On the morning of 5th September 2013, Sourav Mondal and I went to Baisha Bil (wetland) on a birding outing. There were hundreds of Baya Weavers, Zitting Cisticolas, and other birds in the wetland. We were shocked to see two people trapping many of these birds (mainly Baya Weavers) using nets. We heard from the local people that other birds, such as the Open-billed Stork, Little Egret, Pond Heron, and Lesser whistling Duck, are also trapped and killed in this fashion. We were helpless and could not interfere, as we were outsiders.
Baisha Bil falls under Ichhapur no.1 Gram Panchayat, near Gobardanga, and is under Gaighat Police Station, District- North 24 Paraganas, and is under the DFO, Barasat.
The photos show one of the two people we saw, setting up the nets for the trapping of the birds. We hope that some action will be taken by the authorities in this regard.
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