Amid Calls To Declare Perungulam A Bird Sanctuary, Thoothukudi Collector Visits Tank
Perungulam is the last tank in the Marudur Keelakkal irrigation system fed by the Thamirabarani river.
THOOTHUKUD: Thoothukudi Collector Vishu Mahajan on Tuesday inspected Perungulam tank, where thousands of migratory and native water birds have gathered, amid renewed demands to declare the wetland a bird sanctuary or a Ramsar site.
Perungulam is the last tank in the Marudur Keelakkal irrigation system fed by the Thamirabarani river. The waterbody attracts thousands of migratory and local birds every year and has again become a major congregation point for water birds this season.
Ornithologists, environmentalists and residents have been urging the authorities to accord protected status to the tank and develop it as a bird sanctuary or Ramsar site. They say such a move would help conserve the wetland and its avian habitat while also promoting it as an eco-tourism destination.
During the inspection, Vishu Mahajan viewed the birds through binoculars and sought details from district forest officer Ilayaraja about the species visiting the tank, their countries of origin and the measures required for their conservation.
The Collector later visited the Sivakalai archaeological excavation site nearby and inspected the excavation trenches and photographic displays of artefacts unearthed there, including burial urns, 3,200-year-old paddy grains and a knife.
