Birds Flee Devastated Pt. Calimere

After Cyclone Gaja struck, the wildlife sanctuary looks like a deserted war zone

- B. Kolappan

Point Calimere, the renowned wildlife and bird sanctuary on the seashore in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, resembles a forest in Vietnam laid waste by Agent Orange.

In the devastation caused by Cyclone Gaja, hundreds of birds that once made the sanctuary their home have died, trees have been uprooted or their branches broken or defoliated. Carcasses of birds are found in some places. .

Another bird sanctuary in Muthupet in Tiruvarur district has also borne the brunt of the cyclone.