CHITWAN: Chitwan National Park (CNP), top draw-card destination in Nepal, has decided to build artificial ponds in a bid to avert a looming water crisis triggered by climate change, land loss and flood and landslides that have led to decline in water sources in the recent years.

According to CNP Assistant Conservation Officer and Information Officer Nurendra Aryal, 18 new artificial ponds project with a budget of Rs16.1 million are in the offing.

New ponds which CNP plans to build will cover an area of more than 1,000 sq ft and will be 1.5 to 2 meters deep. The breadth and width of the new water bodies will be fixed as per the location, informed Aryal.

New water bodies will be created at marshlands in eastern regions of the park as the area has relatively few reservoirs, he added.

Apart from creating new water reservoirs for wildlife, officials also plan to manage the existing ones. CNP plans to rid existing water bodies of aquatic weed that have heavily infested the lakes and ponds and to remove mud piles.

According to CNP Chief Conservation Officer Bed Kumar Dhakal, the park has decided to build additional artificial ponds in line with the need of increasing population of wildlife including tigers, rhinoceros, elephants and crocodiles.

Apart from quenching thirst, tigers swim in CNP ponds while rhinoceros and elephants play in the water bodies. Moreover, other animals, birds and crocodiles depend heavily on such reservoirs.

However, at present, animals and birds in the region are forced to rely on existing water sources that are scarce in numbers.

At present, the CNP spread over an area of 952.6 sq km has 63 ponds and lakes in its vicinity.