Realty growth scares away winged visitors

Chennai: Environmentalists and bi­rd watchers forecast that by 2020 the number of mig­rant birds thronging Pul­icat lake (bordering Tamil Nadu and Andhra Prad­esh) and Vedanthangal in Kancheepuram district will decrease alarmingly as wetlands and water bodies located around these protected sanctuaries are losing out to booming real estate and development activities.

“The Adyar estuary was once a conducive habitat for birds, particularly fla­mingos and pelicans, but no more, thanks to the hig­h-end residential plots that have come up at MRC Na­gar, Santhome and Besant Nagar,” said a forest official who has served in Che­nnai as a ranger.

Every time I visit Vedan­thangal, I can see many real estate plots coming up in Chengalpet and Madu­rantakam and this, in the longer run, will certainly deplete the feeding grou­n­ds of the winged visitors, he explained.

“Whenever there is an intervention in the natural ecosystem, bird life will certainly be affected. There has to be a long-term policy in this regard. Dev­elopment is important but at what cost?” wonders K.V. Sudhakar, president, Madras Naturalists’ Soc­iety. There were a few fla­mingos and a large number of wetland birds thronging the Adyar estuary, but now we have almost lost the pristine marshland due to buildings and developments, he adds.

“Ponds and lakes located on the fringes of a sanctuary are essential for the bird population to thrive; depletion of water bodies will have adverse effects on birdlife and the aquatic ecosystem,” said bird wa­tcher N. Balaji of Nature Trust.

“Be it Vedanthangal or Pa­zhaverkadu, the rese­rves enjoy the status of a sanctuary where any con­st­ruction or commercial activity is strictly prohibited under the Wildlife Prot­ection Act, 1972, and they are conserved, but we cannot ban development on the outskirts of these res­erves as it is a policy decision and does not comes under the purview of the forest department,” a senior forest official said.