File picture of greater adjutant storks

Jan. 29: A year ago, villagers of Suktaguri Satgaon used to kill local birds, specially the greater adjutant stork, for meat. Today, the population of the birds has soared with the villagers leading from the front to protect their feathered friends.

The dedicated effort of environmentalists seems to have paid off.

In 2004, a few environmentalists of the city had embarked upon a project to protect the population of the greater adjutant stork in this North Guwahati village which has tall trees, ideal for nesting of the bird species.

“The trees are now full of bird nests. Earlier there were very few,” said Moloy Barua, the president of Early Bird, an NGO, which launched the project.

Barua said the population of the greater adjutant stork and that of other local birds had gone up.

“We conducted a survey on January 6 at Jendia Beel in the village and were surprised to find a few grey headed eagles and grey herons, apart from the many local varieties,” he said.

A survey conducted a few years ago had found that about 150 to 175 storks scavenged the garbage around the city for survival. They had a few nesting places in the area and Suktaguri was one of them.

According to a rough estimate, the total population of storks in Assam is around 800. Barua said Suktaguri villagers used to kill the local birds, specially the storks, for their meat and the population of the birds had declined over the years.

However, after a series of awareness meetings, putting up of signboards and free healthcare camps for the villagers for one full year, the trend has reversed.

The NGO, which was funded by the Wildlife Trust of India for the project, also planted a few kadam trees. The NGO also offered to treat the cattle in the village for free if the villagers promised not to harm the birds.

Today, the gaonburah of Suktaguri Satgaon, Ajamullah Ali, is leading from the front to protect the birds in the village. He holds regular meetings among the villagers and has formed a local committee to monitor that no harm is caused to the birds. He maintains regular contact with the NGO and forest officials.

“The villagers have understood the importance of these birds. Forget killing the birds, today they are protecting these winged visitors,” Barua said.

“Although our members visit the village from time to time, we hold a meeting at Mandakata high school near the village once a year,” he added.

The Greater Adjutant Stork is the most endangered stork of the world today and tops the conservation list of the International Council of Bird Preservation.