Guest articles
Threats of plastic pollution at Triveni Sangam: Save the gulls of the Sangam
Shraddha AggarwalThreats of plastic pollution at Triveni Sangam: Save the gulls of the Sangam
The Triveni Sangam, for which Prayagraj is known, is the unification of the mighty river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The confluence point is sacred to millions of Hindus worldwide and is also the site of the Mahakumbh. Every year, a crowd of about 80 million pilgrims arrive here during the Magh (11th month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding to the months of January/February) mela and spend the entire month in prayers.
Coinciding with the vast gathering of pilgrims, the site welcomes flocks of Siberian seagulls (Larus sp.) that visit the subcontinent to escape the harsh Siberian weather. These migratory birds usually leave the higher latitudes in winter and move from areas of low resources to the areas of high resources especially in search for food and nesting locations. The presence of such numerous birds presents a mesmerizing view as if waiting to take a holy dip along with the lakhs of pilgrims. According to the local community, the tradition of migratory birds coming to Sangam dates back to a long time.
As the birds flock in the thousands they are often fed by pilgrims who arrive to bathe in the river. With the increase in tourists, the boat operators have started to lure the migratory birds with balls of flour. This attracts the birds all around the boat delighting the people sitting inside the boat. These migratory birds face numerous threats not just from natural predators but also from the anthropogenic activities like feeding them junk food and items that are packed in plastic that are later discarded carelessly. Confusing plastic waste with food they fill their guts with it that cause them to starve and also harm their offspring. When seagulls eat plastics, it can block their digestive systems, causing a long, slow death from starvation. Sharp pieces of plastic can also pierce the gut wall, causing infection and sometimes death. As little as one piece of ingested plastic can kill a seabird.
First observations of plastic pieces inside seagulls date back to the 1960s, and studies made between the year 1962 and 2012 have revealed that 59% of examined seagulls had ingested plastics. In 2015, the world produced more than 380 million ton of plastics. Some 8 billion kg of plastic waste flows into the Sangam every year from coastal regions. In 2016, experts identified four main items they considered to be most deadly to wildlife: debris, plastic bags, balloons and plastic utensils. Flexible plastics, such as plastic sheets, bags and packaging, can cause gut blockage and are responsible for the greatest number of deaths in seabirds.
According to the Indian Express article dated March 10th, 2019, seagulls gain their muscles by eating fish and other insects that are rich in protein, but the junk food becomes an obstacle when they have to migrate back, as it does not provide anything but fats creating indigestion and other illnesses in their bodies (Deepak Apte, BNHS Director & Pawan Sharma, President of RAWW, 2019). Some studies have also highlighted changes in the behaviour of these migratory birds as there have been reports of seagulls attacking humans (Sunish Subramaniam, PAWS, 2019). The whole world is choking on plastic and so too are the birds. An assessment of Paulson Institute, Chicago published in 2019 stresses on the point that nearly one million seabirds die due to plastic every year.
Imagine how many of these tiny lives are lost every day that we do not even know about. Single-use plastic under 50 microns is banned in Uttar Pradesh since the year 2018 and also under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), yet the hurdle of convincing the crowd has to be dealt with. There are several other measures that we can put into action, such as reducing plastic used in packaging, proper discarding of fishing nets and rings along with raising awareness on a local level. Flexible film-like plastics, including plastics bags and packaging, rank among the ten most common items in marine debris surveys globally. Plastics bag bans and fees for bags have already been shown to reduce bags littered into the environment. Improving local disposal and engineering solutions to enable recycling and improve the life span of plastics may also help reduce littering.
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It showcases their ecological importance and exposes the threats faced by them. Every year various organizations and people from around the globe organize public events like educational programs, exhibitions, bird festivals and bird-watching to raise awareness among the people. The World Migratory Bird Day 2021 (8th May 2021) is a chance for us to stop plastic pollution and irresponsible tourism.
Shraddha Aggarwal is a student at Department of Basic Sciences, Lal Bahadur Shastri PG College, Jaipur. She can be reached at shraddhaaggarwal93@gmail.com All photographs are by Sakshi Tripathi
Coinciding with the vast gathering of pilgrims, the site welcomes flocks of Siberian seagulls (Larus sp.) that visit the subcontinent to escape the harsh Siberian weather. These migratory birds usually leave the higher latitudes in winter and move from areas of low resources to the areas of high resources especially in search for food and nesting locations. The presence of such numerous birds presents a mesmerizing view as if waiting to take a holy dip along with the lakhs of pilgrims. According to the local community, the tradition of migratory birds coming to Sangam dates back to a long time.
As the birds flock in the thousands they are often fed by pilgrims who arrive to bathe in the river. With the increase in tourists, the boat operators have started to lure the migratory birds with balls of flour. This attracts the birds all around the boat delighting the people sitting inside the boat. These migratory birds face numerous threats not just from natural predators but also from the anthropogenic activities like feeding them junk food and items that are packed in plastic that are later discarded carelessly. Confusing plastic waste with food they fill their guts with it that cause them to starve and also harm their offspring. When seagulls eat plastics, it can block their digestive systems, causing a long, slow death from starvation. Sharp pieces of plastic can also pierce the gut wall, causing infection and sometimes death. As little as one piece of ingested plastic can kill a seabird.
First observations of plastic pieces inside seagulls date back to the 1960s, and studies made between the year 1962 and 2012 have revealed that 59% of examined seagulls had ingested plastics. In 2015, the world produced more than 380 million ton of plastics. Some 8 billion kg of plastic waste flows into the Sangam every year from coastal regions. In 2016, experts identified four main items they considered to be most deadly to wildlife: debris, plastic bags, balloons and plastic utensils. Flexible plastics, such as plastic sheets, bags and packaging, can cause gut blockage and are responsible for the greatest number of deaths in seabirds.
According to the Indian Express article dated March 10th, 2019, seagulls gain their muscles by eating fish and other insects that are rich in protein, but the junk food becomes an obstacle when they have to migrate back, as it does not provide anything but fats creating indigestion and other illnesses in their bodies (Deepak Apte, BNHS Director & Pawan Sharma, President of RAWW, 2019). Some studies have also highlighted changes in the behaviour of these migratory birds as there have been reports of seagulls attacking humans (Sunish Subramaniam, PAWS, 2019). The whole world is choking on plastic and so too are the birds. An assessment of Paulson Institute, Chicago published in 2019 stresses on the point that nearly one million seabirds die due to plastic every year.
Imagine how many of these tiny lives are lost every day that we do not even know about. Single-use plastic under 50 microns is banned in Uttar Pradesh since the year 2018 and also under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), yet the hurdle of convincing the crowd has to be dealt with. There are several other measures that we can put into action, such as reducing plastic used in packaging, proper discarding of fishing nets and rings along with raising awareness on a local level. Flexible film-like plastics, including plastics bags and packaging, rank among the ten most common items in marine debris surveys globally. Plastics bag bans and fees for bags have already been shown to reduce bags littered into the environment. Improving local disposal and engineering solutions to enable recycling and improve the life span of plastics may also help reduce littering.
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It showcases their ecological importance and exposes the threats faced by them. Every year various organizations and people from around the globe organize public events like educational programs, exhibitions, bird festivals and bird-watching to raise awareness among the people. The World Migratory Bird Day 2021 (8th May 2021) is a chance for us to stop plastic pollution and irresponsible tourism.
Shraddha Aggarwal is a student at Department of Basic Sciences, Lal Bahadur Shastri PG College, Jaipur. She can be reached at shraddhaaggarwal93@gmail.com All photographs are by Sakshi Tripathi