Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

The winged royal guests are here again

By D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

KHAMMAM Dec. 20. The village of Chintapalli is awaiting the big arrival of `star visitors.' The young and old have begun to look at the skies in hope of tracing their missing friends. And yes, they are here, again.

The small peasant community that was left crippled by a prolonged drought is coming to life with the call of what they say the `errabolu konga,' a migratory crane. The first batch of the waterfowl descended on the village two days ago. Their arrival added colour to the serene locales of the village nestling on the banks of Akeru stream. With their long slender necks, the birds walk tall. They leap around on the giant trees holding their heads high. Spreading out their wings, they soar into the skies gazing in the direction of the stream. Their numbers began to swell hour by hour. Thousands of them would be found soon vying with one another for footing on treetops. The surroundings of the village would turn into a birds' paradise by mid-January when farmers celebrate Sankranti. The arrival of `errabolu' in an indication of the good times ahead, villagers believe.

"As they come from a long distance, they bring a great fortune. There will be a good crop. Plenty of water. And people lead a happy life," says Devisetty Lakshminarayana, farmer (60), thrilled by the arrival of the birds he loves the most. "We celebrate Sankranti amid a colourful congregation of these birds. They are our royal guests. We protect them from poachers. The village panchayat punishes and even imposes a fine ranging up to Rs.1,000 if anyone is found causing harm to the cranes," he says.

He recalls how a youngster from Edulapuram who ventured to hunt the cranes was caught and punished by villagers. When an influential leader from Khammam sought to try his gun at the birds, village heads did not allow him to fire a single shot. But the flightless baby birds often land on rooftops and end up being relished by stray dogs and cats. Also children chase them and pelt stones at them. This is a major concern for the elders, he says.

The Divisional Forest Officer, Vinay Kumar, visited the village today and talked to the elders. He said some village youths could work as volunteers for protection of birds. He said the department would initiate measures to protect their habitat. Felling of tamarind and neem trees was stopped by villagers as part of a common resolution adopted by them. Now that Nagarjunasagar left canal received water tanks and ponds would be filled, thus facilitating a longer stay for the birds.

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