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Sparrow conservation is their hobby

A flock of house sparrows at a poultry in Purunabandha village of Ganjam district.

BERHAMPUR: A group of youths of Purunabandha in Ganjam district have been involved in the conservation of house sparrows for the past three years as a hobby.

Most of these youths are part of the ‘Rushikulya Marine Turtle Protection Committee (RMTPC)', an organisation of volunteers from villages near Rushikulya rookery involved in protection of Olive Ridleys during their nesting in this region.

Rabindra Sahu of RMTPC says the enthusiasm related to turtle conservation made them conscious about their surroundings. Around four years ago they found that sparrows were no more being seen in their area. They thought of grooming the few sparrows that used to visit the periphery of their village. Now a sizeable number of sparrows have started to visit Purunabandha village everyday. Enthused by it, the youth group has decided to extend their sparrow protection activity to nearby villages like Kantiagada and Gokharkuda. “Our desire is to induce the sparrows to again nest near human habitats and breed,” says Mr. Sahu. They have also decided to form a separate organisation for the protection of sparrows where the prevalent members would be children. They want to make children take up sparrow conservation work in an organised manner.

For the young children of Purunabandha village, protection of Olive Ridley turtles and sparrows has become an entertaining way of getting closer to nature. Muna Mohanty, a child of the village, says the joy of having a sparrow perch on his hand makes him think twice when he unconsciously picks up a stone to throw even at a stray dog.

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