NRI Lake flamingo surge prompts call to restore DPS and TS Chanakya wetlands, visitors flock in large numbers

Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists called for urgent restoration of the neighbouring DPS and TS Chanakya wetlands as hundreds of bird enthusiasts swarmed the narrow stretch at NRI Lake to watch flamingo gatherings, increasing visitor pressure on a single habitat in Navi Mumbai. Greens said visitors arrived from neighbouring cities and NRI Lake emerged as an unofficial eco-tourism hotspot. The group urged the state govt to revive all three wetlands to benefit migratory birds and nature enthusiasts.

Environmentalists said the DPS and TS Chanakya wetlands turned toxic due to stagnant water and blue-green algae accumulation. They said a portion of NRI Lake turned the main destination for flamingos flying out of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary during high tide. The sanctuary, a Ramsar site of global importance, hosted migratory flamingos during the winter-summer months before they returned to Kutch ahead of the monsoon.

Environmentalists said this season witnessed a remarkable increase in lesser flamingos across the Mumbai region, while greater flamingos preferred freshwater wetlands such as Bhigwan. “Yes, we are seeing over a thousand greater flamingos here,” bird trail guide Nitin Nagre from Bhigwan informed. Lesser flamingos thrived mainly on microscopic food sources found in shallow alkaline and saline waters, feeding on blue-green algae, diatoms, plankton, tiny crustaceans and other microorganisms filtered through their specialised beaks.

Carotenoid pigments present in the algae contributed to their striking pink colouration. Experts warned that dependence on a limited section of the NRI wetland could increase pressure on microscopic food sources. They said restoration of the DPS and TS Chanakya wetlands became essential to provide alternative feeding grounds, according to Jyoti Nadkarni, member of the Raigad district wetland documentation committee. She said flamingos were key indicators of healthy wetlands and helped maintain ecological balance.

“Bird lovers now seem to have mastered the art of tracking flamingo flights by closely monitoring high-tide charts and arriving equipped with cameras and telephoto lenses,” said Sandeep Sareen of the Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society, which fought a legal battle to protect the lake. Photography enthusiasts gathered in large numbers to capture the flamingos in their natural habitat, with cameras lined up along the lakeside, said a nature enthusiast, Divya Banda Pogaru.

Bird lovers travelled from different cities over the weekend to witness and photograph the rare spectacle, said NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar, who has been advocating for conservation of all three lakes for years.