Dead crocodile fished out of lake and buried without postmortem

Mumbai . Friday . July 02, 2010 . Page 2

Mumbai : Floating for days in the Powai lake, a dead crocodile was finally removed on Wednesday evening and buried near the bank, without a postmortem as the carcass was too far decomposed.

“From the extent of putrefaction, it seems the animal died at least a week ago. The carcass was full of maggots,” said SGNP veterinarian Dr Vinaya Jangale, part of the team designated to perform a postmortem on the spot. It was buried after noting down the extent of decay.

Residents fear the carcass has contaminated the water and have demanded that the BMC test it. “The BMC should conduct a complete environment impact assessment of the lake to ensure the bio-diversity of the region is not in danger. We should also find out the current count of crocodiles.”

Sunish Subramainan of Plant & Animal Welfare Society, who had first reported the presence of the carcass, said, “Even if it were highly decomposed, the forest officials should not have quietly buried it. A postmortem was necessary to find out if the death was natural or if the water is in good condition.”

BMC hydraulic engineer Vinay Deshpande said he had inspected the lake and found no evidence of danger to animal life. “Usually if there is any contamination, we’d have found dead fish in the water. That was not the case here. However, as a precaution, I have asked my department to collect water samples for tests. Tests will be done at our labs in Bhandup complex or Dadar; samples will also be sent to the Thane Municipal Corporation laboratory.”