Risk of bird flu increases in Himachal Pradesh, 22 birds killed in two days

There has been unnatural death of migratory birds in the last two days. We performed an on-the-spot inspection and collected samples of his blood, feces, trachea and cloacal. The samples have been sent to the Northern Region Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar.

In the last two days, at least 22 migratory birds have been found dead in the Pong Dam wetland, raising the possibility of avian flu. More than 5,000 such birds have died in this area three months ago. Himachal Pradesh Forest Department’s Wildlife Wing has kept its teams on alert. State’s Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania said on Saturday, “Twenty birds were found dead, and their samples have been sent for testing.” At the same time, fourteen birds were found dead in Ransar Garhi and eight bodies were seen in Nagrota Surya forest area.

Divisional forest officer Rahul Roane said that there has been unnatural death of migratory birds in the last two days. We performed an on-the-spot inspection and collected samples of his blood, feces, trachea and cloacal. The samples have been sent to the Northern Region Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar.

Monitoring by making 10 teams

Mortality is mostly found in bar-headed geese that move from Mongolia to Pong Dam in winter. This season a total of 40,570 times were seen in the Headed Geese Lake. It has the highest number of bird species in the lake. The areas within 3 km radius of the places where dead bodies were found dead have been kept under observation and the Forest Department has also constituted 10 teams to monitor the situation. With the help of local Panchayat representatives, Mahila Mandals and Yuvak Mandals, forest staff are spreading awareness in the villages around the water body spread over 240 square kilometers.

Birds come every year

Pong Dam in Kangra district is the largest manned weightland of North India. Which was built in 1974 by the construction of a dam on the Beas River. It is the first major wetland to provide a substitute rest reserve for migratory birds. In summer, herds of waterfowl breeding in these areas come every year from October to March.