The forest department is gearing up to improve facilities at the Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve, which serves as the exclusive habitat of swamp deer in Uttarakhand, with the aim of promoting eco-tourism.
Swamp deer, categorized as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, holds exceptional importance in this marshy locale situated in the Haridwar district. Referring to this, Head of the Uttarakhand Forest Department Anup Malik added that their primary focus is to enhance the wetlands by nurturing the grasslands for the swamp deer. He further added that they are initiating day tours to permit visitors to enter the reserve in their vehicles upon payment of an entry fee, the income of which will be directed toward maintaining the reserve.
Jhilmil is renowned for its numerous seasonal and perennial swamps formed by river channels, and also serves as home to spotted deer, barasingha, elephants, cheetal, and leopards. If reports are to go by, the wetland has welcomed approximately 18,000 visitors in the last decade. Spread across 37 sq km in Haridwar, Jhilmil wetland was among the first sites in India to receive conservation reserve status in 2005.
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