Rattled by a report in this newspaper, the Mangrove Cell of the forest department has registered a case against the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for poisoning aquatic wildlife at the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary. Earlier, a lab analysis of the water sample from the protected water body had shown a heavy presence of pollutants that activists called “shocking”.

Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest, Mangrove Cell, said, “An official from Ghansoli office has filed a preliminary offence report under Sections 29 and 32 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The water samples are also being sent for analysis.” The sections mentioned deal with illegally entering a sanctuary and poisoning wildlife. Violators can be jailed up to seven years.