Amritsar, June 4: The team surveying the fallout of the Beas overspill on Sunday located groups of migratory birds in different zones of Harike wetland, where the Sutlej and Beas merge.
In the wake of heavy fish mortality in the Beas due to the recent spill of molasses, the fresh cause of concern is that as most of these birds eat only fish, they may not get their diet and prefer changing their destination.
Birds like comb duck, lesser whistling duck, whiskered tern, river tern, painted stork, woolly necked stork, egrets, spot-billed duck, sand plovers, etc.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has already declared many bird species, especially the painted stork and the woolly necked stork, as rare and endangered ones. Hence, their survival holds utmost importance.
On the other hand, due to tedious official formalities, the Fisheries Department’s plan to restock the fish remains on paper only. As many as eight to 10 varieties of fish, including catfish and common carp, had died because of low level of oxygen in the river causing a long-term damage to fish biodiversity.
Officials said though some varieties of fish seed, available with the government-run local fish farms, could be transplanted instantly, a nod from the government was being awaited.
World Wildlife Fund’s field researcher Gitanjali Kanwar said normally, lakhs of winged guests from Siberia, Russia, Kazakhstan and other low-temperature regions start arriving at the Harike in the first week of November yet a few of them migrate in the summer too. They were under close watch for any unusual behaviour.
“These are known as summer migratory birds. They come in a few thousand numbers. The main problem will arise in November when the full lot of winter migratory birds converges here. The fish stocking has to be done as soon as possible. Unlike the lesser whistling ducks, which also eat underwater vegetation, the majority of birds survive on fish only. It will be problematic if they get don’t get their food,” she said.
Punjab chief wildlife warden Kuldeep Kumar said with water being released from the Ravi and Pong Dam, most of the small fish must have flown in by default, which could serve as food for the birds. “Yet, the scarcity of fish food for birds is anticipated. We are worried about hosting the full lot of migratory birds in November. We are in touch with the Fisheries Department to restock the small fish at the earliest,” he said.
Inputs from The Tribune
