Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary to reopen on Sunday

The Sultanpur National Park in Gurugram, which was shut down as a precautionary measure in the wake of the bird flu outbreak in parts of the country, is all set to reopen on Sunday, officials said on Saturday.

The park authorities claimed that no case of bird flu was reported in the park till date and it was closed only as a precautionary measure on November 5 for a week that was later extended to a fortnight.

The authorities, assisted by experts from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), were keeping a close watch on the movement of migratory and other birds.

"According to reports and conditions of birds in the park, we have decided to reopen the park for visitors from Sunday (November 20)," an official said.

He, however, made it clear that they will "re-examine the situation on Sunday morning before allowing bird lovers in".

This was the second time in recent years that the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary was closed due to avian flu.

The park was closed for over a week in January 2015 following the death of four dozen birds, mostly Eurasian coots due to avian flu.

Located on Gurugram-Farukhnagar Road, the park is home to around 250 species of birds, both resident and migratory. The birds come here from as far as Europe, Siberia and Central Asia.

According to forest officials, currently there are over 11,000 birds in the park.

"Experts have been keeping a close watch on the movement of avian guests to prevent an outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu. As of now all is well," said a senior forest officer.

Though wildlife officials had not confirmed any bird death at the park before shutting it, some sources had said a few birds had died in the park leading to the decision of closing the sanctuary in November.

--IANS

pradeep/vgu/in/bg