About a dozen peacocks were on Saturday found dead in Ghaziabad’s semi-developed township of Wave City — owned by Ponty Chadha, who was killed in 2012 bloodbath in which he and his brother Hardeep Chadha had killed each other at a farmhouse in Delhi’s Chhattarpur.
After news of death of the national birds spread, environmentalist Ruchin Mehra of People For Animal (PFA) visited the site and told The Pioneer that they spotted fresh carcasses lying in the area and some old ones were mauled by stray dogs.
About 20 peacocks had taken shelter in a small forest in the township, Councillor Anand Chaudhary said.
“In the last one week, about a dozen peacocks have died. We suspect that an industrial unit is discharging a poisonous chemical.
The peacock in search of water might have consumed that poisonous water being discharged by the factory situated in E-16 plot in Udyog Kunj just opposite Wave City,” he said.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) City Himanshu Gautam, who rushed to the spot, said the administration deputed deputy chief veterinary officer to physically inspect the site and trace the cause of death.
“We have summoned Pollution Control Board officials to inspect the site and take necessary action against the erring industry if found guilty. In the meantime the Forest Department officials also have taken a stock of situation. Exemplary legal action will be initiated against erring person or industrial unit once the report comes from veterinary department,” he said.
local residents said in the last seven days over 15 peacocks were killed. Five peacocks died last week while four of them died on Friday and in addition to it, four more peacocks were found dead in the area on Saturday, they said.