Forest Dept to deploy guards at Marine Drive, Gateway of India to stop people from feeding farsan to seagulls

A man feeds birds gaathiya at Marine Drive. File pic

Farsan and gaathiya might be delicious snacks, but not for another species. To prevent people from feeding farsan and gathiya to seagulls which come in large numbers to Mumbai during winter, the Mangroves Cell of the Forest Department has decided to deploy guards along Marine Drive and the Gateway of India. The eight guards will stop them from feeding the gulls and create awareness about the harm to the birds by giving them the snacks.

Not a good practice, say environmental activists. File pic/Rane Ashish

Wildlife lovers and environmental activists have been raising concerns about citizens feeding unhealthy snacks to seagulls at Marine Drive and the Gateway of India. mid-day has also reported this in the past. Talking to mid-day, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) and Head of Mangroves Cell, Virendra Tiwari said, "We don't want the people coming for morning walks to Marine Drive and Gateway of India to feed the seagulls which come to Mumbai in large numbers during winter. So we will deploy security guards at both the locations between 6 am and 11 am. They will create awareness and stop people from feeding the birds."

Officials said the security guards will be deployed from December 25 to January 9. Further deployment will be decided later. But this issue is not just restricted to Marine Drive and the Gateway of India, but a similar practice has been going on in Mira-Bhayander too, and the Mangroves Cell in the past has been creating awareness to not feed the seagulls and had installed boards regarding this.

Pawan Sharma from NGO RAWW said, "We appreciate this move of the Forest Department and hope that the patrolling and vigilance continues. We will extend all possible support and cooperation to reach out to the public to make them aware and understand the seriousness of the matter."