Maanja kills birds in Lalbagh

by November 15, 2010 Environment

The second instance I saw birds getting entangled in kite thread and dying, and the officials are yet to look into preventing this disaster.

A crow, caught in the maanja. Pic: Saandip N G.

I witnessed murder of my avian friends in Lalbagh, near the Glass House on Sunday morning. The culprit? A manja daara is a thread used for flying kites. This is very strong and is smeared with fine powered glass to increase its strength.

Everyone present witnessed the birds being killed. Even the horticulture department workers inside Lalbagh ignored it and shook their heads as if it not of any concern to them.

This is the second time I am noticing, unattended kite threads passing through many trees in Lalbagh. The birds get entangled in this thread and die.  I saw a myna which had got caught, it was still alive and was calling out in distress, but sadly it invited crows that helped end its life.

Lalbagh Botanical Garden is located in the heart of Bangalore city – an institution of botanical and environmental importance, also an important lung space of Bangalore.

A myna, caught in the maanja. Pic: Saandip N G.

I urge the authorities to take necessary action to clear the unattended manja threads immediately so that the many migratory birds are not affected.

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Comments:

  1. Deepa Mohan says:
    November 16, 2010 at 9:39 am

    Excellent documentation of a problem which many of us are not aware of, and some of us ignore. What can be done about this, I wonder?

    Reply

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