Winged Guests From Siberia Face Hard Times In Veerapuram

Anantapur: The painted storks migrating to Andhra Pradesh and camping in the tiny village of Veerapuram in Chilamathur mandal, Satya Sai district, are facing critical conditions due to lack of necessary support from the state government.

The villagers host the birds coming on seasonal migration as their children and treat the injured birds at their homes. No special teams from the veterinary or forest department are showing up at the village.

Veerapuram village faces severe drought conditions. Even then, the decades-old tradition of migration by birds to the small village continues. Curiously, there are only 5 trees for these birds to build their nests for a period of five months, both for shelter and reproduction.

The migratory birds feel a sense of belonging to  Veerapuram. Hundreds of painted storks reach the village for stay and breeding every summer season.

Curiously, the bird population is three times the number of the village’s human population. The villagers welcome these birds with a lot of warmth and treat them as their daughters “coming home for delivery, from a long distance.”

At least 1,500 birds have migrated from the long distance for nesting and breeding and stay for about five months. After this, they fly back with their chicks.

The birds have to adjust with the size of the small trees for nestling in the village. These winged guests mingle with the people without fear of any harm.

The migration starts from January and ends by May-June, when the birds begin their return journey with their new-born.

Former collector Somesh Kumar, currently chief adviser to the TS government, had brought the village into light, but in recent times this tourist spot remains badly neglected. Officials of the departments concerned do not visit the spot or attend to the needs of these birds.

The birds have been procuring fish from nearby tanks with considerable difficulty. They also faced trouble protecting the chicks and eggs in the nests. The chicks were at times falling down from the trees and eggs were breaking after their fall from the nests.

Villagers have been taking the injured birds to their houses and providing treatment on their own till they get recovered. Rajasekhar Reddy, a villager voluntarily protecting the birds, lamented that the officials these days care little for the winged guests.

Sources said the forest department almost ignored the village by saying there was no budgetary allocations to take care of the migratory birds.