SHIMLA: After more than 1,400 migratory birds were found dead as of Saturday due to an unexplained cause in the Pong Dam area of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, the local administration suspended all tourist activities in the reservoir precincts until that new orders be given. Wildlife authorities have sent samples taken from the bird’s carcass for analysis at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal to determine the cause of death.
On December 29, field staff at the Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary were ordered to search the entire area for more dead birds. Up to 421 migratory birds were found in the Majhar, Bathari, Sihal, Jagnoli, Chatta, Dhameta and Kuthera areas of the wildlife range in the Dhameta and Guglara area of Jawali Beat in Nagrota. In the following days, more birds were found.
Kangra Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, in orders issued under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, said that no human or domestic livestock activity would be allowed in about a kilometer of periphery of the reservoir of the Pong Dam until further orders are received. The area has been declared an alert zone. The 9 km area around it is the surveillance zone. “As the possibility of a disease cannot be ruled out at this time, to prevent further spread, preventive measures should be taken in and around 10 kilometers of the Pong Dam reservoir according to established protocol,” Prajapati said.
The chief chief conservator of forests (wildlife) – cum chief wildlife director, Archana Sharma, said most of the dead birds are bare-headed geese. She said that division forestry officers (wildlife) from all districts have been asked to be on alert to verify the death of migratory birds in the wetlands under their jurisdiction.
On December 29, field staff at the Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary were ordered to search the entire area for more dead birds. Up to 421 migratory birds were found in the Majhar, Bathari, Sihal, Jagnoli, Chatta, Dhameta and Kuthera areas of the wildlife range in the Dhameta and Guglara area of Jawali Beat in Nagrota. In the following days, more birds were found.
Kangra Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, in orders issued under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, said that no human or domestic livestock activity would be allowed in about a kilometer of periphery of the reservoir of the Pong Dam until further orders are received. The area has been declared an alert zone. The 9 km area around it is the surveillance zone. “As the possibility of a disease cannot be ruled out at this time, to prevent further spread, preventive measures should be taken in and around 10 kilometers of the Pong Dam reservoir according to established protocol,” Prajapati said.
The chief chief conservator of forests (wildlife) – cum chief wildlife director, Archana Sharma, said most of the dead birds are bare-headed geese. She said that division forestry officers (wildlife) from all districts have been asked to be on alert to verify the death of migratory birds in the wetlands under their jurisdiction.
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