CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday gave the vast wetlands along Suseendram, Therur and Manakudikayal in Kanyakumari district the status of a bird sanctuary. Announcing that that they would be developed as a tourist spot, she allocated Rs 1.61 crore for the task.The Kumari wetland is a bio-diversity zone. Of the 90 species of birds that visit it, 50 are from the Arctic. Besides, 25,000 wetland birds visit the place. Out of 94 wetlands identified in India, three are in Tamil Nadu. These are Point Calimere, Kazhuveli and Pallikaranai. Major activities involved in wetland management are habitat improvement, wildlife protection, eco-development activities around wetlands, bio-upgradation, awareness creation, research, monitoring and nature education.Wetland systems directly or indirectly support lakhs of people, providing goods and services to them by checking floods, preventing coastal erosion, mitigating the effects of natural disasters like cyclones and tidal waves, storing rainwater, recharging ground water aquifers, providing nesting ground for many wading birds and water fowls, providing food and shelter for mammals, acting as a carbon sink and helping remove a wide range of pollutants. At present, 1,240 personnel are engaged in protecting wild animals in forest areas and their wages range from Rs 2,126 to Rs 3,500. The CM on Saturday decided to provide uniform payment of Rs 4,000 per month to all of them. The measure will cost an additional expenditure of Rs 2.78 crore.
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