Authorities fail to check poaching in wular lake

The poaching of migratory birds is going on unabated in Wular Lake. Voicing concern over the reckless hunting of the migratory birds, people in Sopore said that the officials of the

concerned department were “hand-in-glove” with the poachers. People residing in adjoining areas of Wular Lake said that the poachers shoot and kill scores of migratory birds every day and

sell them at exorbitant prices in the market. They said that the poachers use licensed guns to shoot the migratory birds despite the ban on the use of guns imposed by the authorities. Nazir

Ahmad, a resident of WatlabGhat said that the lake used to witness the arrival of various kinds of migratory birds. He said that though the authorities had imposed a ban on the use of

hunting guns, illegal poaching was goes on unabated. Nazir said that the concerned department had failed to keep the poachers under check to prevent the poaching of birds. Muhammad Ramzan, a

resident of ZorimanzBandipora, said the lake was crowded with migratory birds but hunting and poaching had reduced their number and forced them to leave the Wular Lake. Wildlife Warden

Wetlands, IfshanDewan said that a checking squad would be deputed to the lake and action taken against the poachers involved in the hunting of migratory birds. “We recently seized many

hunting guns from the poachers in the area,” she said.