Himachal on guard as 1,400 birds found dead

SHIMLA: After more than 1,400 migratory birds were found dead till Saturday due to an unexplained cause in the Pong Dam area of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, the local administration has suspended all tourism activities in the reservoir's precincts till further orders. Wildlife authorities have sent samples taken from the carcass of the birds for testing at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal to ascertain the cause of death.


On December 29, the field staff of the Pong Dam lake wildlife sanctuary was ordered to search the entire area for more dead birds. As many as 421 migratory birds were found in Majhar, Bathari, Sihal, Jagnoli, Chatta, Dhameta and Kuthera areas of the wildlife range at Dhameta and Guglara area of Jawali Beat in Nagrota. On subsequent days, more birds were found.


Kangra deputy commissioner-cum-district magistrate, Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, in orders issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, said no human and domestic livestock activity would be allowed in around a one-km periphery of the Pong Dam reservoir till further orders. The area has been declared as an alert zone. Further 9 km area around it is the surveillance zone. "As the possibility of disease can't be ruled out at the moment, in order to prevent any further spread, preventive measures need to be taken in and around 10 kms of Pong Dam reservoir as per set protocol," Prajapati said.

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife)-cum-chief wildlife warden Archana Sharma said most of the dead birds are bareheaded geese. She said division forest officers (wildlife) of all districts have been asked to be on alert to check deaths of migratory birds in wetlands under their jurisdiction.