BENGALURU: A day of celebration proved harmful for several birds in the city. Even after the ban on Chinese manja, it is still being used. On the day of Makara Sankranti, 12 birds were rescued in the city.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike rescued seven birds entangled in manja in places like Magadi Road, Vidyaranyapura, Kumaraswamy Layout, Shantinagar, Race Course Road. While some were injured, others were rescued successfully without any injury. Meanwhile, the Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC) rescued about four birds.
Rajesh Kumar, BBMP wildlife rescuer, disclosed a case where a black kite was entangled in manja. “Around 4 pm in the evening, I got a call from a resident of Vidyaranyapura, who said that they noticed a bird stuck and immediately informed the BBMP control room. I rushed to the spot and saw the bird stuck on a 30-feet tree. On a closer look, we noticed the bird stuck in manja. We rescued it but the kite had a deep cut on its wing and we immediately took it to the Wildlife Hospital,” he said.
Jayanathi Kallam, Co-founder and Executive Director of ARRC revealed that so far this month, the ARRC has had 42 cases of birds trapped in manja.