Saturday, 16 January 2010

Did you know...Sewri bay, mangrooves, flamingoes and migratory birds..

C was lucky enough to go and see few of the many migratory birds at Sewri bay.. that chaddar of pink with a glint and a shimmer of gold on a hazy bright sunny day..the horizon of pink with lesser and greater flamingoes shadowing others like ergets, ibis, sandpiper, plover, common green shank..

Did you know some of the facts of Sewri bay and Mangrooves??
lesser flamingos

The Sewri Mangrove Park was declared a protected area by the Bombay Port Trust on January 15 1996. This park consists of 15 acres of mangroves in the mudflats between Sewri and Trombay. It can be reached from Sewri station on the Harbour line of the Mumbai suburban railway network.

In 1995, the BPT had undertaken to protect this area from any new construction or dredging activity. It had also declared an intention to influence the chemical industries along the coastline to check air and water pollution by reinforcing effluent control measures. The Trust further planned to protect the park from residents of nearby areas who cut down the trees for fuel, as well as from unscrupulous developers who remove sand from the area, thereby weakening the grip of anchor roots. In all this, the BPT was more successful than people had expected. However, more than a decade later, in 2007, this wetland habitat is in danger of being wiped out by the planned Mumbai-Nava Sheva road link ( this information is collected over from the internet)


On Mangroves

Mangroves are essential to the ecology of the coast and the island. They provide fertile ground for fish to feed and breed in and nurture a large variety of birds. Seven species of mangroves have been identified in this area. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will help the BPT to replant barren areas inside the reserve. ( this information is collected over from the internet)


intestine of some bird/animal used as bait to catch crabs

To conclude:
There are many concerns that lie for these migratory birds that come to inhabit from various parts of the world in this industrial area during winter..
Our Human activity is impacting every other species living on this earth..to add more , the planned Mumbai-Nava Sheva road link will endanger these species further.
Sanctuary asia has urged the civilians to appeal against this road link by writing our concern to CM of Maharastra, to build this link road 400 mtrs further then from where it is planned in order to affect the least to these wonderful guests of winter..
Lets do our bit...raise our voice and stop what is wrong....

More of pictures here