1,509 birds rescued and 105 dead during uttarayan festival

AHMEDABAD: At least 1,509 birds were rescued and of these 105 died during the two days of Uttarayan festival across the state. In Ahmedabad alone, till 8pm on Thursday, the forest department received 927 rescue calls and 38 of inured birds rescued died later.

Most of the injured birds were pigeons, kites, owls and vultures. A couple of pelicans and peacocks were also injured.

However, there was a substantial drop in the number of birds injured this year, mainly because of the foggy atmosphere on Wednesday early morning. "Since early morning, there was dense fog which kept kite flyers away from the terrace. The flying began only after 10am which resulted in bringing down the number of casualties. Also, the awareness among kite flyers is growing,'' says R K Patel, assistant conservator of forest.

In Ahmedabad, 927 birds were injured this year, while in 2014 there were 1,007 birds injured and in 2013 about 2,700 birds were injured.

According Patel, around 2,000 volunteers were involved in rescue operation. Officials said that on Wednesday, 229 birds were rescued and on Thursday till 8pm, 698 birds were rescued.