THIS is apropos the news item ‘Wind power installations disrupting rainwater, migratory birds’ routes’ and the letter ‘Renewable energy’ (Feb 26). Being interested in wildlife and a frequent visitor to the area where these windmills are installed, I have found no noticeable disturbance in the lives of the resident game birds like partridge, sand grouse and wild hare, as well as the migratory quails in the bush jungle or patches of rainwater.

As for the migratory birds, such as mallards, pintails and pochards, etc., they come from Siberia on flyway route to the larger wetlands of Sindh, and not many land in the area where these windmills are installed. Even otherwise, these species are migratory and return when the weather improves back home in Siberia. That means they stay here only briefly.

As for the letter cited above, we should be happy, as the letter said, that ‘Pakistan contributes less than one per cent of global emissions and has the potential to generate 50,000MW electricity from wind turbines alone’. So, these windmills, in my opinion, are causing no harm either to the environment or to the migratory birds.

Mirza Mohammad Salman
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2021