Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Birds duck the dirty Mula-Mutha

The water body at Kavade, just 3 kms from Loni was the hotspot for migratory birds. It is now filled with hyacinth and garbage, thus destroying a potential bird sanctuary within the limits of Pune
 
With insufficient and ineffective Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in Pune and indiscriminate dumping of garbage, the Mula-Mutha Rivers have not only turned into stinking strips of nullahs but also carry their toxic waters downstream. As a result, hundreds of villages downstream receive toxic river water, which they use for drinking as not all of them can afford water treatment plants. This has resulted in grave resentment and loud protests from hundreds of villagers who are demanding that Pune should ensure that no sewage is discharged into the rivers. Added to this distressing situation is the threat to bird habitats being destroyed, in these water bodies. Birds can't talk, so they have apparently decided to protest by boycotting some pockets which are bird sancturies-in-the-making.

One of them is Kavade village, about three kilometers from Loni. Located on the banks of the Mula-Mutha, around 65 varieties of birds like painted storks, black headed ibis, ducks, ruddy shell ducks, common teal, northern shoveller, wolly necked storks, egretsand so on visit the water body all the way from Ladakh and other faraway places. Die-hard birdwatchers observe that mornings at Kavade was an enriching experience but now no more.

Several citizens have taken up this issue with the PMC and the state government but it has been ignored. Recently politician-activist Sandeep Khardekar who visited the spot lamented that, ``now the spot has been turned into a garbage dump and hyacinth has spread all over.This is preventing migrated birds to enjoy their share of nature and in the process maintain the ecological balance of this area.'' Khardekar has appealed to the chief minister to urgently look into the matter.  The pics says it all.

1 comment:

  1. On the other hand, there was a study I recollect (we had done a story too Vinita) that in the past few years, many migratory birds have started coming in hordes to Pune.. If you notice the stretch of the river near to Nal Stop, you would see them. These birds are thriving on the polluted water. Strange it seems

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