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Delhi: Birds bore the burnt of fire and smoke during Diwali

ON A WING & A PRAYER: Charity Birds Hospital got 170 winged patients with burns, breathing distress

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When Delhi's air got the "hazardous" tag the day after Diwali, it was birds that were the worst affected because of the extremely high level of particulate matter – PM2.5 and PM10. Nearly 170 of the avian species were brought to the Charity Birds Hospital in the National Capital.

Apart from injuries caused by firecrackers, most of the birds suffered due to severe air pollution and were gasping for breath, said hospital authorities. While 30 were brought in serious conditions, many birds had eye infections, they said.

A pigeon, almost ten years in age, was admitted by a man who picked the bird from a roadside after it fell to the ground struggling to breathe. The bird is still being taken care of at the hospital.

"All kinds of birds arrived at the hospital between November 6 and 9. Most of these were brought by bird lovers, who found them on the streets crying for help, or some were also brought by the police."

"We give them all kinds of treatments just like humans are treated in hospitals, from putting eye-drops to operating on them," said Sunil Kumar, manager at Charity Birds Hospital.

The hospital is currently treating eagles, crows, parrots, pigeons, and the house sparrow for minor to severe injuries.

It is not just the Diwali pollution that affects the birds. Based on a centuries-old belief, owls make way to bird markets during the festival to be slaughtered, apparently to make Goddess Lakshmi happy. Some believe that sacrificing this nocturnal bird, which is the 'vaahan' of Lakshmi, brings wealth and prosperity through the year.

Despite a ban, activists say, illegal trading of owls is common in the city around the festival.

FESTIVAL CLIPS THEIR WINGS

  • At least 30 birds were brought in with severe respiratory discomfort, said Charity Birds Hospital
     
  • Apart from injuries caused by crackers, many of the avian species suffered eye infection due to pollution
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