Baffled residents seek probe as birds fall dead in Navi Mumbai

While some believe the rise in temperatures in the city could be the reason, there are others who believe that there is more to this issue and want authorities to investigate. An expert has said that crows might have been feeding on poisoned rats and must be dying because of that.

NAVI MUMBAI: Birds, especially crows, are dropping dead in Navi Mumbai and this has baffled the residents.

Baffled residents seek probe as birds fall dead in Navi Mumbai

Society groups are abuzz with residents discussing the probable reasons behind repeated instances of birds falling dead. Residents taking a stroll in their society complex, or even while seated in their balconies, have witnessed birds randomly falling lifeless.

While some believe the rise in temperatures in the city could be the reason, there are others who believe that there is more to this issue and want authorities to investigate. An expert has said that crows might have been feeding on poisoned rats and must be dying because of that.

“The last couple of days, I have been hearing about crows falling dead from the sky. In fact, it is not just crows, some residents have sighted a couple of dead pigeons, too. On Friday, a crow dropped dead right into my balcony, and it was a disturbing sight,” said Braja Sarkar, a resident of NRI Complex.

Shruti Agarwal, another resident of Palm Beach Road complex, said, “I have not seen any bird dropping dead, however, in the last two days, there are many people in the society, who while going for a walk, have come across birds lying dead with no apparent cause.”

Residents believe that soaring temperatures has increased the risk of heatstroke for citizens and the same could probably be affecting the birds.

“The only explanation I can come up with is the high temperatures, which may have taken a toll on the birds,” said a resident, who wished to be unnamed.

However, Sarkar pointed out that the temperatures have normalised in the last few days. Concerned residents assume there is more to the birds falling dead than just the rise in temperatures and are seeking authorities to investigate the matter.

“Over the past few days, city temperature has been between 33 to 35 degrees Celsius, which is not so severe that birds will fall dead. Besides, we have a swimming pool, so, there is no dearth of water here. I believe this could be a case of poisoning, which officials should investigate,” said Sarkar.

Mrugank Prabhu, a bird expert and a scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), told HT that the repeated instances of crows falling could be attributed to the use of poison to kill rodents.

“Crows are known to feed on dead animals like rats. It could be that a few might have fed on poisoned rats. If there are more birds of other species falling dead, then it is a cause for worry and will require a thorough investigation,” said Prabhu.