Sivasagar, Nov 27: When winter comes, the sky over West Panidihing along the Brahmaputra under Demow PS is crisscrossed with skeins of ducks in flight, and the air is filled with the sonorous honking of swans from distant lands. These exhausted and hungry winged visitors arrive and congregate in the massive 8370.7-acre swath of wetland forming a part of erstwhile Maharani Reserve Forest west of Demow to feed on the newly sprouting shoots of grass that grow in the wetland after the water dries up in the fields leaving the numerous beels (veels) with abundant fish and aquatic insects they relish upon.
The state government, after a series of articles published in various papers including The Assam Tribune and written by Dr Anowaruddin Chowdhary, Dr Diptimonta Baruah, and this correspondent, carried out a survey of the entire area and declared it as a Bird Sanctuary in December 1995. But due to unabated poaching by a section of unscrupulous people, this paradise of domestic and migratory aquatic species of birds has become a killing field for them.
The most common method prevailing in the region is to spray pesticide Furadon-tainted boiled rice over the field near the beels. Some of the important beels are -Balijan, Singimara, Saragua, Ghoka, Borbeel, Foklai, Ajarani, and Telademow.
The migratory ducks gregariously devour this contaminated rice when they congregate and fall ill. After consuming the poisonous feed they cannot take on to their wings however hard they try and remain motionless for hours when the merciless poachers catch them alive. The poachers send them usually to the dhabas along the NH37 and select customers in the wee hours.
On Nov 24, a pregnant buffalo died due to gazing upon the Furadon mixed grassland near the Foklia beel. There a numerous Mohkhuti and Garukhuti in the region along the Dhai Ali. The owners of the cattle have demanded that the use of pesticides and nematicides be banned permanently.
As the percentage of meat consumption among the people of the district is very high and the price of local chicken, and mutton soaring, the bird killing strives at night.
The Forest department, the DFO says, is perennially short of staff. In the Saragua Beat Office, there is one Beat Officer and only two guards without firearms.
A local youth told this correspondent that a section of the local fishing community often quarrels with the Forest Guards and openly kills the birds despite warnings. The government's decision to withdraw firearms from the Forest Guards will soon invite hoards of bird and animal killers to these sanctuaries and they would vandalize the areas openly as they would no longer be afraid of being fired.
Flanked by Demow, Desang, and the Brahmaputra on three sides, the important wetland attracts large numbers of migratory species of birds like the pochards, shoveller, garganey, ruddy shelducks, grey-leg geese, bar-headed geese, grey-ducks, little grebe, pintail, pelicans, bronze-winged jacana, plovers, curlews, white-necked storks, painted storks, river tern, redshank, snipes, avocets and many more. Further domestic species like warblers, cormorants, teals, darters, herons, egrets, swifts, ibis, kestrels, vultures, adjutant storks, fishing eagles, wood packers, swallows, lapwings, hawks, kites, falcons, parrots, pigeons, doves, wagtails, coots, sandpipers, nightjars, owls, orioles, drongos, rollers, hoopoes, shrikes, mynas, minivets, flycatchers, thrush, bulbuls, crows, purple sunbirds, flower packets, sparrows, buntings, babblers, warblers etc. However, the number of these residential species is dwindling fast due to the vanishing green cover surrounding the Panidihing Bird Sanctuary.
The bird lovers in the district are very concerned with the development of the sanctuary. They urge the district administration to strengthen the security of birds and animals in the region. The newly formed Panidihing Pakhi Abhayaranya Surakhya Samity also demanded that the government should undertake strict action against the culprits.
