Cormorants die in B'luru lake, causes concern among environmentalists

Bengaluru: A large number of Indian cormorants, a variety of fish-eating birds, have been found dead in the past three days at one of the lakes in Bengaluru, according to environmentalists.

Wildlife enthusiasts were appalled to see the cormorants dying in huge numbers at Kasavanahalli Lake where at least 50 to 60 birds have reportedly died in three days.

A large number of the birds have died, a local lake protection group member L Sreenivas said Saturday.

“We are not sure what the reasons are,” he said.

The lake protection group members contacted civic authorities, who sent a veterinary doctor to ascertain the cause of death.

“We are also not sure what killed these birds. Our veterinary doctor will collect the sample and would submit a report soon,” said P Jagannath Rao, deputy conservator of forest (lake division).

Initially, the local groups suspected the involvement of a fish contractor, who might have poisoned the birds.

It was, however, ruled out as the fish were in good health. The other possibilities could be avian bird flu or the cyanobacteria bloom in the lake.

Bengaluru lakes have been in the news for wrong reasons due to high contamination.

The largest among all the water bodies in Bengaluru, the Bellandur lake has been in the limelight for catching fire due to high level of non-biodegradable chemicals, as well as heavy metals.

Despite the National Green Tribunal’s direction to the civic agencies, the water quality of Bellandur lake and water bodies upstream have not improved much, according to officials.