The Kurze dam in Talasari that lies along the border of Maharashtra and Gujarat, is slowly turning out to be a mini Bharatpur as thousands of migratory birds are coming here during the winter.
Some of the birds are believed to have migrated from Europe, Russia or Eurasian region and from other parts of India. These include the ferruginous duck or ferruginous pochard, the Eurasian teal or common teal, garganey dabbling duck, northern pintail, flamingos, spoonbills, spotbills, painted stork and so on.
Located nearly 150 km away from Mumbai along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway, the place faces its own challenges, but Nature and Environment Society of Thane (NEST), an NGO working in the Vasai-Virar belt, has decided to take up the challenge and has already initiated a process to educate the locals and petitioned the Maharashtra government. The area mainly has a tribal population.
“The place has a huge potential, if nursed and taken care of, it can turn out to be a mini Bharatpur. It has immense bird tourism potential…it is now three to four years that migratory birds are seen,” said Sachin Main, the founder-chairman of NEST.
The Kurze dam is surrounded by more than half a dozen villages — Kurze, Modgaon, Pasodi, Kubala, Halatpada, Jamlunpada and Sagarshet — and some villagers hunt these birds.
Main has been joined by professionals from various fields, including doctors like Dr R K Ghadi, Dr Mangesh Prabhulkar and Dr Parag Nalawade, birding expert Amol Lopes and hiking and camping expert Kuldeep Chaudhari among others.
Published 31 January 2016, 19:34 IST