Piles of garbage turn Haridwar’s ponds into crocodile nesting sites

DEHRADUN

: About 15 days ago, a man in Dungarpur opened the door to his toilet to find a

crocodile

in the corner. Then, on Sunday, a farmer in Fatwa found one in his courtyard. Three days before that, a nine-year-old girl picking flowers near a pond was killed in a crocodile attack at Panditpuri. There has been an alarming spike in human-crocodile conflict in

Haridwar

, and the reason is garbage.

Uttarakhand

has witnessed sporadic instances of such conflict. In the past two and a half years, there have been 52 cases — three died, and all had entered farmlands,

forest department data TOI

accessed showed. Every year, around this time, floodwaters of the Suwali, Banganga and Ganga rivers recede, leaving vast stretches of marshy land for crocodiles to arrive in. This year, the surge has been extraordinary. Of the 52, there have been 24 crocodile rescues in just the past three months, and only in Haridwar’s Laksar range, a highly-placed source told TOI.

“We have sounded crocodile alerts and asked residents to stay away from ponds and marshy areas, especially children and the elderly. Crocodiles with offspring are more defensive,” said Haridwar divisional forest officer Neeraj Verma.

Experts attributed this to three things — the human population in the Banganga wetlands is going up, the population of crocodiles is as well, and, in what they called a “strange phenomenon”, water bodies are getting choked by solid waste, making them perfect nesting sites for crocodiles.

“With heaps of waste dumped in water bodies, many ponds have turned into marshy garbage dumps. Crocodiles have begun nesting there,” said DFO Verma. The choked ponds are like the marshy patches they are partial to. So, the crocodile attacks have moved away from forest areas to human habitations. Besides, there is easy access to food.

“We are patrolling the area. It has many ponds and we are flooded with calls to rescue crocodiles that have turned up where they live,” said Gaurav Aggarwal,

forest range officer

of the Laksar range. His team had rescued the crocodile in Satwa on Sunday. The new phenomenon has also led to new problems. “Crocodiles cannot be tranquilised. The ponds are very deep at some points and so choked in others that nets can’t be spread,” Aggrawal added.

The crocodile that killed the nine-year-old, meanwhile, has not been spotted.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.