Assam - In the North Eastern part of India, is a mixing urn where culture, heritage, tradition, lifestyle, faith and belief of her Aryan & Non-Aryan, numerous tribes & sub-tribes, Mongoloids & Australoids, drawn from various hives at different points of time have gone into form the Assamese culture - a fascinating and exotic recipe of delightful flavor.

Assam is a home to several wildlife sanctuaries which are a home to endangered and rare species and orchids.North East is a hub of wide variety of flora and fauna.

Orchids are abundantly found in Assam; a variety - Khopo phul(Fox tailed orchid), Bhatou Phul or Vanda coerulea etc. Assam has several attractive destinations; majority of these are National Parks, Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Deepor Beel

Dipor bil, also spelled Deepor Beel (bil or Beel means "lake" in the local Assamese language), is located southwest of the city of Guwahati Kamrup district of Assam in India. This is a permanent freshwater lake, into a river Brahmaputra old channel, south of the main River. It is also known as a wetland under the Ramsar Convention, which entered the lake in November 2002 as a Ramsar site for conservation measures on the basis of society's biological and ecological significance.

Its natural resources for subsistence of fourteen indigenous villages (1,200 families) located in its
premises. Freshwater fish are a vital protein and income for these communities, the health of these individuals reported being directly dependent on the health of this wetland ecosystem. It lies 13 km south-west of Guwahati on National Highway (NH 31) on the ring-Jalukbari Khanapara in addition to its northwest border. PWD road at the northern edge of Garbhanga Rani and forest reserves in the south. The Interstate 37 near Beel east and north-east and Engineering College Road to the north. Small roads and writings found in the vicinity of Beel. The Beel is about 5 km from Guwahati Airport (GNB International Airport, Borjar). Broad gauge railway line runs along the lake.

Ava fauna

The Beel is a natural habitat for many varieties of birds. 219 species of birds, including more
than 70 migratory species have been reported in the region of Beel. The largest congregations of waterfowl can be seen, especially in winter, with a reported number of 19,000 registered waterfowl in one day. Some endangered species such as Spot Image Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), Lesser Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus), Baer Pochard (Aythya baeri), Pallas Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius). Spot-billed pelican in Beel and lakes in India

Among the large number of migratory water fowl, the Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) regularly migrates to this habitat during its annual journey. This is in addition to the large congregation of residential water birds seen in the lake.

Considering the richness of the bird varieties found in the beel, the Birdlife International has declared Deepor Beel as an Important Bird Area (IBA) with high priority for conservation

Aqua Fauna

Surveys have revealed 20 amphibian, 12 lizards, 18 snakes and 6 turtle and tortoise species in the beel. Over 50 commercially viable species of fish, belonging to 19 families have been identified, which supplies stock to other nearby wetlands and rivers.

Fauna

Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus), Leopard, Jungle Cat and the protected Barking Deer, Chinese Porcupine and Sambar are found in the beel. Herds of elephants are reported in the beel.

Other world heritage site kaziranga National Park, Assam