Forest officials on vigil in Malda

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 20. — After the outbreak of bird flu in Maharashtra, the Malda divisional forest officials have stepped up vigilance on two species of migratory birds visiting the Adina forests — the Lesser Whistling Teal and Tiltail, which fly all the way from China and Siberia every year, authorities said. Hoping that the influx of the migratory birds will increase in the new season, Ms Sumita Ghatak, Malda DFO, said: “After the renovation of the two ponds in the Adina forest, the influx of the migratory birds increased”. The forest department, however, has informed authorities of Nayabandh, a region close to the Indo-Bangladesh border, which also recieves a good number of migratory birds every year, to keep a check on bird flu. Reportedly, nearly 3,000 birds from countries close to the Himalayan ranges visited the Nayabandh area in November. Forest officials also stated that last year, many migratory birds in the Nayabandh area died by getting entrapped in the fishing nets cast by the fishermen community. The forest expert team visting the Nayabandh area will also take measures to avoid re-occurence of such incidents. Reportedly, birds such as Mallard, Lesser Whistling Teal, Blue Whistling Teal, Black Bellied Tern, Graw Goose, Coot, Douche red, Ferruginous and others visit the Nayabandh area every year. The forest officials claimed that the migratory birds will fly over to the Adina forests, if the Nayabandh wetlands is cleared up. The officials said the idea of clearing up the wetlands is uder consideration.