Chandigarh,Sanjhi Soch Beauro –
Himachal Pradesh Wildlife officials Dhameta range initially reported four bar-headed geese and one common teal were reported died under mysterious circumstances at Fatehpur area of Pong Dam. But when massive search operation was conducted by the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Himachal Pradesh was conducted it was found that death count has gone up to 1200 migratory birds of various species died. The number of death expected to go up. Subsequently, the samples of the dead Bar-headed geese were sent to Veterinary College, Palampur, Veterinary Laboratory Shahpur and Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar, the carcasses have also been sent to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly for testing to ascertain cause of death. However, the possibilities of poisoning have been rule out as per the post-partum conducted. District Magistrate Kangra Rakesh Kumar Prajapati has ordered to stop all activities in the radius of 1 km and 9 km as alert zone and further suspended all tourism activities under the power vested under section 34 of Disaster Management Act 2005. Maharana Partap Sagar known as Pong Reservoir or Pong Dam which is considered as highest earth fill dam on Beas River in India. In 1994 the Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of India declared it a “Wetland of National Importance” Pong Dam Lake has been declared as Ramsar site in November 2002. All land up to 440 meters in the catchment of the wetland was notified as buffer zone. It is approachable from Sansarpur Terrace and Nagrota Suriyan. This is 250 km from Chandigarh, 110 km from Amritsar, 55 km from Dharamsala and 50 km from Kangra.
Every year lakhs of migratory birds from different places like Central Asia, Afghanistan, China, Magnolia, Siberia and Europe visited this place after crossing Himalayas and elsewhere in India. According to bird count conducted by the department on December 15 about 57,000 birds have already arrived at the site.
In the similar incident In Rajasthan over 18,000 died in Sambhar Lake. Even as the Theme of the conference is finalised, highlighting the ecological significance of migratory wildlife, Rajasthan is going through an unprecedented migratory bird crisis. In the last ten days, over 18,000 migratory birds have reportedly died in an around Rajasthan’s Sambhar Lake and cause of death was Avian botulism. “Avian botulism is the cause of the death of domestic and migratory birds in the Sambhar Lake. This has been confirmed by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute of Bareilly.
