipeline from the nearby villages.<ref name=scar1>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/leopards-keep-away-from-haryana-side-of-asola-due-to-scarcity-of-water/articleshow/67777130.cms Leopards keep away from Haryana side of Asola due to scarcity], Times of India, 1 Feb 2019.</ref>

===Official denial of presence of wildlife===
Human activity, such as unplanned urbanization and polluting plants, also pose a great threat. There is often reluctance and denial on part of the BJP government officials of the presence of wildlife such as leopard so that the forest land can be exploited and opened up for the intrusive human development.<ref name=risk1/><ref name=risk3/><ref name=scar1/>

==See also==
* [[Arid Forest Research Institute]]
* [[National Zoological Park Delhi]]
* [[Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary]], Delhi
* [[Najafgarh lake]] or Najafgarh jheel (Now completely drained by Najafgarh drain)
* [[Sultanpur National Park]], bordering Delhi in adjoining [[Gurgaon District]], [[Haryana]]
* [[Okhla Sanctuary]], bordering Delhi in adjoining [[Uttar Pradesh]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Further reading===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120606144057/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-11-03/delhi/27324610_1_microbes-nitrogen-plant-growth Using microbes to green Asola Bhati], 3 November 2002, [[The Times of India]]

===External links===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110816140938/http://forest.delhigovt.nic.in/wildlife/asola.html#asola Official information on Asola wildlife sanctuary], Department of Forest of Delhi Government.
* [http://www.onlytravelguide.com/delhi/adventure-wildlife/asola-wildlife-sanctuary.php Asola wildlife sanctuary travel guide].

[[Category:Wildlife sanctuaries in Delhi]]
[[Category:Wildlife sanctuaries in Haryana]]
[[Category:South Delhi district]]
[[Category:Gurgaon district]]
[[Category:Faridabad district]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1986]]
[[Category:1986 establishments in Delhi]]
[[Category:1986 establishments in Haryana]]

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Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary