New Delhi: Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's dream for an airport in his constituency, Etawah, threatens to wipe out a third of India's Sarus crane population.
But the Congress, which is supporting the UP government, has criticised Mulayam Singh's project.
"Mulayam Singh Yadav does not realise the difference between a tourist spot and a heritage spot. The CM wants this airport just because some dancers come from Mumbai for a day's performance. Is this why we need an airport?" Congress spokesperson for UP, Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.
The bulldozers are chasing away Sarus cranes in Etawah, which is home to one third of India's Sarus crane population.
Truckloads of mud are being brought in to reclaim the wetlands in the area, which is in violation of an Allahabad High Court order.
Villagers had even been hired to scare away the birds a day before a Supreme Court committee was to visit Etawah.
Meanwhile, the Chief Wildlife Warden has told the Supereme Court that there are no Saras cranes within two kilomteres of the airport.
However, when CNN-IBN Correspondent Bahar Dutt went within 200 metres of the air strip, she found a pair of Sarus cranes there, clearly contradicting what the officer has told the court.
Mulayam Singh, wants the state bird of Uttar Pradesh to make way for steel jets and the wetlands to make way for a brand new air-strip spelling what may be the last dance for the world's tallest flying bird in the region.
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