The humble house sparrow has become the State bird of Delhi with the issue of a notification to this effect, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced on Friday.
Addressing school children at her residence during a function organised to celebrate Wildlife Week, Ms. Dikshit said the idea behind making the house sparrow the State bird was to protect it.
She said the number of house sparrows in the city had declined sharply due to rapid urbanisation.
“Not only sparrows, but wildlife is also not visible in Delhi. One can see wildlife only in the zoo and inside the cage. But with expansion of green area and development of more city forests, it is expected that signs of wildlife would become visible.’’
The sparrows fly within a radius of two to three kilometres of their nests.
Atmosphere
“Therefore, we will have to create an atmosphere conducive to the habitat of sparrows in the city,’’ she added.
A street play was also presented by the school children to spread the message of conservation and protection of natural resources and environment.
