Visit of migratory birds to the Chilika lake is on the decline, according to information furnished in the State Assembly by Forests and Environment Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh.
The Minister provided information for four years, 1995, 2000, 2010 and 2015 in response to a question of BJP MlA Dilip Ray. While 9,95,383 birds had visited the lake in the year 2000, the number came down to 9,24,578 in 2010 and further came down to 7,61,940 in 2015, the Minister said. The Government has no information regarding numbers of birds visited the lake in 1995, the Minister added. The Minister said a total of 144 dolphins had been found in Chilika in 2015 against 158 in 2010 and 50 in 2000. The State has a total of 1954 elephants, 28 tigers and 3,806 blackbucks at different jungles during 2014-15, the Minister said. To a related question of Congress MlA Chiranjib Biswal, the Minister informed that there are 1,683 crocodiles in Bhitarkanika in Kendrapada district now against 1,678 in 2,015 and 1,655 in 2014.
The Minister too informed that a total of `4.83 lakh was spent towards crocodile census, operational expenses and foods in 2015-16 against `4,93,000 in the previous year.