What began as a casual habit grew into an overwhelming passion for Srinivasa Rao replacing his surname with Kakula (crows). For nearly two decades he had been spending most of his meagre earnings on feeding crows. But the birds have no one to turn to now. Srinivasa Rao had gone ‘missing’ on Saturday and his body was washed ashore on Sunday.
Srinivasa Rao, 34, had gone out with his fishing rod in the morning to Jetty X at the Fishing Harbour. When he did not return his brother filed a complaint with the One Town police. Circle Inspector Bhargava Naidu said the body was found ashore on Sunday afternoon. A case of ‘death under suspicious circumstances’ was booked.
Corporator Pothuraju recalled that Srinivasa Rao took pity on the crows that gathered around him when he took his lunch and began feeding them. He used to collect leftovers from snack carts that dot the Beach Road at night for the crows in the morning. But as time passed, he found that it was inadequate. When he saw reports in the media that lauded him he felt further impelled to carry on his work.
“As a result, if he had earned Rs.50 on a day, he used to give Rs.20 to the family (of wife and two children) and spend the remaining on feeding crows,” said Mr. Bhargava Naidu quoting neighbours of Srinivasa Rao. He used to catch and sell fish.
