Did Yamuna water kill Chambal ghariyals?
22 Feb, 2008, 0133 hrs IST,Neha Shukla, TNN
Economic Times
LUCKNOW: This tale has all the contours of a tragedy. Consider the facts: Chambal lost over 100 ghariyals in the last 72 days to a "mysterious" toxin released, in all possibility, by its very own sanctuary — the river Yamuna.
Vets involved in the probe have confirmed that toxins caused around 103 deaths. And though the picture is still a bit hazy, they unanimously agree toxins came from either the contaminated food or the Yamuna water.
Samples of the viscera and river water were sent to laboratories like IVRI (Bareilly), DRDE in Gwalior, IITR (Lucknow) and also to labs in Bhopal, Sagar, Pune and Jabalpur.
"We would be able to comment with certainty on the cause of deaths only after we have all the reports in hand. However, the two aforementioned reasons are foremost on our minds," a wildlife expert told TOI on Wednesday.
There are worries that the toxin might have begun to affect other freshwater species and the carcass of a magar (another crocodilian species) which was fished out on Monday could be an early warning. "We can't comment on what caused the death of the magar till the post-mortem report comes," said a senior representative from the crisis management group formed in this regard.
"One leading theory here is that there could have been a one-time release of the toxin in Yamuna, which reached Chambal during monsoons with the backwaters and the effect of that toxin is showing now because it takes time for any foreign substance to get incorporated in the food chain or in the water river," said another group member.
After almost three months since 16 bodies were fished out from Barchauli village in Etawah range of National Chambal Sanctuary on December 8, it is gout which has been noted in regularity in all 103 carcasses.
The bodies show uric acid deposition in visceral organs and also in joints of animals. This point towards kidney failure and toxin, according to the findings so far, as the cause.
It is the confluence of Yamuna and Chambal, which is the affected stretch of the sanctuary between Sahson and Kheda Ajab Singh in Etawah. The sanctuary runs through three states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Planet_SOS/Yamuna_A_ghariyal_killer/articleshow/2803411.cms
