The State Mangrove Cell has taken cognisance of a complaint against the use of a drone dangerously close to flamingos resting for the shooting of a film Sikandar ka Muqaddar, which is currently streaming on Netflix.
This drone is being flown at T S Chanakya in Navi Mumbai. For the unversed, T S Chanakya is a resting place for flamingos.
NatConnect Director B.N. Kumar has filed a complaint about the dangerous use of drones near flamingos. The state Mangrove Department has taken cognizance of the complaint. Divisional Forest Officer Deepak Khade said that the Forest Department is conducting a legal investigation into the matter.
“We have no objection to showing the beauty of flamingos in the film, but the use of drones flying over resting birds is definitely objectionable,” said NatConnect Director B.N. Kumar.
Also, Mangrove Cell Chief S.V. Rama Rao, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, has asked the divisional forest officers to take cognizance of the problem.
“We can send the notice only after verifying all the legalities. In such cases, permission is sought from the police for drone shooting and we are yet to confirm whether the filmmakers had taken permission or not,” Divisional Forest Officer Deepak Khade added.
B.N. Kumar expects the government to serve a notice to the filmmakers and explain to them the consequences of using drones near birds.
B.N. Kumar said, “Drones with sharp blades make noise that can disturb or even harm resting birds.”
The mangrove department had earlier ordered an inquiry after complaints from NatConnect and fellow environmental groups against drone shooting at TS Chanakya Wetland.
“We are losing our wildlife for the development of pointless infrastructure and now this new threat of drone shooting has emerged. We expect the authorities to take immediate cognizance of this and put a stop to this senseless and extremely disturbing trend,” said Nandkumar Pawar.