Assam villagers perform ‘shradh’ ceremony for 36 vultures killed by poisoning

The vultures had died on January 18 and 19 after reportedly feeding on a cow’s carcass. The cow had died after drinking water from a pond in which villagers had mixed poison for a community fishing event

Residents of Dhulijan village in Assam’s Tinsukia district this Sunday performed shradh (a religious ritual to honour the dead) ceremony for 36 vultures that had died last month due to poisoning.

Residents of Dhulijan village at the ‘shradh’ ceremony of the poisoned vultures on Sunday. (Photo: Vivek Menon/WTI)

The vultures had died on January 18 and 19 after reportedly feeding on a cow’s carcass. The cow had died after drinking water from a pond in which villagers had mixed poison for a community fishing event.

Two species of vultures, white rumped (Gyps bengalensis) and slender billed (Gyps tenuirostris), both listed as critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), had died in the incident

Dressed in traditional attire, men, women and children of Dhulijan sat on the ground and conducted the ‘shradh’ ceremony with all the rituals, marking the end of a 14-day mourning period, in the paddy field where the birds had died.

“The villagers were saddened by the deaths. They performed last rites of the birds and on Sunday, conducted the ‘shradh’. An awareness programme was also held to educate villagers not to contaminate water bodies or leave carcasses of poisoned animals in the open,” said local divisional forest officer Atiqur Rahman.

We conducted ‘shradh’ for the birds and prayed for their eternal peace. Everyone from the village took part in the ceremony,” a resident of Dhulijan told a local news channel.

The ceremony was also marked by the release of eight vultures (six slender billed and two white rumped) by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) CEO Vivek Menon after their treatment for consumption of the poisoned carcass.

“While 36 vultures died due to poisoning, we were able to rescue and treat eight others at our centre in Tinsukia. They were released on Sunday as part of the ‘shradh’ ceremony,” WTI joint director Rathin Barman said.

Meanwhile, the forest department has ordered an inquiry into the deaths.

In April last year, 19 vultures had died on a single day in Sivasagar district after consuming meat of a dead cow. In March 2019, 39 vultures had died in the same district after consuming poisoned meat.