Chintapalli turning hostile to avian visitors

February 26, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 03:51 pm IST - KHAMMAM:

Painted storks perched atop a tamarind tree at Chintapalli village in Khammam district.-File photo

Painted storks perched atop a tamarind tree at Chintapalli village in Khammam district.-File photo

Chintapalli, the small village in Khammam rural mandal, which is popularly known one among the very few nesting spots for migratory birds in Telangana State, has virtually turned inhospitable for the winged visitors.

The tiny village has carved out a distinctive image for itself in the entire State due to the decades old phenomenon of painted storks flocking to the village in January every year as part of their annual seasonal sojourn.

Chintapalli, which derived its name from umpteen number of tamarind trees, has nothing to boast of its vast tree cover today. With many of the tamarind trees being felled indiscriminately , the village is on the verge of losing its tamarind trees and its coveted status as an ideal nesting spot for avian guests. The tamarind tree cover in the village has dwindled drastically compelling the migratory birds to apparently skip their annual seasonal sojourn this year.

A few pairs of painted storks hovered above our village before departing towards some other location for nesting activity a couple of days ago, says Hanumantha Rao, a resident of Chintapalli. Our village, one of the very few nesting spots for migratory birds in the new State of Telangana, will lose its distinctive status as transit home for the feathered guests if some remedial steps were not initiated to restore the tree cover, says Lakshminarayana, another villager. It appears that the migratory birds may never return to our village at least this season due to lack of adequate tree cover, says a youth of the village who did not wish to be identified. The decades-old phenomenon of migration of painted storks to our village may end soon if the apathy of the government departments and indiscriminate felling of tamarind trees persists, he cautions.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.