Exactly a fortnight after four flamingos died after dashing against a signboard erected near Nerul jetty, three more birds met the same fate in the early hours of Friday. It was the third such incident in two years wherein the migratory birds met with an unfortunate incident, forcing City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) authorities to initiate action.
3 flamingos dash against board; one die on spot
“Three flamingos who were flying low, dashed against the same board and died. While one bird died on the spot, the other two fell near the NRI Complex gate. Two volunteers of Save Navi Mumbai Environment Group (SNMEG) tried to rescue the birds, but they could not save them,” the founder of SNMEG, Sunil Agrawal, said.
He said that they raised the matter with CIDCO Joint Managing Director Kailash Shinde, who took cognisance of the incident and ordered removal of the board.
“The board falls in the flight path of flamingos when they are coming from sea creek to DPS lake during high tide. The irony is that the jetty has been non-functional for more than three years due to water level issues. It is good to see that the board is being removed. CIDCO and NMMC should keep in mind the flight path of the flamingos while sanctioning / planning structures in these areas,” Agrawal said.
NMMC commissioner asks CIDCO to hand over the lake
Following request from environmental groups, the then NMMC commissioner Abhijit Bangar, during the Navi Mumbai Flamingo Festival in May 2022, had asked CIDCO to hand over the lake to the civic body. Bangar had also got in touch with Bombay Natural History Society, which readily agreed to work on the conservation project. CIDCO, however, rejected the idea stating the area was a not a designated wetland.
“BNHS and the Mangrove Foundation have been saying for a long time that these TCFS satellite wetlands must be conserved, but CIDCO has been in a denial mode,” Director of Nat Geo Foundation, BN Kumar, said.
Navi Mumbai's flamingos
The coastal landscape of Navi Mumbai, particularly its ponds, has attracted flocks of flamingos during the winter months for the past few years. These birds have become a symbol of ecological richness in the region. However, environmentalists have been increasingly concerned about the safety and well-being of the flamingos as they make their seasonal stopover.
The environmentalists have also reminded the state government of its own promise to have a flamingo sanctuary at the Uran wetland. In 2015, the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had chaired a meeting of the State Wildlife Board, which decided to set up three bird sanctuaries at Mahul-Sewree in Mumbai, and NRI-TS Chanakya and Panje-Funde in Navi Mumbai. Fadnavis, who had also posted the decision on his social media page, said the decision was in accordance with the mitigation measures suggested by BNHS for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.
