Govt swings into action in flamingos death case

BHAVNAGAR: The officials who had ignored complaints by nature lovers about hundreds of flamingos being electrocuted daily as they flew into high tension wires swung into action after TOI reported the incident.

Officials of Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) visited the 300-hectare marsh on the outskirts of Bhavnagar on Sunday and camped there throughout the day. ''We have visited the site and carried out video recordings of the incident to ascertain the cause of
the birds' death. We are also getting a post-mortem done to ascertain whether they died of electrocution or some other cause,'' said
N P Maheshwari, superintending engineer, Amreli circle, GETCO.

''It seems that there may be reasons other than electrocution as our sub-stations have not reported as to when the birds hit the wires,'' Maheshwari said. However, members of the Dharmakumarsinhji Nature Conservation Society, which had reported the incident, said the bodies of the flamingoes were found mostly below the wires. They also said the flamingos could be seen falling after hitting the wires.

''If the wires are the reason behind the deaths of the birds, we will find a solution immediately,'' Maheswari said.

The solutions involve coating the wires with an insulator, diverting the line or taking it underground.

According to locals, the situation is made worse by stray dogs who attack these birds, causing the flock to take off in panic and hit the 66KV high tension cables.

''To minimise the casualty, the forest department should at least catch the stray dogs,'' said Harshil Shah, a member of Black Buck Nature Club, Bhavnagar. ''We tried to carry out
a rescue operation but
are unable to save their lives as they are injured badly,'' he said.