Not this wildlife
We love elephants, but in Periyar, not in Noida park, trampling a rich bird sanctuary

Schools have reopened some 20 days ago and my daughter has submitted a half-hearted homework, thanks to me. Back in May, she had told me she’d got a project on the flora and fauna that grows close to home, and crops grown nearby. Flora, fauna and agriculture in Delhi, in a locality with 10 lakh population? Now when did I last spot a sparrow?

The hapless child sought my help on numerous occasions and each time I scratched my head, resorting to some delaying tactic or other. Frankly, I was at a loss. When it comes to flora, well, the housing society where we live boasts of some Eucalyptus trees, some stunted trees, whose height is strictly regulated, and some ornamental plants. The lush, wild vegetation in the space between the housing society and the adjoining National Highway 24 has been decimated for widening of the road. When it comes to fauna, a few families boast of parrots coming to their balconies. Most residents are not so lucky and must contend with only pigeons. I have also heard once children scream with joy at the sighting of a peacock. Again, those have been once in a blue-moon sightings. More frequently, we must contend with domestic dogs or black cats and creepy creatures like lizards. Is that brain wracking, which I have indulged in right now, worth a summer project?

I know it’s not, but daughter still insisted, so I extended my area of purview to include the pristine banks of Yamuna, which fall within two kilometers of our locality. Well that will fulfil my daughter’s needs at least. So I probed what grows along the Yamuna banks. Sadly, there too I was faced with disappointment. Farming does take place but post Akshardham and Commonwealth Village, the area devoted to crops has shrunk badly. And what agriculture can you have with a river infested with pesticide, and the surrounding soil equally contaminated? So my answer to the first part of the question was: Along the banks of Yamuna, chemically treated cucumbers and cabbages are grown.

For the second part of the question — fauna — I thought further. What wildlife is found along Yamuna? Well, I remembered the Okhla Bird Sancutary, close to Noida, offering some of the most serene views of sunset. Bird lovers flock to this place for sighting of migratory birds. Sadly, they will have to look for other alternatives. The entire green belt close to the sanctuary has been razed down to give way to a monstrous project of erecting granite elephants, the symbol of Bahujan Samajwadi Party. A dream project of Miss Mayawati , the Dalit Memorial that’s coming up next to the bird sanctuary will be at the cost of more than 6,000 trees. Plus the shrubbery and the undergrowth, so crucial for a natural ecosystem. Instead of that, we will have rampaging elephants in scores. Well I love elephants, but the natural ones, and in their natural habitat. Why have the artificial elephants trample something that was naturally beautiful. My answer to my daughter for the second part of the question: Whatever wildlife existed along Yamuna, is soon to be trampled by Mayawati’s elephants.