Odisha Government Plans To Host National Bird Festival

The largest brackish water lake in Asia, the Chilika lake in Odisha will soon be on the world tourism map as the government plans to host the National Bird festival in January 2018. Not many people are aware of the Chilika lake although it abounds in biodiversity.This festival will attract tourists, bird watchers, wildlife photographers, painters and researchers from across the globe to this place. Tourism minister Ashok Kumar Panda said that this festival will not only make this spot popular among tourists but will also help in boosting the local economy. The festival will be jointly organized by the tourism department and the forest and environment department. The festival will be a bird watcher’s paradise as the lake attracts a majority of migratory birds especially at Nalabana and Mangalajodi which will be the major venue of the festival. Forest secretary Suresh Mohapatra said the infrastructure in these places will be reviewed and improved to accommodate the visitors. According to official sources, there will be various activities like photo exhibition, art and painting camps, photography workshops, bird watching sessions and many more activities during the festival. According to the bird census report, in 2016-17 more than nine lakh birds of 106 varieties had come to Chilika and every year the number is growing.