Visitors to Jatara, the art village at PM Palem, which is also known as Shilparamam, are not missing the delightful sight of exotic love birds.
Of the 160 tiny Australian birds — Cockatiel, English Show Budgies, Diamond Dove, and Laughing Dove — 40 per cent could escape from the devastation caused by the cyclone Hudhud on October 12.
This was possible due to the timely measures taken by the authorities to minimise the loss.
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Officials at Jatara put up a strong optic fibre protective wall to minimise the casualties a day before the storm ravaged the coast.
“Though all the avian wonders are hypersensitive, Cockatiel, which is also known as quarrion and weiro , is the major casualty,” Jatara Administrative Officer B. Ganesh told The Hindu on Thursday.
Cockatiel is a prized household parrot and has popular acceptance as companion parrot, and is easy for breeding. They are the smallest in the parrot family, highly sociable, and mimic voice of human beings. They eat fruit, nuts, and vegetables.
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All these birds were procured a couple of months ago by the Tourism Department at a cost of Rs.3.5 lakh.
The department, which maintains Jatara, had introduced night bazaar just before Hudhud hit the coast to promote tourism. English Budgies are popular for their cute blue/green colours. Diamond Dove is generally seen near water bodies or areas lightly arid or semi arid in nature. Laughing Dove is a small pigeon and is known for its pink-brown head, back, blue, grey wings, and whitish belly.
Ready for picnicAfter assessing the loss, which was put at Rs.1.12 crore, the authorities got the power supply restored on the fourth day and cleared the debris within a week.
It will be open to walkers once the jogging and walking tracks are made ready.
Mr. Ganesh said that as ‘karthikamasam’ picnics were a good source of income for them, Jatara was made ready for picnic parties.
The pond in the art village is now brimming with water and boating will be revived in three to four days.