Akash Kali Das of Koitola village in Bera upazila, Pabna, known as 'Pakhibandhu' (friend of birds), has been honoured with the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Award 2024. He received it from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on World Environment Day, Wednesday (5 June).
Nominees in three categories of the Bangabandhu Award for Wildlife Conservation 2024 were finally selected by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Akash Kali Das was honoured in category (ka), for officials engaged in wildlife conservation, eminent researchers, scientists, wildlife conservationists and media workers or personalities.
With the award he received cash equal to the market value of two bhori (23.32 grams) of gold, a cheque for Tk 50,000 and a certificate.
A life given to birds
His deep love for birds has earned him the name 'Pakhibandhu' locally. His younger sister, 62-year-old Jharna Das, has joined him in caring for nature. He is now about 88. Neither he nor his sister ever married. They have no relatives left in this country; those they had moved to India before independence.
Akash Kali Das is the eldest of his parents' six children. His father, Chandra Kumar Das, was the naib of the Nibas Diar zamindar house at Nagarbari in Bera upazila. After his father died when he was only 17, he had to take charge of the family. He was last head teacher of the local Machhkhali Government Primary School, and retired in the 1990s.
Akash Kali's six and a half bighas of land in Koitola village are like a small forest, with mango, jackfruit and debdaru trees, Indian persimmon, gaub and many other native and foreign trees. All were planted with the birds in mind. He has opened up his homestead to birds and animals.
After receiving the award, Akash Kali Das thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and expressed his gratitude. He said he had not loved wildlife in the hope of any reward; he did it from the heart, and wants to spend the rest of his life loving wildlife.
Earlier, on 7 June, Jago News published a report titled 'The bird love of lifelong bachelor Kali Das'.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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