Surha Taal is an oval shaped natural oxbow lake located in the Ballia District (25°51′ N 84°10′E) of Uttar Pradesh. It has an area of 34.32 km² and is located in the Middle Ganga Plains along the margins of the Ganga River. It is a rain-fed lake with high ecological and socio-economic significance. It has a narrow outlet called ‘Kathar Nala’, about 23 km long, which links it with the Ganga River. The area of the lake is highly dynamic with lake expanding to its maximum during monsoon, August–September, every year. Sometimes, the flow of Kathar Nala gets reversed during the high floods in Ganga and Sarayu Rivers, bringing water into the lake. The area has been historically famous for its rich avifaunal diversity, resulting in the declaration of the area as a Bird Sanctuary in 1991.

The lake also supports rich fish fauna with 23 species of Cypriniformes along with 12 species of Siluriformes, three of Symbrachiformes, 13 of Perciformes, three species of Clupeiformes and one each of Tetraodontiformes and Beloniformes. Four exotic species i.e. Cyprinus carpio, Aristichthys nobilis, Hypophthalmicthys molitrix and Ctenopharyngodon idella have also been recorded from the Sanctuary (Singh et al., 2011).

The Sanctuary is under tremendous anthropogenic pressure due to overfishing, weed infestation and drainage of wetland for cultivation and unsustainable exploitation of wetland resources. The area has seen a surge in human population in recent decades and is densely populated like rest of the Gangetic flood plains. The Sanctuary’s catchment has seen encroachment for agriculture.

Surha Taal Wildlife Sanctuary

References:

• Islam, M.Z., and Rahmani, A.R. (2004). Important Bird Areas in India: Priority sites for conservation. Indian Bird conservation network: Bombay History Society and Birdlife International, UK. 1133 pp.
• Samant, J. (2000). Prioritisation of Biological Conservation Sites of Indian wetlands. In: Setting Biodiversity conservation for priorities for India, (eds. S. Singh, A.R.K Shastri, r. Mehtaand V, Uppal). WWF- India, 155-167 pp.
• Singh, A.K., Sarkar, U.K., Abidi, R., & Srivatstava, S.M. (2011). Fish Biodiversity and Invasion Risks of Alien Species in Some Aquatic Bodies under Forest Areas of Uttar Pradesh. National Conference on Forest Biodiversity: Earth’s Living Treasure, 22nd May 2011. Uttar Pradesh State Biodiversity Board.
• Dinerstein, E. (1997). A framework for identifying high priority areas and actions for the conservation of tigers in the wild. World Wildlife Fund-US.