The fear of a second wave of avian influenza has gripped Himachal Pradesh after the death of at least 42 migratory birds over the past six days at Pong wetland in Himachal’s Kangra district.
The fresh deaths of migratory birds have been reported after more than a month when the first wave of bird flu had reportedly ended at the Pong Lake. As many as 5006 migratory birds had died till February at Pong Dam due to avian influenza- H5N1.
The bird flu scare comes amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
After the recovery of 42 carcasses of two migratory species namely Bar-Headed Goose and Greylag Goose at Pong, the state authorities have banned the entry of visitors at the wetland.
Confirming the development, Rahul Rohane, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division, Hamirpur while talking to The Pioneer said, “42 migratory birds have died since March 25 and carcasses of six birds were found on Tuesday. While their samples have been sent for testing, the on-spot observation shows signs of bird flu.” “The migratory birds have died an unnatural death. The field staff has been put on alert and the entry of visitors has been banned at Pong till further orders,” he said.
The migratory birds usually start their retreat from the wetland in March. While these birds have started to return to their homeland, it is estimated that around 10000 birds are still at Pong. A fresh census exercise will be conducted from March 31 to count the water dependent migratory birds present at Pong, he added.
The Pong Dam is one of the largest man-made wetlands in northern India and is known as birds’ paradise as lakhs of migratory birds reach there every winter after flying thousands of miles from their native habitat in high-altitude lakes in Central Asia.
Notably, a total of 1,08,578 birds of 96 species were counted during the annual waterfowl count conducted at Pong in February this year. This included 101,431 of 51 species of water dependent migratory birds, 6,433 of 29 species of water dependent resident birds and 714 birds of 16 other species.
In February, the avian influenza was confirmed in 14 states namely Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Bihar.
