Birds of many species were once a common sight in every village, but now they are hardly seen, and their chatter in the trees seems to have vanished. Will we no longer wake to birdsong, as in the rhyme "Pakhi sab kore rob, rati pohailo"?
That fear gripped Nazmul Haque Laju, director of the RABA Foundation in Uthli village, Jibannagar, Chuadanga, and he began to think about what could be done for birds. The idea of building nests for them grew from there. Several young people joined him, spending their own money to tie nests to trees.
Bringing back vanishing birds
Nazmul Haque Laju said: "Our aim is to bring back birds that are close to disappearing. For that they need safe nests, and people need to be made aware. That is the work we are starting."
He said they would tie more than a thousand clay pots to trees in Uthli. They would also work to make people aware of the need to protect birds. Their motto: "Birds are nature's ornament; without birds, nature is not beautiful."
To make Uthli a bird sanctuary, the work of tying nests to trees as safe shelters for birds formally began on the afternoon of Thursday, 31 December.
Launch and discussion
Jibannagar upazila parishad chairman Haji Md Hafizur Rahman opened the programme as chief guest. Before that, a short discussion organised by the RABA Foundation was held, chaired by Mobarak Sohel Ahmed Pradip, general secretary of the Uthli bus stand crossing committee.
Speakers included Haji Md Hafizur Rahman; upazila parishad woman vice-chairman Ayesha Sultana Lucky; Uthli union parishad chairman Abul Kalam Azad; journalist Salauddin Kajol, vice-president of the Jibannagar upazila Lokmorcha; Arif Hasan, president of the Hijolgari Press Club; Shamim Hossain Miji, founder of the Chuadanga Regional Language Council; and Bakhtiar Hamid, a nature conservationist and volunteer who received the VSO-Prothom Alo volunteer award. The event was moderated by journalist SM Shafayet Ullah, and Nazmul Haque Laju gave the welcome speech.
To make Uthli a safe refuge for birds, the speakers urged people to stop killing, catching and trading birds, and to refrain from using pesticides on farmland that kill birds.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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