Review of Rescue Works at Sambhar
Jaipur. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has ordered to make the state-level Wetland Authority operational at the earliestin Rajasthan. This authority has the mandate of preserving and protecting all wetlands in the state including Sambhar Lake. He said that the expert members of this authority would help in protecting the lakes and preserving the biodiversity therein.
Shri Gehlot was reviewing the rescue operations going on to save the birds in Sambhar lake region. During the review meeting, at Chief Minister Office on Tuesday, he gave instructions to the Collectors of Jaipur, Nagaur and Ajmer districts through video conference. He expressed deep concerns on the deaths of birds and asked the officials to take all measures to save them.
The CM directed the officials to gather details of such incidents of sudden large-scale deaths of birds at national and international level for further analysis and future course of action. This could help in avertingsuch crisis effectively and promote preservation of the birds in future. The Chief Minister added that the state government should make all efforts to rescue the birds in affected regions. He further directed to seek support from the Union Government as well the experts in ornithology & NGOs from all over the country.
It was informed during the meeting that 20 teams of over 100 veterinary doctors and nursing staff are vigorously working to save the birds in Sambhar lake region in Jaipur district. Dead bodies are being disposed of as per the standard protocols. About 100 employees of the Forest department, teams of SDRF and several voluntary organizations are also working diligently in rescue operations. Over 600 birds have been rescued so far and given proper treatment. Many of these birds are recovering well.
It was also informed that Minister Animal Husbandry Shri Lal Chand Kataria and Minister of State for Forest & Environment Shri SukhramVishnoi has visited the affected region to take stock of the situation.
The officials said that after proper disposal of dead birds and continuous rescue works, the numbers of deaths have declined considerably. Help of experts from the institutes like Wildlife Institute of India, Saleem Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History and Bombay Natural History Society is also being taken. State Pollution Control Board and Sambhar Salts Ltd had taken the samples of lake water to get its quality tested. Experts at the Rajasthan Agricultural & Veterinary Sciences University, Bikaner have opined that ‘botulism’ infection could be the cause of death of birds at this scale. Samples have also been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly for confirmation of septicity.
MinisterPublic Health & Engineering Department Shri BD Kalla, MinsterAnimal Husbandry Shri Lal Chand Kataria, MinisterIndustries Shri Parsadi Lal Meena, Additional Chief Secretary Industries Shri Subodh Agarwal, Principal Secretary Forest & Environment Smt. Shreya Guha, Additional Chief Wildlife Warden Shri ArindamTomar, Director Animal Husbandry and other officials were present in the meeting.
