‘Routine sortie’: Navy on low-flying chopper over flamingo habitat in Mumbai | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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‘Routine sortie’: Navy on low-flying chopper over flamingo habitat in Mumbai

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByBadri Chatterjee | Edited by: Amit Chaturvedi
May 21, 2020 08:17 AM IST

Over 1.5 lakh flamingos have flocked to wetlands in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this year, the Bombay Natural History Society said.

On Wednesday morning, Navi Mumbai residents were surprised to see a helicopter fly very low, close to the flamingo feeding grounds in Talawe wetlands, scattering the birds.

The chopper was seen flying above the flamingo habitat in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.(Sourced: Sandip Bangia)
The chopper was seen flying above the flamingo habitat in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.(Sourced: Sandip Bangia)

The Indian Navy said this was part of their routine migratory bird survey as flamingos and waders were a flight safety hazard. The survey was carried out to ascertain density of migratory birds as this habitat falls within the designated ‘local flying area’ (LFA) of the Indian Navy Station (INS) Shikra in Colaba, officials said.

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Over 1.5 lakh flamingos have flocked to wetlands in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this year, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said last month, estimating a 25 per cent increase in numbers than 2019. The BNHS said that lower human activity during lockdown created ideal foraging conditions in Navi Mumbai wetlands.

Local resident Sandeep Bangia, who photographed the helicopter around 10 am on Wednesday, said that he have never seen a helicopter over the flamingo habitat earlier. “I live on the 17th floor, and what seemed like a defence helicopter, was flying as low as the 14th floor,” said Bangia. “The whirring noise (from the helicopter) disturbed the birds as the chopper made multiple rounds over the patch within 10 minutes.”

The navy said that based on videos taken at the site, flamingo numbers were much more than previous years.

“INS Shikra’s flight safety officer, skilled in bird migratory studies in LFA, was present for the sortie. For any defence station, it is essential to know the presence of migratory birds for flight safety. Large migratory bird congregation at this zone shows a risk in helicopter movement, and needs to be avoided. This is a safety requirement and there is no mischief,” said Commander Mehul Karnik, Indian Navy spokesperson. “Such surveys are usually conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles in large military airfields but in this region Chetak helicopters have to be deployed.”

A BNHS official, requesting anonymity, said, “A similar sortie was observed during our study in Panje in 2017 but not at the NRI complex flamingo habitat over the past few years.”

Sunil Agarwal, another resident said constant attention being given to this habitat makes a clear case for declaring the site a protected area.

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