An internationally known wetland reserve south of the Indian capital failed to get the usual flocks of rare migratory birds this winter because of a severe water shortage, a report said Sunday. The world-famous Keoladeo National Park in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan state has attracted only a handful of birds this year, after the area received little rainfall this summer and efforts to pump groundwater failed, officials said.
"The flamingos, pintails, painted stork and pelicans which come in flocks are all missing," the park's director Sunayan Sharma was quoted saying by the Indian Express newspaper.
Located about 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of New Delhi, the park attracts more than 300 species of birds, including the highly endangered Siberian crane, from as far away as Afghanistan, Tibet and Russia every winter.
"This time the numbers are negligible. There are rarely any waterbirds in the park," Sharma said.
The Bharatpur district, where the park is located, normally gets an average rainfall of about 675 millimetres (27 inches), but recorded minimal summer monsoon rains this year, officials said.
"The dearth of water has affected the vegetation, and that's why the birds have gone to other places," said R.N. Mehrotra, the chief wildlife warden of the desert state of Rajasthan.
