• The water quality of Deepor Beel, Assam’s only Ramsar Site, has deteriorated sharply, with elephants avoiding large sections of the wetland due to pollution. 
• Environmental experts warn of severe biodiversity loss if urgent restoration measures are not taken.

About Deepor Beel

• Deepor Beel, a freshwater ox-bow lake formed by the Brahmaputra, is one of Assam’s most ecologically important wetlands, spanning 4,014 hectares in southwestern Guwahati. 
• It holds multiple conservation recognitions—Wildlife Sanctuary (1989), Ramsar Site (2002), Important Bird Area (2004), and Eco-Sensitive Zone (2021).
• Biodiversity hosted by Deepor Beel: 435 plants; 219 algae; 24 dragonflies, 15 damselflies; 31 aquatic insects; 14 Protozoas; 78 birds.
• According to environmentalists, the eastern portion of the wetland has become severely polluted due to inflow from the Bharalu and Bahini rivers and runoff from a nearby municipal dumping ground.
  • The contamination is so intense that elephant herds from Rani and Gorbhanga forests have stopped drinking from the eastern side for the last three years.
• It is highlighted that nearly 80% of aquatic vegetation has vanished, including species such as:
  • Fox nut, singori, Water lily,  Water spinach, Nisala khar and Potol khar (key food for migratory birds and fish), Dol grass, a preferred elephant fodder
• This decline threatens both migratory birds and large mammals. Deepor Beel once hosted hundreds of birds; now, food scarcity and water toxicity may disrupt winter migrations.

Administrative Concerns and Scientific Gaps

• The Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB) claims recent water tests are within norms, but experts contest this, arguing visual degradation and vegetation loss indicate deeper ecological stress. 
• A detailed scientific assessment by the wetland authority has been recommended to understand seasonal pollution fluctuations.

Core Issues Needing Immediate Action

• Boundary demarcation of the wetland
• Restoration of natural hydrology, as Deepor Beel is losing connectivity with small rivers such as Kalmoni, Khonajan, Basistha (via Mora Bharalu)
• Re-alignment of the railway line cutting across elephant movement paths
• Treatment of runoff from the dumping ground
• Control of urban wastewater

Other Ramsar Sites in the Northeast 

• Loktak Lake – Manipur
• Rudrasagar- Tripura
• Pala – Mizoram

Exam Hook – Prelims Question

Deepor Beel, recently in news due to ecological degradation, is best described as:
(a) A floodplain of Bharolu River
(b) A freshwater ox-bow lake of Brahmaputra
(c) A man-made reservoir
(d) A tidal wetland

Answer: (a)

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