Birds lose battle in the skies

The fun of flying kites doesn’t always take into account the terrible damage it inflicts on the bird population

January is not a great time of the year for birds in the city. With Makar Sankranti round the corner, hundreds of birds get injured as the main highlight of the festival is kite-flying.

This year bird lover Dharmendra Sanghvi from Karuna Trust has taken the initiative to design a special instrument to help bird rescues during Makar Sankranti.

“It is a 12-feet long rod, with a basket ball net and a knife attached to one end. We will use this knife to cut the manja in which the bird gets entangled. And as it cannot fly, we will catch it in the net,” explained Sanghvi.

Apart from this, Sanghvi has 25 volunteers on stand-by, who have been especially trained to rescue birds.

“We are also sending two teams of volunteers to Surat and Baroda, where kite-flying is a passion and where maximum number of casualties are reported among birds during this season,” said Sanghvi.

There is another frightening trend this year, said bird lovers. “While earlier people used to fly kites using manjas mixed with pieces of glass, this year, the manja is being imported from China. It is a nylon thread that is unbreakable, and will cause maximum damage not only to birds but also to humans if not used carefully,” warned Sanghvi.

Birds get frightened when they see an alien object like kite in their territory, say bird experts. Secondly, the 'manja' inflicts deep wounds in the bird's wings and legs, resulting in bleeding. If the wound is not treated, the birds die a slow painful death.

“Birds, mostly pigeons, crows, kites, owls, are at risk,” said Nilesh Bhanage, PAWS -Thane. The only way to stop this cruelty, according to experts, is to fly kites in open spaces, where there are no trees.

If you spot an injured bird, call 26701413 or 9819100100.