MUMBAI: With work on the Mumbai
Trans-Harbour Link (
MTHL) having taken off, the state government issued a gazette notification formally notifying 16.9 sq kms as the
Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
The flamingo sanctuary is spread on the western side of Thane creek across Mulund (143 ha), Bhandup (95 ha), Kanjurmarg (265 ha), Vikhroli (257 ha) and Mandale (31 ha). It will be under the Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit. It was proposed as one of the mitigation measures for the MTHL.
The site hosts nearly 40,000 flamingos for nearly six months every year, including the Greater and Lesser flamingos. Besides flamingos, the creek is the wintering refuge for many species of migratory birds, including large number of Pied Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Common Redshanks, stints and sand plovers.
The Bombay Natural History Society had proposed extending the sanctuary to the Mahul-Sewri mudflats, but so far this proposal has not been accepted by the government. The NGO had warned that the construction of MTHL would adversely impact the mudflats. The arrival of flamingos at Sewri was delayed by six months this year.
The government has allowed right of way for construction, operation and maintenance of transmissions lines of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) and Tata Power in the sanctuary.
FILE: Thane Creek hosts a rich diversity of birds, flamingos being the most charismatic ones. TOI Photo