Pune: On Makar Sankranti, while people flew kites and exchanged greetings, Anil Avachite and son Gaurav spent the day travelling across the city to rescue birds entangled in manja.
“We found injured kites (birds) at Guruwar Peth, Bund Garden and Camp. These are places with heavy green cover and thus a large population of birds. During the week before the festival, we found a Hariyal (yellow-footed green pigeon), our state bird, with its feet, wings and body cut with manja.It was only causing deeper cuts since the bird struggled to break free. We untangled it and took it home to nurse it back to health,” said Avachite, an employee of Sassoon hospital, who has been rescuing snakes and birds as a passion for the last 44 years.
The father-son duo also rescued one crow and three pigeons over the last four days.
Animal rescuers had a busy day on Makar Sankranti trying to save as many birds as they could from the perils of sharp strings (manja).
“This year, till January 16, we had 64 cases of birds rescued with manja injuries. We had had 327 in 2023,” said Neha Panchamia, founder ResQ Charitable Trust NGO.
She said, “We witnessed an increase in the number of calls reporting such instances. It shows more awareness about birds getting stuck in manja and people alert to it. We urge citizens to check the trees around them. If broken kite strings appear stuck, please remove it or ask our teams for help.”
Firemen from Pune Municipal Corporation’s fire brigade department saved 10 bird rescues between January 12 and 15. Official Nilesh Mahajan said, “It is always a busy time for our personnel who carry out bird rescues during the days leading up to Makar Sankranti and till a few days after the festival.”
Dr Kalyan Gangwal, cardiologist, ornithophile and president of Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratishthan, set up a helpline (9823017343) for citizens to report distressed animals and birds from January 14 to 31. “In the weekend before the festival, we had some 15 calls about injured birds. We have a full-time veterinarian, an ambulance and a social worker who doubles up as a bird rescuer. While the volume of calls is high during Makar Sankranti, but every alternate day through the year I get calls from citizens about birds stuck in manja which remains entangled in trees for long.”
We also published the following articles recently
“We found injured kites (birds) at Guruwar Peth, Bund Garden and Camp. These are places with heavy green cover and thus a large population of birds. During the week before the festival, we found a Hariyal (yellow-footed green pigeon), our state bird, with its feet, wings and body cut with manja.It was only causing deeper cuts since the bird struggled to break free. We untangled it and took it home to nurse it back to health,” said Avachite, an employee of Sassoon hospital, who has been rescuing snakes and birds as a passion for the last 44 years.
The father-son duo also rescued one crow and three pigeons over the last four days.
Animal rescuers had a busy day on Makar Sankranti trying to save as many birds as they could from the perils of sharp strings (manja).
“This year, till January 16, we had 64 cases of birds rescued with manja injuries. We had had 327 in 2023,” said Neha Panchamia, founder ResQ Charitable Trust NGO.
She said, “We witnessed an increase in the number of calls reporting such instances. It shows more awareness about birds getting stuck in manja and people alert to it. We urge citizens to check the trees around them. If broken kite strings appear stuck, please remove it or ask our teams for help.”
Firemen from Pune Municipal Corporation’s fire brigade department saved 10 bird rescues between January 12 and 15. Official Nilesh Mahajan said, “It is always a busy time for our personnel who carry out bird rescues during the days leading up to Makar Sankranti and till a few days after the festival.”
Dr Kalyan Gangwal, cardiologist, ornithophile and president of Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratishthan, set up a helpline (9823017343) for citizens to report distressed animals and birds from January 14 to 31. “In the weekend before the festival, we had some 15 calls about injured birds. We have a full-time veterinarian, an ambulance and a social worker who doubles up as a bird rescuer. While the volume of calls is high during Makar Sankranti, but every alternate day through the year I get calls from citizens about birds stuck in manja which remains entangled in trees for long.”
We also published the following articles recently
31 birds caught in manja threads rescued in 15 days, says NGO
Bird injuries caused by glass powder-laced threads used in kites are increasing in Bengaluru. The city-based People for Animals (PFA) Wildlife Rescue & Conservation Centre recorded 31 cases of bird injuries during the first fortnight of January 2024. Most of the injured birds were black kites entangled in the Chinese manja threads.
Bird injuries caused by glass powder-laced threads used in kites are increasing in Bengaluru. The city-based People for Animals (PFA) Wildlife Rescue & Conservation Centre recorded 31 cases of bird injuries during the first fortnight of January 2024. Most of the injured birds were black kites entangled in the Chinese manja threads.
1,959 birds rescued across state
Two days of Uttarayan revelry, with kite strings entangled on trees and poles, claimed the lives of animals and birds. Karuna Animal Ambulance received thousands of emergency calls from across the state, mostly for birds. Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services and Jivdaya Trust also rescued and treated numerous birds.
Two days of Uttarayan revelry, with kite strings entangled on trees and poles, claimed the lives of animals and birds. Karuna Animal Ambulance received thousands of emergency calls from across the state, mostly for birds. Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services and Jivdaya Trust also rescued and treated numerous birds.