Surrounded by photojournalists jostling to get a perfect click, Forest Department officials, enthusiastic locals and birders, the rescued black-necked stork was released at the Sultanpur National Park here on Friday.
The bird was rescued at Najafgarh Jheel on Wednesday by the Haryana Wildlife Department after a rubber ring got stuck around its beak.
A yellow ring with “K16” written on it has been put around the stork’s leg to help track its movements. Coding and ringing of birds in India is done by the Bombay Natural History Society.
Jittery due to the crowd and commotion, the bird kept sitting on the grass even after a Forest Department official took away the makeshift cage in which it had been kept for the past two days since its rescue.
Even Haryana Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh prodding the bird to “persuade” it to fly did not work. Eventually, the stork was carried away from the crowd and left in the bushes. Ten minutes later, it got up and walked deep inside the park.
Forest Department officials, Gadoli Khurd resident Anil Gandas and Jhajjar resident Sonu Dalal, and others involved in the rescue operation were felicitated by the Minister. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Haryana) Anil Kumar Hooda was also present.
Pankaj Gupta of the Delhi Bird Foundation told the Minister how photographer Manoj Nayar had accidentally clicked a picture of the stork at Basai wetland on June 7. While processing the pictures in the evening, he discovered a ring stuck around its beak.
The news spread and Forest Department officials were informed. A frantic search for the bird began and many methods, including camouflage, drone and bamboo traps, were used to catch it. A rescue team finally chased the stork for two km near Najafgarh Jheel and caught it.
Mr. Gupta, several birders and environmentalists also demanded that several acres of land in Basai, which is frequented by birds throughout the year, be declared a wetland. He claimed that the land remains inundated with water even during peak summer and visits by more than 280 bird species there have been recorded.
Mr. Hooda and several Forest Department officials visited Basai wetland later and assured the birders that they would take up the matter with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, which owns a major portion of the land.