A cyclathon aimed at bringing cyclists together to spot sparrows along the route from Cubbon Park to St Joseph’s Arts and Science College turned out to be a bust.
Do Bangaloreans care about the city’s biodiversity? This lack of concern showed up at the ‘Sparrow Race’ organised by the Biodiversity Conservation India Limited (BCIL), a cyclathon aimed at bringing cyclists together to spot sparrows along the route from Cubbon Park to St Joseph’s Arts and Science College.
Nobody turns up
Although the organisers were expecting at least a hundred cyclists to participate in the event on Sunday morning, only one cyclist from Ride a Cycle Foundation came to Cubbon Park.
Despite waiting for nearly two hours from 7.30 am, other cyclists failed to turn up. Hence, the organisers decided to walk the route and distribute nests along the way.
Dr Harish, director and COO, BCIL, said: “Most participants didn’t show up as they were hoping for an exclusive cycling event. They didn’t want to spot sparrows or distribute nests. They felt there was a disconnect between the two events.” What they fail to understand is that whether it is cycling to work or putting up sparrow nests, the objective is to save the environment and to preserve biodiversity.
Despite inadequate participation, the organisers distributed 15 sparrow nests to various commercial buildings, shops and residences along the Cubbon Park to St Joseph’s Arts and Science college route. The organisers hope to distribute at least 5,000 to 8,000 sparrow homes this year. Harish said: “We are also being realistic about the numbers, as this year we have started charging Rs100 for the nests. The funds will be used to fund the International Day of Sparrows. conference”
“We found that a lot of people were using these nests as flower vases. We hope people will understand that this is a serious issue. The purpose of this endeavour is to give sparrows a new home,” he said.
Over the next three months, the BCIL will distribute close to 10,000 nests. Last year, it distributed 14,000 nests.
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