A green oasis amid noisy bleat of horns

Chennai: Like most arterial roads in the city, the stretch of Dr DGS Dinakaran Salai a.k.a Greenways Road in RA Puram gets choked with bumper-to-bumper traffic in the evenings as home-bound traffic vies with MTC buses to claim every inch of road space available.Barely a few hundred feet away from the blaring horns, within the vast expanse of the Adyar Eco Park, a jackal meanders along the banks of the Adyar Estuary, searching for mud crabs. Having eaten its fill, it disappears into the thickets, a regenerated forest actually, in the heart of the city.

Staff employed at this 58-acre eco restoration project were jubilant to spot a jackal early this year, proof enough that they were headed in the right direction. The area used to be a garbage dump and giant sewage pit before this ambitious project of bio-remediation and regeneration of native vegetation along the Adyar Estuary and surrounding wetlands was taken up in 2007. The sewage flow was stopped, the debris cleaned and  officials of the Chennai River Restoration Trust (CRRT) conducted a benchmark survey of the various species present at the park.

“In that first survey, we identified 141 different species, including commonly found fish, birds, insects, reptiles and mammals. After seven years, during our most recent survey done in 2013-2014, the number of species has risen to 239,” said a senior CRRT official. The park is now home to at least 100 species of birds, 15 mammals, 19 reptiles, 10 amphibians and several dozen species of insects, besides 55 species of butterfly.

Until recently, the park, formerly known as Adyar Poonga, was closed to the general public, open only to school and college students for guided educational tours. It is now open for a guided tour on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 20 people at a time.   “In May 2011, the first pelican landed on our waterfront on a mound located right in the middle of the backwaters. It was moment to cherish for all of us here,” says ornithologist Ms N. Gomathi. “Within a few days, the lone Spot Billed Pelican was joined by three or four more.”

Until then, the park management had to engage private parties to clear excess fish from the backwaters as their numbers had multiplied drastically. But with the arrival of the first batch of Spot Billed Pelicans, there was never a problem of there being too many fish. Soon, the number of pelicans grew to 20, the birds spending a longer time at the Poonga as there was enough food. They have been steady visitors since June 2012 after 200 came to the wetland. “A few have also become residents as this wetland never goes dry,” she says.

The Pelicans apart, the number of darters, night herons, little cormorants and various other aquatic birds has also grown. “Many of the birds even brood for a second season here,” says Ms Gomathi, pointing at a pair of Spot Billed Ducks of which there was only one pair in 2011, the numbers having  increased fourfold over the past three years. “Many of the chicks have migrated and are expected to come back to us during the breeding season,” Gomathi says.

Over the years, the Adyar Poonga has become a seasonal home to painted storks, purple herons, five different species of kingfisher, including the Black Capped Fisher, Yellow and Black Bitterns, and even a handful of Forest Wagtails, Indian Pittas and Paradise Flycatchers whose attractive long-tail feathers enthrall lucky visitors who manage to spot them.

While planting the green cover, the park managers took care  to plant mostly mangroves and mangrove associated species near the waterfront, which are currently thriving, and tropical dry evergreen forest species in the surrounding areas. When the restoration effort began, the biologists planted 177 different plant species, native to this region. Several new species of plants were also introduced by the migratory birds that would bring seeds of a diverse range of flora from different parts of the country and deposit them here through their droppings.
 

With most shrubs and trees having grown tall providing a perfect canopy for visitors as they stroll along the stone pathways, the green cover has also attracted a diverse range of insects that have become fodder for several terrestrial birds such as the Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Green Leaf Warbler and even the Orange Headed Thrush that now visit the Poonga.

On quiet afternoons, it is not uncommon for visitors to spot a rat snake slither across the pathway or a mongoose scurry into the bushes. “The reptile population has been thriving here. While the increased snake population has been healthy, the corresponding increase in mongoose and other mammals keep them under check,” says Ms Gomathi. We are now at the Karpagam Bridge on the last leg of this wilderness walk. Visitors are allowed only up to that point of the walkway: beyond it, mangroves flourish.

She explains what lay behind the success of the project. “When the water remained fresh through the year, fish  thrived. The fish attracted the birds that built nests and laid eggs in and around the wetland. The eggs attracted the reptiles and amphibians, which, in turn, led to more terrestrial birds and the larger mammals. So protecting the water is a priority. As long as water is clean, any forest will thrive.”

With the first phase of the project reaching completion, work is under way to clear debris from the mouth of the estuary as part of the second. More mangroves would then be planted along the banks,  the restoration effort aiming to be completed by the end of 2015. “We are also in the final stages of preparing detailed plans for Phase III which involves cleaning of the entire stretch of the Adyar River from its source,” says a senior official of CRRT.

The Adyar Eco Restoration Project is one of the few to have progressed, undeterred by the change in government. “We are cautious about every step we take in this project as the environment is fragile. We have therefore decided not to throw it open to the public. There is still a long way forward before this forest regenerates fully. Until then, it needs to be protected,” the official says.

The park closes at 5 pm. As staff leave for the day, a crow pheasant whistles from somewhere inside the bushes. The throbbing call of the large, dark bird with bright, brown wings is reciprocated by a resonant whistle from the other side of the water body.A mud wasp is busy transporting a dead caterpillar into a hole in the loose sand in between the stone pathway. A cast of crabs search for prey near the banks of the backwaters, and somewhere in the bushes, a jackal is waiting for the right moment to pounce on them.