My story; the day I realized:
January is approaching and all are looking forward not only towards the new year but also Uttrayan which falls on 14th and followed by Vasi Uttrayan 15th January.. for many it is most awaited day of the year.. A couple of years back it was the festival I always looked forward to until the day…
I was flying kites and enjoying the festival when suddenly a pigeon landed right in front of me (as if coming from no where). I was just horrified to see a bird before me seriously wounded and bleeding like anything.. I have always been extremely soft-hearted towards all animals and birds. I took it into my room and nursed it for four days with the only feeling to see it in the sky again.. but my hopes were shattered the fifth morning when I saw it lying lifeless. I felt just sooo bad. And that was the day I decided not to fly kites.. rather I would try to save more birds and sometimes injured animals too.
I found the following statistics on the net which backs my decision:
On an average, over 2,000 birds — including pigeons, kites and vultures — are injured during Uttarayan every year and around 500 succumb to kite string injuries. Apart from vultures, migratory birds like flamingos, cranes, storks and pelicans also fall prey to sharp kite strings. Many of the injured birds face a slow and painful death, made worse by the severe injuries on their wings which render them unfit to fly.
Numerous birds become entangled in the kite strings as they fly. Many are killed and, of the survivors, 90% are permanently disabled and never fly again.
Estimates suggest 65% of a local vulture population were badly injured during the kite festival, with a number of vultures bleeding to death before they could be rescued.
The deadly manjas inflict grievous injuries on beaks, legs and wings of the birds. Many die before they are provided medical attention.
The state forests and environment department has issued a notification asking people not to fly kites between 6 am and 8 am and 5 pm and 7 pm, when avian activity is maximum. It has also requested the public not to use threads made of plastic or any other synthetic or toxic material like iron dust and glass dust as it can cause fatal injury to both birds and people.
And its not the birds get injured only on these two days. Rather they keep on getting tangled and trapped in the hanging manjas.
Please do follow this link and watch it yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgjkV3ug3Jo
What you can do:
· Stop flying kites and if you can’t do that atleast don’t ever use glass strings at all.. (itne sare birds ki jaan lene se achha hai hum log terrace ke joker bane jiski kites kat ti rehti hai)
· There are numerous NGO’s working for this cause.. one can volunteer and join for this noble cause. Start searching now!!
· Whenever you see any hanging string (manja) then don’t let it stay there, rather dispose it effectively.
· Report any injured bird or yourself take it to any veterinary doctor.
· If still that option is not feasible then nurse it youself (only if above option is not available)
My take:
You can either be too selfish to celebrate the sacrifices of so many of our bird friends (just imagine the day when you won’t have the chirping of birds) or you can take the other way and lend a hand in saving lives.. the decision is upto you..
I have made my decision.. what about you???
(P.S. and I’ll wait for responses after this uttrayan of how it felt having helped others’ lives..
Believe me.. it feels great!!)
CAclubindia
