Wildlife Department unaware about geese count at Sukhna Lake

Bipin Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

Even as the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, believe that the birds died of starvation and mild infection in the lungs, wildlife experts are not ready to accept the same.

As the experts are not willing to buy the RDDL’s theory, the UT Administration is still not clear about the total population of the water fowls at Sukhna Lake. Incidentally, the population of geese at the lake increased to more than 100 from just six birds in the past over 15 years.

Origin

Late SK Sharma, former president of The Environment Society of India, introduced six geese in Sukhna Lake on June 5, 1996, during a function organised to celebrate World Environment Day. In 2002, Lt Gen (retd) Baljit Singh, a city-based wildlife expert, also joined him and added 25 odd birds in the lake. Lt Gen Singh recalled that SK Sharma visited Geneva in the early 1990’s and saw geese entertaining visitors in a Rose Garden between a lake and the building of WHO, there. From there, he picked up the idea and replicated if after collecting certain geese from Ambala and some village surrounding Chandigarh, he said.

“Initially, he reared them at his home and shifted to Sector 12 and Kala Kendra, Sector 16. But shifting the birds to the lake from Kala Kendra proved disastrous as dogs killed them,” he recalled.

Diseases affecting them

Though the geese, ducks and water fowls are vulnerable to many diseases but the Avian influenza (H1N5) virus, Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) and Newcastle Diseases Virus (NDV) are the main diseases that human beings could get from them.

Preventive measures

The Wildlife Department today owned the geese at the lake and started feeding them. Temporary thatch sheds were made to provide shelter to the birds from rain and chill. “I have taken up the issue relating to the ownership of the Sukhna geese with Kavita Singh, MD, CITCO. She has agreed to solve the issue with mutual understanding,” claimed Santosh Kumar.

Migratory birds

Though Sukhna Lake is a winter sojourn for a number of winged visitors but gadwall, brahminy duck, coot, grey heron, bar headed goose, Indian cormorant, common pochard, red crested pochard, tufted pochard, mallard and some other birds also arrive here.

Steps taken

The Wildlife and Animal Husbandry Departments have deployed their teams around the lake to keep a close watch on poachers. Apart from putting warning signboards, teams have been deputed to restrain visitors from feeding birds, claimed Santosh Kumar, chief wildlife warden.