Navi Mumbai spreads wings for flamingo fest
Celebrating the World Migratory Bird Day (WBMD) on May 14, a cohort of environment-focused groups has joined hands to hold Navi Mumbai's first-ever flamingo festival. The festival assumes added significance as the civic body has given the flamingo city tag to Navi Mumbai, which attracts the country’s largest number of pink birds.
To be hosted at the Delhi Public School (DPS), the event has garnered the support from the 139-year-old Bombay Natural History Society, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the State Mangrove Foundation.
A bird watching event will be held at DPS lake followed by an exhibition on flamingos at DPS auditorium. The show, listed as part of the WBMD global events, will start at 12 noon and end at 6 pm. The entry for the event is free, the organisers said, adding that a photo exhibition, educational displays on mangroves and wetlands and flamingo dance are part of the event. “The festival is to remind ourselves of the need to conserve the migratory bird habitats such as wetlands and mudflats in the interest of biodiversity,” said Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Wetlands and Hills forum. Similarly, NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar asserted that it's important to understand the regular destinations of these birds. “The fest is not just for the love birds but to check the fragile ecological balance that we need to focus on wetlands, mudflats and mangroves,” he said.
While Save Navi Mumbai Environment forum's Sunil Agrawal raised concern about the dwindling Coastal Regulation Zone and constant threats to wetlands.
Naresh Chandra Singh of Kharghar Wetlands & Hills expressed the hope that the event will help create awareness among the citizens about the constant damage to the environment under the guise of urban development.