Tuesday November 21 2006 11:36 IST
BHUBANESWAR: As the avian guests have begun arriving for their winter rendezvous at the lagoon, the Forest Department has started tightening the noose around poachers in Chilika. Currently on its radar are 50 habitual offenders and 30 ‘dhabas’ in the vicinity. So far, about four lakh birds have touched down on the brackish waters.
While half of these birds have congregated/'>gated at Nalabana, a notified sanctuary, rest are concentrated in the northern periphery of the wetland.
However, since the biggest threat is from poachers, enforcement authorities are on their toes. So far, 16 camps have been set up in peripheral areas to keep vigil on the hunters. Each camp comprises forest guards, members of village committees as well as birds’ protection ‘samitis’.
They have been equipped with VHF sets and binoculars. As many as 14 boats - mechanised and country - have been kept at their disposal, Divisional Forest Officer of Chilika, Abhimanyu Behera said.
However, the focus is on Sorana, considered a vulnerable zone for the birds. The Wildlife Wing prepared a list of former poachers and habitual offenders numbering around 50. ‘We are carrying out periodic search operations in Sorana and adjacent villages,’ the DFO said adding, armed police reserve (APR) personnel have been deployed there. Similarly, Behera said, roadside eateries, infamous for serving bird meat, are under surveillance.
The department has drawn up a list of 30 such joints which are in the periphery of the lagoon. A 24-hour control room too has been activated at Tangi under the supervision of an Assistant Conservator of Forests.
Poaching apart, the Forest Department continues to be wary of the avian flu. Last year, more than 1,700 birds had died in suspicious manner and the Department sent blood samples of 16 species to a central lab at Bhopal for virological test. Not one tested positive, though.
This year too, the wing is carrying out sero-surveillance of the birds. The local poultry farms have been asked not to release their birds into the lake and its periphery. The DFO said that awareness campaign has been launched with support from the bird protection committees and leaflets are being circulated.
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