On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla launched a booklet titled “The Water Birds of Loktak Lake” and the Loktak Water Bird Census Report 2025 on Sunday. The Loktak Development Authority (LDA) hosted the event at Sendra Lake Front, Loktak Lake, Bishnupur District, with the global theme “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future.” The book sheds light on Loktak Lake’s bird diversity and the need of protecting its wetland ecosystems.
According to the governor, wetlands are essential for maintaining livelihoods, reducing the effects of climate change, and supporting a variety of plants and animals. The delicate ecology of Loktak Lake is being threatened by deforestation, illicit mining, and widespread poppy growing in the watershed and hill regions, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Anurag Bajpai. In his speech, Manipur Public Works Department Minister Govindas Konthoujam emphasized the need of shared responsibility for Loktak Lake conservation.
He said that the Loktak Hydroelectric Project had seriously harmed the ecosystem of the lake and held NHPC responsible for the ecological disturbances it had produced. The governor, the minister, the chairman of the LDA, and other dignitaries dropped fish fingerlings into the lake as part of the conservation effort in order to support residents who depend on fishing, restore aquatic biodiversity, and increase the number of fish.
