ALAPPUZHA: It has been a year since bird flu hit Kuttanad and while this year’s season for migratory birds began in August, there is no system to monitor the birds which can fly across frontiers carrying epidemics including bird flu.
Though the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) chalked out a plan to set up a permanent monitoring system following the outbreak of bird flu last November, nothing has materialized so far.
AHD had come up with the idea of a monitoring system following speculation that the outbreak had been caused by migratory birds. Animal Husbandry Department (AHD), officials say it did not go further due to technical problems.
V. Brahmanandan, Direc-tor, Animal Husbandry Department (AHD), had earlier said that it would be the priority of the department to monitor migratory water birds which were capable of carrying the bird flu virus.
The bird count which was conducted in Vembanad Lake region by Kottayam Nature Society earlier in January had recorded the highest ever influx of migratory birds.
A total of 57,828 individuals of wetland and wetland dependant birds belonging to 60 species and 16 families were counted from 10 sites.
Dr B Sreekumar, noted Ornithologist and President of the Society which has been conducting an annual study of migratory birds for over a decade, says a regular monitoring system in the area especially during the migration season and incentive scheme should be set up for informants who report about poaching and poachers and on the death of birds.
“As many as 30,000 migratory birds from various countries including Russia, Siberia and China visit Kuttanad region every season. As migratory birds from more than fifty species visit Kuttanad every season, a serious mapping unit is imperative.
The society will be able to construct the migratory route maps and set up systematic sampling from healthy wild migratory birds thus providing an insight into volume and timing of migration as well as key sites of those migratory bird species.
The total number of birds sighted has improved to 57,828 from 26,775 in 2014. “The number of bird species also registered a marginal increase of 60 from 54 in 2014.”
