28 December,2021 07:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Two local villagers were angry that a wooden board blocking the inlet channel at the wetlands had been removed
It is not just only our environment that faces threats due to the increasingly destructive activities, people who want to protect it are, too. A birder from Uran, who has been part of a group trying to protect the Panje wetlands in Uran, has received death threats from two local villagers. Environmentalists have launched a social media campaign - #JusticeforBirder - in order to mobilise support for birder Parag Gharat, who is facing the threats.
The online petition has also been addressed to the prime minister, Maharashtra chief minister and state environment minister, seeking immediate action against those who are trying to damage Panje's biodiversity and harm those who want to protect the wetlands.
The petition has been started by NGOs NatConnect Foundation, Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan and Paaramparik Machhimar Bachao Kruti Samiti, and till now, more than 200 people have signed it.
The incident in which Gharat was threatened happened a couple of days back in the presence of Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust and revenue officials, who were on a site visit to the wetlands in view of people bursting firecrackers to chase away the migratory birds.
Goenka said, "On December 22, Circle Inspector, Ganesh Goregaonkar requested me to visit Panje wetlands for a site inspection regarding the degradation of mangroves. I met him at 4 pm. Goregaonkar was accompanied by Talati, Deepak Patil. I was accompanied by my colleague Dr Shweta Bhatt. That day we found out that one of the inlet channels had been blocked with a wooden board. We decided to remove it and Goregaonkar asked Patil to do it. There were a large number of birds at the site but their behaviour indicated that the site was heavily disturbed."
Two forest guards Asha Wade and Santosh Ingole later joined Goenka and the others at Panje. The team spoke to several villagers whom they met during the site visit.
"All of them denied the fact that firecrackers were being set off at the wetlands to drive away the birds. Two villagers present at the spot - Tejas Sanjay Gharat and Pramod Kashinath Gharat - were very angry that the board blocking the water flow had been removed. They were aggressive in their arguments with us. I told the circle inspector and the talati to take away the board.
The talati informed me that the board had been thrown far away and could not be retrieved. While we were driving out of the area, we met another villager - Parag Gharat, who is an avid birdwatcher and photographer. While we were talking to him, both Tejas and Pramod threatened Parag. They repeatedly told him they would kill and bury him if he continued to take photographs of the birds and share them with other birdwatchers," added Goenka.
The team also showed some geo-tagged photographs of remnants of firecrackers found at the wetlands to both the circle inspector and talati. "I requested Goregaonkar and Patil to inform the police about the threats before we left the site," added Goenka.
Wetlands serve as urban sponges by absorbing floodwaters, they also act as carbon sinks and support a whole lot of biodiversity apart from serving as a source of survival for the fishing community.
