Baghamari

Bhitarkanika is formed from two Odia words ‘Bhitar’ meaning interior and ‘Kanika’ meaning that which is extraordinarily beautiful. The Bhitarkanika Mangroves were Zamindari forests until 1952, when the government of Odisha abolished the Zamindari system and put the Zamindari forests in the control of the State Forest Department. But next 10-15 years saw heavy influx of outsiders and this took a heavy toll of the mangrove forests. Large scale encroachment on forest land took place due to expansion of agriculture. In 1975, an area of 672 sq. km was declared as the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary vide notification No.6958/FF AH Dtd. 22.04.1975. It is in this period when real wildlife management started. Dr. Bustard, Chief Technical Advisor to Government of India from UNDP / FAO initiated famous Crocodile Conservation Project and also reported mass nesting of olive ridley sea-turtles on the Gahirmatha coast. The Gahirmatha (Marine) Wildlife Sanctuary, which bounds the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary to the east, was created in September 1997 and encompasses Gahirmatha Beach and an adjacent portion of the Bay of Bengal. An area of 145 sq. km, the core area of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary was declared as Bhitarkanika National Park vide Notification No.19686/F & E dated 16.9.1998 of Forests & Environment Department, Govt. of Odisha. It has much significance with regard to ecological geomorphological and biological background which includes mangrove forests, rivers, creeks, estuaries, back water, accreted land and mud flats. During 2002 the Bhitarkanika mangroves having an area of 2672 sq-km. been declared as a Ramsar site being a wetland of international importance. It lies in the north eastern coast of Odisha in between 20° 30’ to 20° 50’N latitude and 86°30’to 87°06’E longitude in Kendrapara district. It is mainly confined to the deltaic regions of river Brahmani and Baitarani.

Advisors

Dr. Minati Mahapatra, Jogabyasa Bhoi,Prof. Sadanand Sahoo,Prashant Bhuyan,Madhusudan Mishra,Rosalin Pattsani,Pushpanjali Mishra,

Sangram Dhar,Ajay Nanda,N.A. Shah Ansari,Dr. Dillip Srichandan,Dr. Piyush Rout,Sushanta Khuntia

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