17 birds die in fishing net in Nandur Madhyameshwar
Sumita Sarkar | TNN | Updated: Jan 24, 2019, 09:23 IST
The carcasses of some of the dead birds float in the water at the Nandur Madhyameshwar sanctuary.NASHIK: In an unfortunate incident, 17 birds were caught in a fishing net and died in the Nandur Madhyameshwar bird sanctuary on Tuesday evening. Forest officials registered an offence against unknown people with the forest department.
Fishing is prohibited in the sanctuary premises. According to forest officers, the net must have been laid after dark on Tuesday. The birds that died include an endangered darter, common crane, greater crane, ducks and others.
The proposal for including Nandur Madhyameshwar as a Ramsar site is in the final stage and forest officials are worried that such an incident could affect it adversely. They are doing further investigations into the matter.
“Seventeen birds got entangled in a fishing net and died,” said range forest officer BR Dhakare.
He said that among the 17 birds there was one common crane, one common coot, nine little cormorants, three greater cormorants, one darter (near threatened species) and some ducks.
“Fishing is restricted but the fishermen enter during the nights and lay the nets. We will tighten security during nights now. The net must have been laid on Tuesday after dark. We did the sting operation at 7am on Wednesday. Due to sinking sand and darkness, we could not go there at night,” said Dhakare.
Forest officials said that they could not identify the fishermen involved but would keep watch on people going there after dark and will file an offence against them with the forest department.
“At present, we have filed an offence against unknown people. Our investigation is going on,” said Dhakare.
The forest department has its own law and order and court. They conduct the panchanama, file the offence as well as conduct a hearing.
Lamenting the incident, Dhakare said, “It is very unfortunate. We are at the last stage of the proposal for being included as a Ramsar site. Many birds visited the sanctuary this year. This incident has created stigma about the sanctuary.”
The forest department called the sarpanch of nearby Manjargaon and asked him to make the tribals aware of the issue at hand.
“The water level has reduced and so birds go to the area where there is water. The net is also laid at the same place. The birds that dive into the water to feed themselves got entangled. If a fish gets entangled in the net, the birds see them and dive, however, the birds cannot see the net,” said Pramod Darade, a local resident and authorized guide of the Nandur Madhyameshwar sanctuary.
He added that the darter is in the red book and is almost at the endangered level as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Many birds were in a rotten condition. Only their bones could be seen and so they could not even be identified,” added Darade.
Fishing is prohibited in the sanctuary premises. According to forest officers, the net must have been laid after dark on Tuesday. The birds that died include an endangered darter, common crane, greater crane, ducks and others.
The proposal for including Nandur Madhyameshwar as a Ramsar site is in the final stage and forest officials are worried that such an incident could affect it adversely. They are doing further investigations into the matter.
“Seventeen birds got entangled in a fishing net and died,” said range forest officer BR Dhakare.
He said that among the 17 birds there was one common crane, one common coot, nine little cormorants, three greater cormorants, one darter (near threatened species) and some ducks.
“Fishing is restricted but the fishermen enter during the nights and lay the nets. We will tighten security during nights now. The net must have been laid on Tuesday after dark. We did the sting operation at 7am on Wednesday. Due to sinking sand and darkness, we could not go there at night,” said Dhakare.
Forest officials said that they could not identify the fishermen involved but would keep watch on people going there after dark and will file an offence against them with the forest department.
“At present, we have filed an offence against unknown people. Our investigation is going on,” said Dhakare.
The forest department has its own law and order and court. They conduct the panchanama, file the offence as well as conduct a hearing.
Lamenting the incident, Dhakare said, “It is very unfortunate. We are at the last stage of the proposal for being included as a Ramsar site. Many birds visited the sanctuary this year. This incident has created stigma about the sanctuary.”
The forest department called the sarpanch of nearby Manjargaon and asked him to make the tribals aware of the issue at hand.
“The water level has reduced and so birds go to the area where there is water. The net is also laid at the same place. The birds that dive into the water to feed themselves got entangled. If a fish gets entangled in the net, the birds see them and dive, however, the birds cannot see the net,” said Pramod Darade, a local resident and authorized guide of the Nandur Madhyameshwar sanctuary.
He added that the darter is in the red book and is almost at the endangered level as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Many birds were in a rotten condition. Only their bones could be seen and so they could not even be identified,” added Darade.
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