Environmental Havoc: Flight of Migratory Birds Cut Short in India, 1,000 Found Dead Near Lake

Nearly 1,000 birds, including migratory species, have been found dead around Sambhar Lake in Jaipur, the capital city of India’s Rajasthan state, according to officials, who suspect water contamination could have killed the birds.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Sanjay Kaushik said, “We will get the water tested for contamination, or if it was some viral disease. Prima facie, it is not a case of hunting.”

​Soon, Twitter was flooded with reactions expressing concern over the alarming environmental crisis manifesting in different ways.

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A team of revenue, forest and veterinary officials visited the area and found around 1,000 carcasses of 15 species, including those of Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Shelduck, and Plovers, among others.

"A veterinary team collected the samples and sent it to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease Center, Bhopal city of Madhya Pradesh. The result is expected in four to five days,” a forest department official told media.

This is not the first time that the country has witnessed the debilitating effects of environmental degradation on animal species.

A similar incident in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city came to light last week, where over 40 demoiselle cranes were found dead. Their viscera (an internal organ) have been sent for investigation and reports are awaited.

​In January 2019, carcasses of nearly 600 Olive Ridely turtles washed ashore in just two days in India’s coastal state of Odisha.

​It was suspected that the endangered species was killed after being hit by fishing trawlers or getting entangled in fishing nets. There is a prohibition on fishing within a distance of 20-km from the affected beach, but it is suspected that trawler operators violated the ban, news reports said.