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Highway work gives food for cranes

Staff Reporter

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

FIELD DAY: Cranes feed on the insects disturbed by road construction work on NH 5 near Berhampur on Monday.

BERHAMPUR: Exposure of hidden underground fauna attracts hundreds of cranes to dare and perch near the roaring bulldozers levelling up the paddy fields for construction of National Highway.

Work on the `golden quadrilateral' project is on at the paddy fields by the side of National Highway number five near Chamakhandi in Ganjam district. The frightening sight of large bulldozers at work dissuades humans to venture into the area. But flocks of Indian cranes perch at the same spot relishing on the ample food exposed for them at the work site. They seem to be delighted by the availability of food material, as they do not fly away till the bulldozers reach a few meters from them.

According to Suvendu Mishra, a lecturer of Zoology, this elucidates facets of our ecosystem and food chain.

The paddy fields excavated by bulldozers expose the underground fauna that existed in these marshy field. It includes annelids like earthworms, insects, gastropdes like snails and bivalves, small fishes, crustaceans like small prawns and crabs.

The cranes, however do not know that within a few weeks a concrete road would cover up the area which has proved to be a food reserve for them. Without thinking of tomorrow they are rejoicing the immediate blessing that mother nature has provided them in the midst of urbanisation process.

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