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Global encomiums for efforts to protect
alligators in MP
Bhopal, March 18 (Pervez Bari): World Conservation Union, (IUCA), has
praised the crisis management efforts undertaken in Madhya Pradesh to
check deaths of alligators.
The encomiums have been given in a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singh through which IUCA has also offered its cooperation in this
connection.
The letter has been sent by the head of alligator segment of World
Conservation Union Dr Graham Web to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in
the latter's capacity as incharge of Union Environment and Forest
Ministry. Dr Graham, while praising alligator crisis management in
Madhya Pradesh, has said it was due to efforts undertaken by Madhya
Pradesh government that necessary cooperation could be extended at the
international level for checking deaths of alligators.
Meanwhile, death rate of alligators in Chambal has come down. So far in
the month of March not a single alligator has died.
A four-member team was sent to National Chambal Sanctuary which
comprised alligator experts Dr FW Fitz Huchzermeyer, Onderstepoort,
South Africa, Dr Paulo Marteli, Ocean Park, Hong Kong, Dr Samuel Martin,
Law Freme Oxe, France and Dr Brian Stacy, University of Florida, USA.
This team made an in-depth study from January 28, 2008 to February 12,
2008. The team said that the efforts undertaken at the state-level were
effective. In his letter, Web has explicitly written that remarkable
progress has been made in management of this crisis mainly due to the
strategy adopted in India.
It may be mentioned that deaths of alligators had started since December
2007 in 35 kilometres area at the fag end of National Chambal Sanctuary.
This area is jointly controlled by Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. For
the first time deaths of alligators were reported on December 8, from
the area managed by Uttar Pradesh and since December 9, 2007 alligators
in Madhya Pradesh area also started dying. Swinging into action, the
state government contacted national and international experts. During
the tour of the sanctuary by Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr. P.B.
Gangopadhyaya on December 15, 2007, necessary information was collected
and an appeal was issued to all the alligators experts.
Madhya Pradesh Government sought Union government's intervention so that
assistance by national and international experts could be availed to
tackle this grave situation. On January 7, 2008 the Union Environment
and Forest Ministry organised a national-level meeting where Chief
Conservators of Forests, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh,
national alligator experts and non-government organisation World Nature
Fund-India were invited. At the meeting an Alligator Crisis Management
Team, headed by World Nature Fund-India, was constituted.
According to the team, alligators had died of visceral gout due to
kidney failure. Main cause of kidney failure was toxic effluents
released by industrial units in Yamuna river which killed fish. These
fish (stock food of alligators) were eaten by alligators leading to
their death. (pervezbari@eth.net)
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