Vadodara
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Crocodiles in the monsoons
The Times of India, Jun 20 2015
Tushar Tere
This city in Gujarat doesn't fear rain, but crocs that it brings
The city has not received heavy rains yet but residents are already a worried lot. More than water logging, there is a lurking fear of crocodiles swimming around the homes. In 2014, during monsoons, the deadly reptiles swam into the society from the overflowing Vishwamtri river nearby . Memories of crocodiles chasing fire brigade's rescue boat are still afresh.
There are close to 270 crocodiles along the 26km stretch of Vishwamitri that bisects the city . The sharp rise in their numbers from just 70 in 2001 has astounded many.
Vishwamitri is less of a river and more of a shallow channel that carries polluted sewerage water. Crocodiles have been thriving due to large amount of non-vegetarian food waste dumped by restaurants. Dogs too have become their staple diet.
However, rapid urbanization has brought the humans and reptiles a little too close for comfort. Many crocodiles are concentrated very close to densely populated areas like Sayajigunj and Sama.
While crocodile attacks have been on the rise in the city, Barodians don't treat them as enemies. “Locals care for the crocodiles. When anyone staying along the river notices any injured crocodile, we immediately get a call,“ said Rakesh Vadhwana of The Crocodile Group that rescues them.
In fact, the first time that crocodiles came close to citizens was in 2005 floods. It is believed that crocodiles were not present in Vishwamitri river during the 19th century .
While there is no concrete evidence, locals believe that crocodiles may have come from Ajwa lake that is connected to Vishwamitri or that they may have escaped from the nowclosed private zoo of the royal Gaekwads.
