The pristine silence that envelopes Nal Sarovar, #Gujarat, #India, one of India’s important bird sanctuaries 64 km from #Ahmadabad, is often punctured after sundown by muffled thuds. What may seem like just another bird flapping around is more likely to be a flamingo being clubbed to death by a villager for dinner.
The 120 sq km lake is home to the widest range of #migratory birds in winter, many of them flying in from Central Asia, Europe and Siberia to escape the severe cold. But it has also seen unabated poaching in recent years, especially after monsoon, when the foreign visitors start arriving. Last year, the forest department recovered 1055 nets, used to trap the birds.
Every night villagers staying near the lake, venture into the bird sanctuary, armed with small wooden clubs, otherwise used to wash clothes. A swift blow to the head of a bird does the job effectively.
Sources in the forest department say, “We have not been able to make any arrests for poaching. We only find nets strung across tall bamboo sticks to trap the birds as they fly down to the lake. Who places the nets has never been investigated.”
Forest officials admit that little is done to protect even those birds which are rescued and are often left to die. An official said many village communities consider these birds’ delicacies. However, poachers rarely do business in the birds and are used only for community feasts. Though, outsiders are not invited to these feasts. A small dead flamingo fetches not more than Rs50 while a full grown one can cost anywhere between Rs50 and Rs75.
The modus operandi is simple: A net is put up like a curtain on two poles at spots where birds swoop down on the surface of the lake. Once the bird is trapped, its wings are clipped and legs broken so that it can’t escape. Even if these birds are rescued, it’s of no use. Clubbing the birds at night is the other method.
RV Asari, principal chief Conservator of Forests says, “Yes we have recovered nets used for preaching. This is an old method. It was rampant in the past, but we have managed to curb it with increased patrolling.”
Activists and experts, however, disagree Dr Bakul Trivedi, an ornithologist who has researched the birds of Nal Sarovar, says, “Given the frequency with which nets are found, it seems obvious poaching is only growing in the sanctuary. Ironically, against the sanctioned strength of 14, there are only nine officials left to man Nal Sarovar despite its vast expanse.”
Admitting that the staff is less, a senior forest department official said Nal Sarovar is so large, it is spread over two districts of Gujarat — Ahmadabad and Surendranagar. There is nothing the 14 foresters can do against the villagers who poach with impunity.
Courtesy:- Sunday Times Of India, Ahmadabad, Nov. 7, 2010.
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