Amid bird flu scare, alert at Harike, other wetlands

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 4

Taking precautionary measures in view of the death of thousands of migratory birds in the Pong Dam lake on the Beas in bordering Himachal Pradesh due to bird flu, the state Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation has sounded an alert in the wetlands of Harike Pattan (Tarn Taran), Keshopur Chhamb (Gurdaspur), Nangal, Rupnagar and others.

No casualty has been reported in this part of the region but the possibility of the disease reaching the wetlands cannot be ruled out.

Nonetheless, teams of the Wildlife Department and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are keeping round-the-clock vigil at the Harike wetland, the confluence of Sutlej and Beas.

At Harike, around 55,000 birds had arrived as per the census between September and December 14, 2020. Besides migratory birds such as goose, duck, pochard, gull, tern and migratory raptor, Harike attracts several local species such as painted stork, rufous-vented prinia, eurasian eagle owl, Jerdon’s babler, etc.

Similarly, the fortnight census conducted till December 30 at Keshopur Chhamb suggested arrival of 21,466 birds there.

Gitanjali Kanwar, WWF specialist in aquatic biodiversity, wetlands and rivers, observed the situation was quite serious. Asked if it could pose threat to other aquatic creatures such as rare Indus dolphin or gharial that survive in waters, she said: “An alarming rise in deaths is concerning and requires a serious follow-up”.

Harike Range Officer Kanwaljit Singh said “weltland mitras”, a group of individuals who provide extra information about the birds or aquatic species and habitat, and local riparian residents had been roped in to keep an eye on any abnormal behaviour of water fowls.

“The idea is to keep as many eyes on suspicious activity as possible. They have been told to report back if fresh bird carcasses are found. Our teams have been keeping a watch 24x7 on a rotational basis. Similarly, veterinarians have been engaged in preventive care of the birds,” he said.