Sambhar : In the quieter western parts of the Sambhar Lake, the flamingoes have landed, like they do every winter. And to ensure their return, the Rajasthan state forest department has drafted a new policy, to preserve India's largest salt water lake.Standing on the periphery of the lake, anyone on the lookout for the birds will have to look very hard. They have to look beyong thousands of salt manufacturing untis, happily sinking bore wells and making salt while the sun shines. In the search for birds, it is hard to miss the people, many encroaching into the dry lake bed.

For years, bird watchers and the forest department have also watched in horror. They have watched the state government  carve out land along the lake bed and distribute it and in the last five years, they have seen salt manufacturers take over.

"That the lake is an international acclaimed wetland site has been completely forgotten," says an official. "We  needed to remind people and protect the place. Under the Environment Protection Act, the draft proposes to do that, banning all activity within two kilometres of the lake's periphery."

The warning signs were spotted in 1999, when environmentalist Harkirat Singh Sangha prepared a status report for the government.

This saline lake covers an area of 190 sq. kms. and is straddled by three districts, Jaipur, Nagaur and Ajmer. While the "natural, undisturbed, continuous sheet of water' lies in the west, about 80 sq. kms of the east is used for extraction of salt.

Well, it's about time to get the natural inhabitants back and keep the encroachers away. And maybe a sense and action of wildlife protection in the region by the many private tourism players in this area may be a good way to fight the encroachers  and get the natural beauty of the Lake back.