Flamingos in Najafgarh face threat as garbage piles up in marshes

Gurgaon: The Greater Flamingo, one of the most beautiful of bird species, is facing a serious threat due to waste being dumped in the marshes around the Najafgarh Jheel, to which it has been migrating every year for the last five-six years.
Earlier, flamingos were also sighted at the Sultanpur national park and the Okhla bird sanctuary. But of late, the jheel at Najafgarh has become a home for these birds, which migrate to India from as far away as Europe and Central Asia. And not just the flamingos, the Sarus Crane and several species of stork, too, stop over here in winters.

However, this marshland to Delhi’s west, next door to Gurgaon, might no longer host these graceful birds if dumping continues unchecked. For, a recent study conducted by a group of students from Ambedkar University, Delhi, discovered that food consumed by flamingos near the jheel — including insects, algae, molluscs and crustaceans — has turned toxic due to pollutants entering the water.

The wetland acts as a buffer zone during flash floods and, also, an important groundwater recharge zone. When TOI visited the jheel, it found flamingos struggling to walk in the swampy expanse. Plastic litter could be seen scattered across the marshes, and, shockingly, even industrial waste was found to be contaminating the area. Meanwhile, piles of construction and demolition waste lined the main road in Dharampur village, near the Delhi-Haryana border.

"I was disheartened to see flamingos living amid mounds of waste in the marshland. While birders from across the region flock to Najafgarh Jheel to catch a glimpse of flamingos, it seems the authorities are least bothered to offer a safe habitat to the migratory bird," rues Anindita, a birder and resident of Sector 109 who had complained about the waste to the GMDA and the MCG. Neither has taken any action.

Many fear the birds’ beaks can easily get entangled in the waste matter. These birds dip their bent bills and heads into the water, to suck it in and then filter the food from the water. Delhi birder Ruchika Dalal, a regular visitor to Najafgarh, recounts an unfortunate incident. "Once I saw a pair of painted storks with their young one, finding it difficult to move in the wetland due to heaps of plastic waste — they were also looking weak."

Many feel the only way to protect migratory species is to declare Najafgarh as a notified wetland. According to Pankaj Gupta of the Delhi Bird Foundation, a not-for-profit, such a step can help prevent illegal dumping of waste, and create a refuge for avian species. "The Haryana government promised in NGT to declare Najafagarh a wetland. However, the government is not working in the plan. Unfortunately, most wetlands in Gurgaon have turned into wastelands and the poor birds are becoming victims of this. This will not change unless the government declares Najafagarh as a wetland," bemoans Gupta.

The authorities, all agree, have done precious little to safeguard this habitat. Incidentally, the Haryana government had consented, in 2016, to give a status of wetland to the jheel during the hearing of a case in the National Green Tribunal. The administration also claimed to have started the process, and submitted a ‘brief document’ on the jheel to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Yet, after the Wetland Rules 2017 came into force, which regulation made it a responsibility of the state government to identify and notify wetlands, the plans were put into cold storage, leaving migratory species vulnerable.

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), the most widespread species in the flamingo family, is native to Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Hopefully, winters will continue to regale birdwatchers with the gorgeous pink of these wading birds.