Birding is set to become a new avenue for tourism in north Bengal with industry stakeholders planning to promote the region as an Asian birding destination.
Raj Basu, convener of the Association for Conservation Tourism (ACT) stated that of the 1,200-odd species of birds available in India around 800 species can be spotted in north Bengal.
ACT along with the state government had conceived the first North Bengal Bird Festival in 2021 as a renewal exercise for the industry which was badly hit by the pandemic. The third edition of the festival will be held from March 4 to 10 in the eastern Dooars region like the Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary, Chilapata and Buxa areas.
“Given the different species of birds available in north Bengal, we have decided to project the area as an Asian birding destination. On March 9, we will be signing a memorandum of understanding with a prominent travel mart so that we can promote this birding destination across the globe,” said Basu.
Migratory birds in north Bengal. File picture
The MoU will be signed during the festival. Some of the birds found in the region are the crested eagle, Pallas’s fish eagle, shikra, Finn’s weaver and the lesser pied hornbill. “Delegates from Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh and different parts of Bengal will participate in the upcoming festival,” said Basu.
The third edition of the festival is also seen as a preparation for the many upcoming international festivals. Anjan Das, the secretary general of ACT, said that their initiatives were slowly bearing fruit in the region.
“These days almost 30 per cent of the tourists to the region are enthusiastic bird watchers. We are organising the event to form a birding network through these bird lovers, who love to work to protect and conserve the avian population,” Das said.
Efforts are also on to form bird lovers clubs in the region. According to ACT, while almost 8,000 bird lovers clubs are active across the country, there are only 30 such clubs in the region.
