Even as the authorities went into tizzy and trying to ascertain the cause of the deaths of hundreds of maigratory birds from upper Himalayan region at Sukhsagar in Udaipur , experts were now dismayed that the beautiful ‘Swamphens’, a sort of cousins of the White Breasted water-hen ( a ka Dahuk) would now stop flocking the waterbodies of the area.
PCCF DK Sharma told a news agency that the officials were examining all possible reasons for the death of the migratory birds and the sending the samples of the dead birds to the laboratories to ascertain the cause of the death of the birds while sources said District Disease Investigation Laboratory of Gomati District could not perform the post mortem due to putrefaction that had already set in.
However, now almost everyone in Udaipur believed that the birds had been massacred in a planned manner using some poisonous chemicals by unscrupulous bird poachers. This also led to shock and shame for the citizens of the temple town and many well-meaning citizens of Udaipur also came out in open condemning the incident and many took to their social media handles to express agonies and pain for the killings. The news was also taken seriously in the entire country with several media outlets giving details of the incident.
In the meantime, an animal husbandry department official said, “These birds come here at Sukhasagar every year during this winter season from upper Himalayan region to escape the cold there. This was the phenomenon for the last few years”, said.
“Now, after this year’s massacre the birds are unlikely to fly down here anymore. The birds have some sort of unexplained neuro- transmitting capabilities that help them find the exact routes, resting places and destinations as they flock in from a long, long distance. And the guidance is done collectively. Now after the deaths of so many birds they will not be able to find the route next time and the loss of their so many winged brothers in a particular place will also scare them off. They will not going to take any chance”, he said adding that almost a similar incident had taken place at Lake Choumuhani area some years ago- and after the the migratory birds stopped arriving at Dim Sagar.
In the meantime, forest department launched an awareness campaign in Udaipur asking the people to be sensitive and caring for these winged guests. Their visits are also required for scientific studies to determine the environmental purity, pollution freeness , supportive eco systems etc of the particular region where they come to spend their time during winter.
