The case of the missing sparrows

Six months ago, two bird watchers launched an initiative to save the sparrows of Mumbai. The campaign has now become a movement with more and more bird lovers coming to the rescue of the little bird. However, even as the sparrow gets a lifeline, there are other species of birds and animals that need similar care, reports Ashwin Aghor.

Don’t be surprised if you see strange wooden boxes attached to nearby trees. Already 1,000 such boxes have come up in the city and its number is expected to increase. These boxes have been installed as a part of an initiative launched by two bird watchers in the city to save sparrows.

“The dwindling population of sparrows swung us into action,” says Sudhir Sakpal, who, along with Pramod Mane, started
a charitable organisation called Sparrow’s Shelter under the guidance of Mohammed Dilawar, an ornithologist with Bombay
Natural History Society (BNHS).

“Sparrows are under threat due to rampant tree cutting, ever vanishing open spaces, changing architecture, industrial pollution and attacks by bigger birds like crows and pigeons. We discussed possible reasons behind decline in number of sparrows in the city and decided to act,” he said.

The project was launched on August 15, 2007 and initially, 50 sparrow shelters were installed on trees near Ruia college, Matunga. Following the launch, Sakpal and Mane were flooded with calls from all over the city. “We put up these shelters at Shivaji Park, Colaba, Andheri, Borivali, Nerul, Thane and Girgaum,” Sakpal said.

The Sparrow’s Shelter initiative has managed to rope in number of noted individuals including Sonali Kulkarni, Vilas Patankar, Dr Suhas Pednekar, Anil Bhatia, Gajendra Ahire, Prashant Choksi and Sudhir Gokhale.

“Vilas Patankar welcomed the idea and readily provided financial assistance to the project. He immediately adopted 30 shelters and installed them in the Shivaji Park area,” he said.  Though their campaign has received encouraging response, Sakpal knows that they have a tough battle on their hands.

A study has revealed that pollution, construction activity, and chemical pollution are proving fatal for the little bird.

“Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, a by-product of petrol combustion, acts like an insecticide while radiation from cell phone towers affects the nervous and reproductive systems of the bird,” Sakpal said.

After having installed 1,000 sparrow shelters all over the city, Sakpal and Mane want to spread the message  in schools and colleges in the coming days. “We will be involving 50 schools and colleges soon,” he said.