Ggn's depleted peacock population faces the heat

Gurugram: The sight and sound of peacocks citizens of Gurugram who once lived around the Aravallis and the green belt areas will recollect the constant sight and sound of peacocks playing around the area. Owing to the rapid development of the city, those sights and sounds are long gone. The decline in peacock population has been expedited with the heat wave.

In just seven days, as many as 15 peacocks have died apparently due to the heat wave. What is of even greater concern is that a large number of exotic birds are also falling sick due to the hot weather. One of the major reasons cited for the death of peacocks is the drying of water bodies that is resulting in them not having enough water to consume.

While wildlife officials assure that steps are being taken for the protection of animals, they also complained that administrative delays from the higher authorities are causing a delay in implementation. The city wildlife officials were to collaborate with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, for implementing the wildlife protection mechanism in the Aravallis.

Besides exotic birds, leopards and other wildlife species such as hyenas, nilgais, civet cats and rabbits are found in the Aravallis. There are also large numbers of exotic birds that abound in the green belt area during breeding seasons. Besides the bureaucratic delays, the officials raised the issue of encroachments, illegal mining and human hostility as other major factors jeopardising the safety of wildlife in the Aravallis. "On our part, we are taking major steps towards the protection of the wildlife in Aravallis. There is a huge budget allocated for building the fences so that the wild animals do not stray into human areas. We are also now digging in a large number of pits in collaboration with other agencies so that animals do not have to venture outside for water," said a forest official

"Even as steps are being taken, challenges still abound. Lack of clarity in laws has resulted in a lot of encroachments in the green belt area. Also, the human hostility towards animals has increased over the years," added the official.

"Apathy of public officials has affected a large part of flora and fauna of the Aravallis. Recently, hundreds of trees were cut to make way for a real estate project. In a situation like this, the wildlife is surely going to suffer," said SS Oberoi, an environmental activist.