Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a sanctuary located in the Churu district of Northwestern

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, in the Shekhawati region of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is known for

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the sh ...

s and is also home to a variety of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

. The sanctuary is 210 km from

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert and situated on the road from Ratangarh to Sujangarh. The Tal Chhapar sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District. It lies on the Nokha- Sujangarh state highway and at a distance of 85 km from Churu and about 132 km from

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

. The nearest railway station is Chappar, on the Degana-Churu-Rewari line of North Western Railways. The nearest airport is Jaipur which is 215 km from Chappar. Tal Chhapar is a refuge of the

Geography and geology

The sanctuary is named after Chhapar village which is located at 27°-50' North and 74°-25' East. It is a flat saline depression locally known as a "tal" that has a unique

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

in the heart of the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert (), also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of in India and Pakistan. It is the world's 18th-largest desert, and the world's 9th-large ...

. Perched at a height of 302 meters (990 feet) above sea level. Tal Chhaper Sanctuary, with almost flat tract and interspersed shallow low-lying areas, has open grassland with scattered ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' and '' Prosopis'' trees which give it an appearance of a typical

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. The word "tal" means pond or ‘talab’ in Hindi. The rain water flows through shallow low-lying areas and collect in the small seasonal water ponds. The geology of the zone is obscured by the wind blown over-burden. Some small hillocks and exposed rocks of slate and quartzite are found in the western side of the sanctuary. The area between hillocks and the sanctuary constitutes the watershed area of the sanctuary. The whole sanctuary used to be flooded by water during the heavy rains but with salt mining going on in the watershed, hardly any rain falling on the hillocks reaches the sanctuary. Nearby villages are Jogalia, Jaitasar, Bidasar.

Flora and fauna

The forest of this region falls under major group "Tropical Forest" as per classifications of Indian forests by Champion & Seth. The forest of sanctuary area again falls under the group "Topical Thorn Forest" and subgroup 6B/C "Desert Thorn Forests". The sanctuary area is mostly covered by grasses with a very few trees. It lies on the passageway of many migratory birds such as harriers. These birds pass through this area during September. Birds commonly seen in the sanctuary are harriers, eastern imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short-toed eagle, sparrow, and little green bee-eaters, black ibis and

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and Northeast China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Birds f ...

s, which stay till March. Skylarks,

crested lark The crested lark (''Galerida cristata'') is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and North Africa, northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a Vagrancy (biology), vagrant in Great Britain. Taxonomy and ...

s, ring doves, and brown doves are seen throughout the year. Tal Chappar Sanctuary comes alive with the chirping of various migratory birds including Montagu's harrier,

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are bird of prey, birds of prey of the harrier (bird), harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized Bird of prey, raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. ...

, pale harrier, imperial eagle, tawny eagle, short toed eagle, sparrowhawk, skylark, crested lark, ring drove, brown dove, blue jay, southern grey shrike, Indian spotted creeper, green bee eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes. Southern_Grey_Shrike

In the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, a special type of grass is found. This grass is called ''Mothiya'' locally. The word "Mothiya" comes from the word "Moti" or from the Hindi word for pearl. The shape of the seed of this grass is like very fine round shaped pearls. Mothiya has a very sweet taste. People enjoy eating it, but it is found in very small quantities. Production is only a few kilograms every season. Mothiya is also food for blackbucks and birds, which dig it from the earth with their starks.

Climate

This region is characterized by a distinct winter (from October to February), summer (March to June) and monsoon (July to September). The zone has a dry climate with a large variation in temperature, wind blows south – west during summer. In May and June winds become very hot and that is called "loo" The maximum temperature reaches up to in June and the minimum temperature falls to in December – January. The Tal Chhapar Zone comes under the principal arid zone of the country. Rainfall in this region is highly erratic. There is a large variation in mean annual rainfall in this region. The average rainfall in this region ranges between 300 and 450 mm.

Facilities

There is a rest house situated in the sanctuary area and being maintained by the forest department having six rooms of accommodation, four of which are AC rooms. It also has a basic dining facility at a nominal charge. This rest house come under the control of Deputy Conservator of forest, Churu. Anyone can contact for accommodation to DCF, Churu. Chhapar – Sujangarh state highway divides the sanctuary area into two parts. In the sanctuary there are Kacha tracks which are used for inspection, patrolling & viewing the fauna of the sanctuary.

News

In February 2006, Tal Chhaper was included in the itinerary of the "Heritage on Wheel" train. Now tourists have the opportunity to visit the sanctuary twice in a week by train. In March 2006, Rs. 20 million and 8.2 million budget announced by Hon'ble C.M. in her budget speech 2006–07 for the development of Tal Chhapar Sanctuary, for 2006–07 to 2010–11 (a five-year plan). The forest department has improved the grassland ecosystem of Tal Chhapar by undertaking some soil and water conservation works. Tal Chhaper Sanctuary was included in the tourism map of Rajasthan tourism. Hon’ble CM has announced a project in the budget speech 2006–07 for the development of the sanctuary as an ecotourism and wildlife tourism spot. The project includes a five-year action plan amounting to Rs. 28.2 million for integrated development of the sanctuary. Budget provision for Rs. 11.0 million in the current financial year has been sanctioned. A high-level committee headed by Principal Secretary, Forest and comprising the famous architect Ms. Revathi Kamath, fashion designer of international fame Ms. Bibi Russel, commissioner of Tourism and Chief wildlife warden visited the sanctuary to make a comprehensive and integrated development action plan. Rajendra Dadhich president Rajasthan Vikas Parisad, Mumbai also visited. The sanctuary has become an important destination for the birders, who visit in large numbers during winters.

References

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External links

Churu district
* Tal Chhapar on Rajasthan Tourism
Tal Chapar Wildlife on Flickr
1966 establishments in Rajasthan Protected areas established in 1966 Tourist attractions in Churu district Wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan