Bird man of Adilabad strives for protection of winged wonders

A few years back, a sparrow died of dehydration right in front of me. I could not help it but remained a mute spectator when the tragic end of the winged wonder occurred. The incident left a profound impact on me.

Adilabad: Deeply moved by the death of a sparrow due to lack of drinking water and concerned over increasing pollution, a B Com graduate from sleepy Boath town has been passionately striving to create awareness among students and the public over conservation birds and nature and by conducting programmes in schools and villages across erstwhile Adilabad district for six years.

“A few years back, a sparrow died of dehydration right in front of me. I could not help it but remained a mute spectator when the tragic end of the winged wonder occurred. The incident left a profound impact on me. I was determined to do my bit for the protection of birds and of nature. I have been targeting school children who are future citizens of the country,” Venkatesh told ‘Telangana Today.’

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To his credit, Venkatesh, a small-time businessman from Boath, conducted nearly 1,200 awareness programmes titled Prakrithitho Sneham-Pakshulaku Sahayam (Befriending nature, helping birds) in schools in Adilabad, Nirmal and Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts so far.

Besides, he sponsors bird feeders, plastic tubs and earthen pots meant for drinking water of winged wonders to the schools every summer by spending his savings around Rs 5,000 per month and with the help of donations from philanthropists.

The bird lover, who runs a puja material store at a temple in the town for a living, said that he along with an assistant visits a school by travelling on his motorbike almost every day and spends a day for the mission. He stated that he explains causes of extinction of various bird species and mitigation measures to the pupils for about an hour using statistics and findings of studies.

Regarded as a bird man of Adilabad, the 47-year-old shared that he sensitizes the public over the two causes during important occasions throughout a year. He actively participates in programmes on environment and bird walks organized in several parts of Telangana. He tries to raise understanding of participants over the role of the avian community in nature and the lives of humans.

He advocates for protection of the environment by urging the public to avoid consumption of plastic, playing loud music and applying hazardous fertilizers and pesticides to grow crops.