Crocodile rescued from water purification plant in Bhadup

A three-foot-long crocodile was rescued from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) water purification plant at Bhandup on Friday afternoon.

A three-foot-long crocodile was rescued from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) water purification plant at Bhandup on Friday afternoon.

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The crocodile was found by BMC staff in the waterbed inside the purification plant. They called the forest department and wildlife rescue team Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW). Crocodiles are protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Around 1pm Friday, a rescue operation was initiated, said Pawan Sharma, president, RAWW, who was joined by members Anil Bhalerao, Ritik Jaiswal and Ajay Kanojiya. “It took us an hour to drain the water from the bed. The crocodile was safely rescued. Since we do not know how long the animal was stuck, it was rushed to Bandra-based veterinarian Dr Rina Dev for a medical examination,” said Sharma.

“The crocodile may have entered the bed through the channel from where the water from Vihar Lake is procured to filter, process and supply to the city. The animal may have been stuck for quite some time, and there was no way out for it,” said Sharma.

Santosh Kank, range forest officer, Mumbai, said, “An enquiry into the entire episode has been called. We will examine how the crocodile made its way to the purification plant and ensure appropriate safety measures are in place for BMC staff.”

After being declared fit, a microchip will be inserted on the reptile’s tail and released back into the natural habitat. “So far, we have micro-chipped around four crocodiles over the past three years. It helps identify the animal during any census or future rescue,” said Sharma.

The latest case comes less than a month after a 6.5-foot crocodile was rescued from a construction site pond in Mulund after two-month-long efforts. In July 2015, an 11-foot crocodile was rescued in a five-hour operation from the same Bhandup complex purification plant after it had strayed in during the night from its original habitat at Vihar Lake.