The first regional centre of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) would be operational in Chilika from today.
The regional branch of country’s premier wildlife research organisation would be inaugurated in the premises of the Wetland Research and Training Centre (WRTC) of the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) at Chandrapur in Chilika.
Although the BNHS is closely associated with Chilika since 1967, it is going to open its own regional centre for the first time at Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, official source said.
The BNHS, the CDA and the Forest Department have been conducting bird census jointly in the past 15 years during winter in Chilika.
With opening up its branch in Odisha, the BNHS would be engaged in identifying the air route of the foreign birds flocking the Chilika lake during winter, sample collection, training related to bird census, publishing bird migration atlas books, examining various diseases among the birds and to review the condition of the Nalabana bird sanctuary along with counting the birds, an official said.
Notably, BNHS has been promoting conservation of nature in India since its establishment in 1883.
