A community known for its business acumen and philanthropy has stepped forward to conserve house sparrows, whose numbers have steadily decreased in urban areas.

The Dawoodi Bohra community has started a nationwide “Save Our Sparrows (SOS)” campaign. It is technically a revival as it was first launched in 2011.

This year, it was rolled out on March 6. In and around Calcutta, around 5,300 bird feeders have been set up. The places include the Botanical Gardens, Central Park in Salt Lake, Eden Gardens; schools like The Heritage, Don Bosco Park Circus, Calcutta International, Saifee Golden Jubilee English Public School and Narayana; Nakhoda Masjid and several residential apartments.

The feeders are stuffed with jowar and bajra seeds for the sparrows to eat.

The bird feeder roll-out commenced on March 6 and will culminate on March 20, World Sparrow Day.

In collaboration with Project Rise, the community’s global philanthropic arm, the relaunch of the campaign highlights the alarming decline of sparrows in urban landscapes and underscores the urgent need to protect their habitats, the organisers said.

As part of this initiative, led by Burhani Foundation, the Dawoodi Bohra community’s environment arm, volunteers distributed around 53,000 bird feeders to households, schools, parks and community centres across the country.

Chirpy and cheerful, house sparrows have lived with humans for ages. They are agents of pollination, keep insect and pest populations in check as they feed on them, serve as a food source for many other birds and animals that help maintain the food web and most importantly, keep diseases in check by feeding on mosquito larvae.

While the house sparrow is not currently listed as endangered, its numbers have declined in some areas, especially Metro cities.

“Reasons for the suspected decline of this species are a matter of much speculation and are believed to include decreasing insect populations (a key part of the diet of sparrow chicks) and paucity of suitable nesting sites. The popular theory that radiation from mobile phone towers is a factor is not supported by current evidence,” said the Status of Indian Birds report of 2020.

Shakir Khambaty, a Dawoodi Bohra volunteer and at the helm of the project in Calcutta, said: “Sparrows are indicators of our ecosystem’s health. Their decline is a warning sign that we must act quickly to preserve biodiversity.”