The problem of poaching in the State is causing serious nuisance to the migratory birds. Seeing the dwindling numbers of these birds the State department of Forest and Wildlife has taken measures to combat this menace.
“We are doing regular patrolling of the famous bird spots. A squad of 10 people checks poaching to conserve the habitat for migratory birds in the local areas. As compared the previous years poaching cases have reduced. Earlier the birds were being killed and meat was sold at a large scale. The problem is still exists but in lesser magnitude,” said DFO Hazaribagh, RN Mishra.
Apart from the regular checking and patrolling, awareness campaigns are also being conducted by the department to educate people about the protection of these birds. Programmes such as International Birds Day on November 12, Wild life week on October 10 are celebrated by the Forest and Wildlife department to create awareness among people. “We get mixed response from people, not everyone is co operative. Every possible measure is being taken to get full support from people.”
Every year the exotic birds coming from far-off Siberia and snow-caped Himalayan regions flock to the State. Numbers of different species of migratory birds come at the bird spots in Jharkhand in search of favorable climatic condition. The arrival of these birds starts from November and they stay here till March. The main bird areas in Jharkhand are Palamu, Hazaribagh and Udhwa.
Bird sanctuaries in the sate have been the safe haven for the migratory birds like black winged common teal, green shank, white and citirine wagtail, northern pintail, gargely, common coot, mallard, pygmy goose, pochard, red crested pochard and combed duck. Kanke dam, Hatia dam, Getalsood dam have also been the resting place for the Trans Himalayan birds and the Siberian cranes in the Capital.
“Over a period of time there has been a gradual decline in the number of these birds. The reason is these birds are changing their routes and now they are settling at isolated places because of the large scale human interference in the resting place of these birds. These birds identify their routes of travelling if there are changes in their way they lose the track to their destination,” said Nitish Priyadarshi a teacher of Geology in Ranchi University who is also a keen environmentalist.
These Siberian Birds take the route of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to reach India. Some of the birds divert to Japan from the Himalayas. In Jharkhand the back waters of Udhwa bird sanctuary at Sahebganj in the Santhal Pargana region is one of the popular spots for these birds to descend down from their long journey to far eastern countries.
Volunteers are coming forward from the state to tackle the problem of poaching at the famous bird spots. Education is being imparted to these volunteers about bird conservation and protection. “There are three important bird areas in Jharkhand Palamu, Hazaribag and Udhwa. We are planning to come up with five new bird areas also. There are around 107 species of birds in Jharkhand including the migratory birds which come here. We are imparting training to the local volunteers to save birds from illegal trading, hunting and poaching. We teach them about the issues so that they can also contribute to the protection of birds,” said Satyaparakash Bird Expert who is working with the help of Indian Bird Conservation Network.