Hyderabad: Plastic threat for birds at Ameenpur Lake

Birds mistake plastic as food causing them to starve to death as their stomachs fill up with indigestible plastic

Hyderabad: The grand celebrations when Ameenpur Lake on the fringes of the city was declared a Biodiversity Heritage Site appear to be long forgotten, with the present plight of the lake being captured in a few frames by a bird photographer.

The photograph, that of a pelican, one of the many winged migratory visitors to the lake, was clicked by Veerabhadra Rao Kalakonda, a former journalist and bird photographer. Rao’s frames show the pelican trying to eat a plastic water bottle.

“I initially thought that it was a white fish that the bird was chasing. But, then I noticed that it was a plastic bottle. It tried to eat it, but missed it thrice. I clicked several photos, but the bird moved behind the bushes so I couldn’t click more,” says Rao, who is however positive that the bird might not have swallowed the bottle.

Ingestion of plastic waste is more pervasive and can affect large proportions of some species. Birds mistake plastic as food causing them to starve to death as their stomachs fill up with indigestible plastic. Rao says the Ameenpur lake is now not maintained properly, with the pollution in turn becoming a threat to the hundreds of migratory birds that have made Ameenpur their summer home.

There have been regular campaigns by different non-governmental organisations to clear the plastic and garbage from the lake. However, with no proper mechanism in place to prevent the littering of the lake, upkeep of the same is turning out to be a challenge, and in turn, a threat to the biodiversity in what was the first water body in the country to be declared a Biodiversity Heritage Site in 2016.

The lake, despite its pitiable conditions, continues to be one of the biggest attractions in the region for waterfowl and migratory birds apart from for photographers and birdwatchers.

 

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