After complaints of stone pelting, NMMC to fence flamingo habitat

Navi Mumbai: After receiving several complaints over stone pelting on flamingos and disturbing their habitat to click selfies, the city engineering department of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has assured of implementing measures to safeguard the habitat of flamingos in the city.

On Tuesday, officials from the department conducted a site inspection of DPS Wetlands to ascertain the gravity of the various complaints often raised by eco-activists.

The environmentalists have been vocal about the damage being caused to the habitat of the flamingos owing to the easy access to the lake. HT had reported about youngsters pelting stones and disturbing the nesting birds to click selfies.

In response to the concerns, the civic administration has decided to fence the entire area of the pond.

“Activists have repeatedly stated the importance of fencing the pond to prevent direct access where flamingos are nesting and this work will be undertaken at the earliest,” said the municipal commissioner, Rajesh Narvekar.

NMMC had earlier fenced a portion of the lake after there were instances of visitors falling into the muddy area.

“Fencing only a small portion of the pond was not serving any purpose. Some people were still entering the lake area and disturbing the habitat,” said NatConnet Foundation director, B N Kumar.

On Tuesday, the engineers were also briefed about the other issues threatening the existence of wetlands. The issues raised included blocking of the intertidal inlet pipes, reinstallation of damaged barricades that prevented access to vehicles inside the lake as well as installation of notice boards with contact details of concerned officials for the public to inform in case of illegal activities. “It is because of the natural wetlands that the flamingos are visiting this area but there attempt to kill this wetland by stopping the natural flow of the water, by disturbing the habitat of the birds. I had raised the matter repeatedly with the administration and eventually on Tuesday the engineering department relented and assigned two engineers to inspect the area,” said a resident and activist Rekha Sankhala. The engineers were shown the exact locations of water blockages happening, the broken barricades and the need for fencing to protect flamingos.

A grievance on similar lines was raised by Kharghar-based activists Jyoti Nadkarni and BN Kumar through personal interaction with the municipal commissioner on Monday. “Flamingos are protected under the wildlife protection act therefore it is necessary that the administration take special measures to conserve their habitat and fencing was one of the crucial aspects discussed and agreed upon,” said Nadkarni.

As per the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) study report, approximately 1,33,000 flamingos were observed this year during April across the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS). At the DPS lake, scientists associated with the society, observed a total of 8,000 lesser Flamingos and 2,000 greater flamingos this year.