The islets of Ranganathittu bird sanctuary in the Cauvery, near Srirangapatna, have remained all-season tourist destinations in the district drawing over three lakh visitors every year.
The bird sanctuary comprises of six islets considered to be highly suitable for avians to breed. The availability of food in plenty in the Cauvery has been the main factor attracting the winged beauties from various countries for the last several centuries.
More than 24 lakh tourists – over 40% of whom are from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala – visited Ranganathittu since 2008-09, statistics from the Forest Department state.
While 1.93 lakh tourists visited Ranganathittu in 2008-09, the number rose to 2.70 lakh in 2009-10. It further rose to 3.25 lakh in 2010–11; 2.97 lakh in 2011-12; 3 lakh in 2012-13; 3.05 lakh in 2013-14; 3.11 lakh in 2014-15 and to 3.01 lakh in 2015-16.
A whopping 3.04 lakh people, including 4,544 foreign nationals, visited the bird sanctuary during 2016-17.
There are many historically, archaeologically and religiously significant tourist destinations in Srirangapatna. The town has numerous temples, war memorials, mosques, tombs and other monuments built during the Tipu-British era and by the Mysuru Royal Family. The riverine island also has many naturally created water spots. Of them, the bird sanctuary has been receiving steady flow of tourists throughout the year.
Development works
Initiatives such as increasing green cover and improving infrastructure facilities have been attracting more tourists, officials at the Forest Department, that maintains the Ranganathittu, said.
The sanctuary is spread on an area of around 40 acres. It was declared as a bird sanctuary in 1940 after ornithologist Salim Ali noticed that Ranganathittu proved to be an ideal nesting ground for birds.
