Five more flamingos found dead, seven injured in Navi Mumbai

Bird lovers feel the flamingos are getting disoriented and injured due to a lack of food in DPS Lake. Representation Pic/NatConnect

As many as five flamingos were found dead and seven injured around DPS Lake in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, shocking bird lovers and environmentalists. This takes the toll of dead flamingos found in a week to eight.

As morning walkers sounded alerts on WhatsApp groups, bird rescuer Sunpreet Sawardekar and his team from the Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA) swung into action and shifted the injured pink birds to their hospital at Manpada in Thane. The forest department has taken charge of the seven carcasses and dispatched them to Mumbai Veterinary College, Panvel, for a post-mortem examination, Range Forest Officer Sudhir Manjare said. Meanwhile, the NatConnect Foundation has written to the chief minister requesting a high-level inquiry into these incidents and corrective steps to protect the biodiversity of the flamingo city of Navi Mumbai.

NatConnect director B N Kumar recalled that this was the second tragedy involving the avian guests within seven days. Last Friday, three flamingos were found dead and one was injured. Kumar has also taken up the issue with the 141-year-old research body BNHS and alerted the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) commissioner and state mangrove cell. NGO NatConnect was informed by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V S Ramarao that a team will be sent to the site to study the situation and suggest action.

NatConnect pointed out that the DPS Lake, an intertidal wetland, remains dry as the water inlets have been blocked. "One on the southern end of the lake under the road to the Nerul jetty has been buried in the road and this channel must be reopened," he said. Rekha Sankhala from the Save Flamingos & Mangroves forum has also requested the NMMC and CIDCO to reopen water flow to the lake.

Bird lovers feel that the flamingos might be getting disoriented due to the non-availability of food in the dry lake and flying helter-skelter. NatConnect also said that BNHS Deputy Director Dr Rahul Khot expressed shock at the incidents and that flamingos are coming onto the roads. BNHS has been insisting on maintaining the wetlands in Navi Mumbai in proper condition as flamingos fly in here from Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) during high tide.