Uttar Pradesh encourages eco-tourism as Agra hosts world's largest bird festival

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Dec. 4 (ANI): In order to give a boost to eco-tourism in Uttar Pradesh and to declare it a prominent bird watching destination, Chambal Safari in the Bah tehsil of Agra district is holding the world's largest bird festival. The festival began on December 2 and will end today. It's for the second time that Bah has been selected as the host city for the bird festival. The festival not only concentrates on the discussion of state's extinct bird species, but also on their conservation. The festival also organised an exhibition with pictures of 350 birds. About 40 experts from 26 countries and more than 100 Indian experts have been visiting not only the Chambal Safari, but also Sur Sarovar, Samaan, Patna Bird Sanctuary and Dudhva. About 200 children from different schools of Agra, Etawah and Mainpuri are participating in the festival. The students will be encouraged to express their concern and views on the extinction of valuable species via an art show. One of the visitors to the festival, Harsh, from Bharatpur said, "I feel elated after coming here. I will be taking part in all the activities that are going to be held. It also feels good to see children being encouraged to take part in the festival." "The festival has been organised to encourage bird conservation and eco-tourism in a backward area of the state. We hope that something substantive will be produced out of this three-day festival, strengthening the idea of wildlife conservation and eco-tourism," said R.P. Singh, bird festival organiser. Talking about the Chambal Safari, the organiser said, "It is one of the world's best birding areas and it holds same importance as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary." The festival also focuses on the importance of holding more such festivals in order to encourage bird conservation. The organisers of the festival said that it is a commendable initiative taken by the state government and by looking at its success in 2015 and this year as well it will be celebrated every year in the same way. (ANI)