Citing info supplied by the Gujarat authorities, the Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Monday stated that there was no Great Indian Bustard (GIB) within the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary until January 1 this 12 months.
“As per the information provided by the State Government, there is no Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary (GIB) in the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary as on January 1, 2021,” the Union Minister knowledgeable the Rajya Sabha by way of written reply to questions. Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil.
Senior Congress chief Gohil had on January 1 demanded to know the variety of GIBs within the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary and whether or not it’s true that these grassland birds die as a consequence of hitting windmills and electrical wires within the sanctuary.
The MP had additional demanded to know whether or not the birds have been dying after hitting windmills and overhead cables, and what steps have been being taken or proposed to be taken. But the Union Minister stated that the query of birds dying after colliding with windmills and electrical wires and taking steps to cease them didn’t come up as no birds have been sighted.
But Devesh Gadhvi, deputy director of the Kutch Ecological Research Centre, a division of the Corbett Foundation, described the query as “very complicated”. Gadhvi stated: “The answer is that there was no GIB in the sanctuary on that day. But the sanctuary is just two square kilometres. Most of the population of the GIB is spread outside the sanctuary, in an eco-sensitive area and around 2000 square kilometers in the surrounding area. It has happened. The question was very complicated.”
Gadhvi, who has finished in depth analysis on GIBs and their habitats in Kutch, stated it’s not true that Kutch doesn’t have GIBs. “Of course, within the sanctuary, it is very difficult to site a GIB on a specific date. Bustards aren’t going to stand there forever. They move from area to area… but to say that there are no bustards is completely wrong. Last February, four bustards were seen together in Khirsara. On July 9 itself, I saw two bustards and one was reported by a villager,” stated the researcher.
The two sq. kilometer Lala-Budiya Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary is situated close to Lala village in Abdasa Taluka of Kutch.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
