Peacock protectors cry for Govt patronage

BERHAMPUR: Conservation  of the national bird by a group of villagers in Ganjam district might have increased the number of peacocks in the area, but the birds are fast falling prey to changing habitat and poachers.The Pakidi hill is home to at least 2,000 peacocks and peahens that are protected by people of seven villages under Aska block. Though the Forest Department has not yet carried out any official census to ascertain the exact number of birds in the area, the villagers claimed that the population of peacocks and peahens was 1,000 a decade back.

These birds live in an area of 1,970 hectares of forest that surrounds the Pakidi hill and is a demarcated as protected forest under Aska range of South Ghumsur forest division.Under the aegis of Ganjam District Peacock Protection Committee (GDPPC) that was formed in 2005, villagers of  Subhachandpur, Kerikerijhola, Ambuabadi, Bharatapalli, Karanauli, Sameiguda and Cheramaria have been protecting the birds for over a decade with a faith that presence of peacocks and peahens bring good rains. The efforts of these villagers were recognised by the State Government by honouring them with the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation in 2006. The committee consists of 14 members from seven villages, two each of one village, who look into protection and conservation of the national bird. 

However, the birds are now being frequently killed by poachers for their feathers and meat, said Samir Pradhan, who heads the GDPPC. "After the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation, we thought that the Forest Department would look into protection of peacock habitat but that never happened," Pradhan said, adding that the peacock habitat is now being threatened by unplanned construction of buildings nearby and destruction of forest.

This apart, use of pesticides on crops is taking a toll on the bird population. As peacocks and peahens mostly graze on crops like cotton, paddy, pulses and leafy vegetables, farmers sprinkle pesticides on them to keep the birds away. In October 2011, more than 10 peacocks had died due to use of pesticide in a BT cotton field of a person from Andhra Pradesh in the area.

He said during summer, water scarcity poses a roadblock for conservation of the birds. In the absence of water sources in the forest, the birds come to the villages to drink water from open wells and in the process, get stuck and die inside the structures. Following this, members of the committee decided to place water bowls for the birds in villages and forests and fill them up daily on rotational basis. For the purpose, three groups of villagers have been formed and each group is assigned one area where water is filled up in large bowls.The conservationists have also gone to the extent of raising pesticide-free crops like mandia (millets), mung, biri (black gram) and koshala saag in small areas on the outskirts of the villages for the birds to feed. 

Currently, some members of the committee started night patrolling to prevent poaching. But, this does not keep the poachers at bay. The villagers have now sought help of the Forest Department to keep the poachers away from Pakidi hill and improve peacock habitat. "It is high time Forest Department should intervene in taking the conservation initiative a step forward," said Prakash G, a member of the committee. The Forest Department, on its part, has recently started planting medicinal plants in the forest.