A crow, caught in the maanja. Pic: Saandip N G.
I witnessed murder of my avian friends in Lalbagh, near the Glass House on Sunday morning. The culprit? A manja daara is a thread used for flying kites. This is very strong and is smeared with fine powered glass to increase its strength.
Everyone present witnessed the birds being killed. Even the horticulture department workers inside Lalbagh ignored it and shook their heads as if it not of any concern to them.
This is the second time I am noticing, unattended kite threads passing through many trees in Lalbagh. The birds get entangled in this thread and die. I saw a myna which had got caught, it was still alive and was calling out in distress, but sadly it invited crows that helped end its life.
Lalbagh Botanical Garden is located in the heart of Bangalore city – an institution of botanical and environmental importance, also an important lung space of Bangalore.
A myna, caught in the maanja. Pic: Saandip N G.
I urge the authorities to take necessary action to clear the unattended manja threads immediately so that the many migratory birds are not affected.
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Excellent documentation of a problem which many of us are not aware of, and some of us ignore. What can be done about this, I wonder?