The Wildlife Institute of India plans to complete a study of the impact of helicopter flights on wildlife in Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary in six months. The institute had been approached by the forest department to conduct the study.
According to the WII director VB Mathur, the study to ascertain impact of helicopter flights on wildlife in Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary will be conducted on the local fauna and the migratory wildlife.
The institute will utilise sound measuring devices in places located below helicopter flight paths and places where the choppers do not fly overhead.
In addition to this, the animal droppings will be analysed to check for hormonal levels that may indicate changes in behavior of the animal, said the institute director. It is worth mentioning here that in an application filed by Doaba Pariyavaran Samiti in the National Green Tribunal alleging irregularities in the helicopter services here, the NGT has recently sought Uttarakhand's response.
It will be recalled that the then DFO of Kedarnath wildlife division Akash Kumar Verma had in his 2013 report to the chief wildlife warden stated that nine helicopter companies had been allowed to operate flights to Kedarnath with each allowed 19 rounds in a day.
Numerous flights of helicopters from the southern part of Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary to the Kedarnath shrine in the northern part of the sanctuary were exerting a detrimental effect on the flora and fauna here.
With some choppers seen flying as low as 100 metres from the ground causing major noise pollution, sightings of wildlife like goral, tahr and bear which were common here had become rare. Stating that tahr and musk deer (Schedule I) had shifted from this area possibly due to noise pollution from helicopters, the DFO's report had added that the sightings of Himalayan vulture which nests in the area had also decreased and their mating could also be affected by the chopper flights.
Birds and butterflies shifting out of this area due to noise from helicopters was affecting the pollination of Thuner (taxus baccata) and seed dispersal of various flora by birds, the DFO’s report had stated. Since this report had been put on the back-burner due to the June 2013 disaster, the chief wildlife warden had recently stated that a proper scientific study is required to ascertain the impact of helicopter flights on the flora and fauna in Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary.