Diverters on power lines to shoo away Bustards
TECH EDGE In last one year, 3 GIBs died after allegedly colliding with power lines JAIPUR
: The Rajasthan energy department has started installing bird diverters on transmission lines on a pilot basis to protect the Great India Bustard.
Taking serious cognizance of the declining population of the “critically endangered” bird species, the state government has accorded top priority to conserve the bird with the chief minister’s office in a letter to the energy department, highlighting the threat posed by power transmission lines in the Great Indian Bustard landscape in Jaisalmer.
A recent bird census state that during the last couple of years, the number of the Great Indian Bustard, has decreased drastically. Decades back the population of the Great Indian Bustard, popularly known as “godawan”--listed as a critically endangered species under the Wildlife Act, 1972--was more than 1,000 that has now shrunk to less than 140 in the state.
In the last one year, three Great Indian Bustard have died in Jaisalmer’s Kanoi, Mokhla and Khetolai villages—that are situated outside the Desert National Park-- after allegedly colliding with power lines.
The Wildlife Institute of India, has repeatedly expressed concern over the issue and asked the state government to put up diverters and lay underground power lines to protect the species.
Discussions and meetings between the state energy and forest departments since 2016 have yielded no results, but after the chief minister’s office intervened, the issue was expedited, a senior forest official, familiar with the matter, said.
The energy department has been directed to examine if underground power transmission lines can be laid, the official said.
Principal secretary of the state energy department Sanjay Malhotra, ruling out the possibility of underground power transmission lines, said: “Placing power lines underground will involve a huge expenditure and such move is not feasible.”
The forest department had provided 35 diverters to the energy department, out of which 33 have been installed in the Khetali village near Pokhran.
The diverters were installed in January and since then no incident bird deaths has been reported, an energy department official, who did not wish to be named, said.
A senior forest department official said the diverters were handed over in May, but were only installed after the letter from the chief minister’s office.
India’s first Great Indian Bustard captive breeding centre to be setup at Kota’s Sorsan Kota, and a hatchery at Jaisalmer’s Nokh are yet to be completed.
DWINDLING NUMBERS
• The rapid decline in Great Indian Bustard population across its distribution has already alarmed wildlife experts, ornithologists and bird lovers across the world. The main reasons cited for its decline are habitat loss due to conversion of grasslands to other purposes, anthropogenic and related biotic disturbances during its breeding season and frequent poaching of the species as game bird.
• Record of sighting in 1980, indicates that Sudashri and Kanod area of Jaisalmer have the highest number Great Indian Bustards, where more than 25 birds were sighted on a single day.
Great Indian Bustards were also found near Baran’s Sorsan and Ajmer’s Saunkalia. At present the bird has become extinct in Baran, Bikaner and Barmer. A major population between 75 and 100 is found in Jaisalmer, where it is breeding only at two locations, especially at Sudhashri and Ramdevra.