Swans die in Rankala; activists raise questions over water pollution

Kolhapur: Over the past five days, 12 swans and a few other birds, including river turners and storks, have been found dead in Kolhapur's famous Rankala lake. Officials from the zilla parishad's animal husbandry department suspect these birds died due to poisoning from food, and said the actual reason will be known only after the postmortem reports are received.Activists and environmentalists, however, blame water pollution. "The count of swans in the Rankala lake had increased to 39. They used to swim in the lake freely. However, in the past five days, 12 of these swans have died due to pollution. Many storks and river turners have also died. The municipal corporation should take immediate steps to save the lives of birds and aquatic animals so that the beauty of Rankala lake stays intact," said Vijay Salokhe, an activist and environment lover.The supervisor of the zilla parishad animal husbandry department inspected the site. Requesting anonymity, he said, "It is likely that these swans died due to food poisoning or after consuming some rotten food. The real reason will be known only after the postmortem reports come in."Eight years ago, the civic body released swans in the Pandhare Ghat area of Rankala lake. Since boating activities started there, activists Vijay Salokhe, Ananda Athawale, Mohammed Shikalgar, Bharat Sutar, and Dhanaji Lingam relocated the swans to the Dhobi Ghat area of the lake. They made arrangements to feed the swans themselves. To increase the number of swans, Balu Patil, an environmentalist, brought five female swans from Mumbai and released them in the lake.There have been several recent reports of pollution affecting aquatic life in the lake. Kolhapur Municipal Corporation has not been able to prevent sewage from the Sham Society nullah from mixing into the Rankala water, even after various measures were adopted to stop it. Cases of dead fish and tortoises floating on the water have been common. In Nov 2025, water hyacinth was also seen floating over the lake after a gap of over 10 years.