According to details, hundreds of migratory birds, including water ducks, mallards, swans and cranes belonging to Siberian areas are being found dead at lakes and ponds of Badin at Nirriri, Shakoor, Shekhani Gharri, Ahmed Rajo, Zero Point and other areas.
It may be recalled that every year these birds used to migrate from arctic Siberian areas to spend few months of harsh winter at lakes and ponds of Sindh, especially in coastal areas.
A large number of local hunters and villagers used to crowd lakes and ponds of the area in this season to hunt these birds. However, the news of mysterious death of these birds has created panic and fear amongst these villagers and hunters, as international media is warning about spread of bird flu in Asia.
District Game Warden of Wild Life Department Syed Ghulam Hussain Shah, when contacted, confirmed the news about death of migratory birds and said that a team of international bird experts was reaching Badin on Monday to probe into the causes of death of migratory birds.
He said that as the government laboratory was closed due to the three-day Eid holidays, they had no laboratory reports on why these migratory birds were dying in a large number.
District Nazim Badin Ali Anwer Halepota, when contacted, said that steps would be taken to ascertain the causes of death of these migratory birds.
The mysterious death of migratory birds has not only created fear amongst local population, but the owners of a large number of poultry farms in Badin district are also worried, as hundreds of thousands of poultry birds are being culled in different parts of Asia due to fear of bird flu.