Karmali station gears up for winged visitors

Representational picture

In a first at a railway station in the country, Karmali station on the Konkan Railway in Goa, will soon get an interpretation centre-cum-bird observatory deck. The station that lies next to Karmali lake (Carambolim lake), is frequented by migratory birds.

The observation deck and interpretation centre by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) will take a year to see the light of the day and is being set up at a cost of Rs 1.62 crore.

Sources said the Konkan Railway Corporation and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Goa, have been working on plans to lay down a road map to make the best of Karmali lake by the station.

Various species of fruit-bearing plants have been planted along the embankment of the lake and the interpretation centre and a bird observatory deck will be an added attraction for tourists. An interpretation centre is a place that will educate tourists about the different species of resident and migratory birds that visit the park.

For nesting and roosting of migratory birds, Konkan Railway has made three mounds of size 20m X 20m and 5m height in the lake, and trees and other plants are being planted on them. Fruit bearing trees like badam, mango, chikku, cashew etc are also being planted alongside the newly constructed embankment along the lake. Observers said certain birds here are seen more during the winter months. Among these are flamingos that were seen wintering here in December 2012. The flamingos usually winter in Mumbai and the Rann of Kutch, but Karmali lake is also one of their regular stops during migration.

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