Horrific cutting of tree for road widening kills hundred of birds in Kerala. Video goes viral

A horrific video showing a tree being cut down, leaving hundreds of Indian Cormorant chicks homeless and a few to die, has created an outrage on the internet. According to the video, a large number of birds were killed due to the reckless cutting of a tree for widening of the National Highway in Randathani area of Kerala's Malappuram district.

The video was shot in the first week of August. The video shows a huge tree being felled using an excavator. As the tree gets cut, numerous birds from the tree were seen being smashed to the ground, many of them chicks.



Indian Cormorant (known as Neerkaka in Malayalam) comes under Schedule 4 of Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

The viral video has prompted state PWD minister PA Mohammed Riyas to seek a report from the NHAI. The minister has also directing a strict action against the guilty

The Kerala Forest Department has also initiated a legal action against the "guilty" contractor. The area's forest range officer has also taken the excavator and its driver into custody.

A complaint letter has been sent to the Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari by Thomas Lawrence, the CEO of Save Wetlands International Movement seeking action against the culprits.