In Mumbai’s suburb of Sewri, among polluting refineries, a ship-breaking yard, and mushrooming slums is to be found Mumbai’s only Flamingo Bay. This vast mangrove swamp acts not only as a buffer against the high tidal waves of the Arabian Sea but is also a habitat for over 20, 000 Lesser and Greater flamingos and about 150 species of migratory birds.
The onset of winter heralds the arrival of flamingos, and their pinkish feathers against the sunlit background offer a breathtaking spectacle to visitors and bird lovers.
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Birdlife International, a U.K.-based organization focusing on avian communication, have declared Sewri Bay an important bird area. The very existence of this unique mudflat, a haven for over 50, 000 migratory birds, and its effect on the ecosystem is now in question.
The state government of Maharashtra, in the name of development, is going ahead with the Nhava Sheva Trans-Harbor Sea link project, a proposed six-lane causeway to be built over the seafront and passing through Sewri Bay.
Once this 22 km (13.67 mile) bridge is completed, connecting with the mainland of Mumbai, it is feared that 120 spotted and listed bird species, including the Greater and Lesser flamingo, will stop flocking to this wetland because of human encroachment vitiating the habitat.
An unbelievable 15 to 20 percent of the entire south Asian population of flamingos that feed and breed right in the heart of this overpopulated metropolis will simply disappear, depriving the city’s bird lovers of their only bird-watching spot.
The BNHS is spearheading its campaign to save this important bird heritage wetland and has made it clear that it is not putting itself in the way of development, only demanding that the bridge be realigned to protect a priceless habitat. Whether the government will heed the advice of bird organizations is a matter for conjecture, but it is to be hoped that good sense will prevail.
Rajen Nair