A flock of open-bill storks at the Kulik sanctuary; and (below) the national highway near the forest. Pictures by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Aug. 27: Vehicles speeding along NH34 with air horns blaring are a potential threat to the successful rearing of hundreds of fledglings by open-bill storks roosting at the Kulik Bird Sanctuary.

This year, according to divisional forest officer Apurba Sen, the breeding has been good with no storms or adverse weather taking a toll on the birds and their young ones.

Given the situation, the DFO has turned to the district administration to implement the ban on air horns and their use when the vehicles pass along the sanctuary along the highway.

The habitat was ideal for the waders and waterfowl as the canal running through the sanctuary had been cleaned and there were enough snails and molluscs for the birds to feed on, the DFO said. Apart from the open-bills, cormorants and night herons also come to Kulik to nest during the monsoon months.

“The birds, particularly open-bill storks, come here to breed and set up their rookery as the sanctuary offers them shelter, safety and food. Over the years we have successfully fenced off the entire area and warded off people who used to sneak in and steal eggs and hatchlings from the sanctuary,” Sen said.

The DFO said earlier a one-kilometre stretch between the Kulik bridge and the sericulture department office had been declared a no-horn zone. “However, the buses and trucks plying this stretch do not adhere to the order. The high decibels and the shrill air horns can have an adverse effect on the hatchlings and they can even die because of shock. We do not have the manpower to implement the ban and that is why I have written to the administration and police to take care of the problem,” Sen said.

An air horn gives out more than 80 decibels of sound, 15 decibles more than the permissible limit.

North Dinajpur district magistrate Sunil Dandapat said signboards had been put up in the silence zones. “It is now up to the drivers of the vehicles to adhere to the appeal. However, I will speak to the motor vehicles department and the police on how to stop this,” Dandapat said.

Subhas Das, the driver of a private bus that plies the Raiganj-Siliguri route, said he was aware of the silence zone while driving past the sanctuary twice a day. “But we are helpless. Right in front of the forest, there is a sharp U-turn and drivers are forced to use horns to warn coming traffic,” he said.