The good old house sparrow, which is becoming rarer by the day, has been declared “State Bird of Delhi” by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as part of a new campaign to save the species and enhance awareness about their life and habitat.
Launching “Rise for the Sparrows”, India’s largest conservation programme for these birds, Ms. Dikshit said the decision to declare them the “State Bird’’ would help in raising awareness about and drawing attention to the species.
The Chief Minister expressed concern over lack of attention and recognition the bird has received thus far. She said Delhi being one of the greenest cities in the world has a tremendous scope for urban conservation of which the sparrow would now be the mascot and bio-indicator.
The Delhi Government would now consider incorporating common bird monitoring in the school curriculum to make schools and other organisations sparrow and bird friendly. The Nature Forever Society will be providing all help and resources to the Delhi Government in this regard.
Ms. Dikshit also urged the citizens to register on the Common Bird Monitoring of India website, www.cbmi.in , to monitor the sparrows and other common birds in around their places of residence and work.
Mohammed Dilawar of Nature Forever Society, who has been working on this project for more than a year, said the format of the project is both dynamic and interactive, and resources will be continuously added to it over a period of time.
