Tuticorin: Tuticorin - the coastal town of industries and harbour - is always buzzing with activity. However, the growth has come at a price, with the city being rated as one of the most polluted cities. Strangely, Tuticorin, with chemical and thermal power plants in the vicinity, still has a large number of house sparrows whose count is dwindling in many urban centres across the country. The people here are fortunate enough to wake up to the chirping of these diminutive birds which are found everywhere from houses to tea shops.
"They have been casually visiting the house and we found a nest with eggs. My daughter is thrilled by their presence and she feeds the birds with grains," said C Sekar, a resident of Anna Nagar in Tuticorin, pointing to his five-year-old daughter Samiksha who is feeding a pair of house sparrows nesting in their house.
K Muthunarayanan, a Tuticorin-based ornithologist, feels that the city still has several places for the nesting of house sparrows. "Though the cause of their extinction is still under debate, there are many places, especially old buildings and tiled houses, for the sparrows to build their nests. They also find the feed from markets and Tuticorin has abundance of house sparrows," he said.
Having felt the need to protect the sparrows, Pearl City Nature Society (PCNS) - an environmental organisation in Tuticorin -- has chalked out a plan to promote their nesting and feed. They will distribute clay houses and clay plates among the public who want to take care of these birds.
"We are working out a plan for distributing these clay pots made with holes so that the birds can build their nests. We will also supply two clay plates for feed and water. Interested public can contact us for these items and PCNS will come out with the public advertisement on the same very shortly," said K Vijayavel, coordinator of the sparrow project of PCNS. "Not just sparrows, there are many bird species in Tuticorin. A good number of 'nalodai' (acasia planiferns) trees are found on the city outskirts and birds find these trees a good shelter," Vijayavel said.
An environmental NGO, Agasthyamalai Community-based Conservation Centre ( ACCC) of ATREE in Manimutharu, will be partnering with PCNS for the project. M Mathivanan of ATREE opined that the major threat for sparrows and birds species is the loss of habitat. "Though it is feared Tuticorin is affected with air pollution, the bird species still find the city a haven due to old buildings, trees and water bodies on the outskirts of the city," he added.
