house sparrows

Dilip Patel

Rapid urbanisation in the state, especially Ahmedabad, has claimed a new victim: house sparrows. The population of house sparrows in the city has plunged by 90 per cent in the past seven years, according to random surveys conducted by the forest department, Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation and bird-watchers.

The steep decline in the species’ numbers has prompted the state government to mandate a detailed scientific study. “The population of sparrows in cities like Ahmedabad has decreased at an alarming rate over the past few years,” Principal Secretary (forest and environment) S K Nanda told Ahmedabad Mirror. “We have asked the GEER Foundation to find out the causes of the species’ disappearance.”

Nanda — who discussed the issue with the director of GEER Foundation, C N Pandey, last week — said that the study’s findings would be used to boost sparrows’ numbers in urban areas.

AM spoke to several eminent bird-watchers and environmentalists, who confirmed that the population of sparrows in Ahmedabad had declined by 90 per cent. Some of them suspect that the electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phone towers are wiping out sparrows, which, until recently, were spotted in droves at most residential colonies.

“I live in Jivraj Park, and I used to spot more than 50 sparrows in my building just a few years ago. However, lately I have not seen more than five,” Lal Singh Raol, who has been studying birds’ behaviour for the past 60 years, said. “The number of sparrows in Ahmedabad has decreased by 95 per cent.”

Raol, who has written books on birds found in Gujarat, said that the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on sparrows needed to be studied. Raol, 84, has trained several people into bird-watching, and has encouraged formation of several environment clubs.

The director of GEER Foundation said that preliminary observations on the disappearance of sparrows had been made. “We believe that the changing design of residential buildings and an increase in number of cellphone towers have led to the fall in the bird’s population,” Pandey said. “A few years ago, residential buildings used to have slanted roofs, which were ideal nesting sites for sparrows. However, newer buildings have fewer vacant spaces.”

A scientist with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr P S Thakker, too, concurred with Pandey’s observation. “The sealing of windows for installation of air conditioners results in fewer entry points for sparrows to enter a house, and build a nest,” Thakker, also an ardent bird-watcher, said. “Interestingly, I visited Kodadha village near Kutch last week, and saw a large number of sparrows. This is because there were fewer cellphone towers in the region.”

A coordinator of Wetlands International (South Asia), which creates awareness on forest conservation, said that sparrows population had decreased in Ahmedabad in the past eight years. “There are at least 12 lakh residential buildings in Ahmedabad. However, nests of house sparrows exist in only 5 per cent of the buildings,” the coordinator, Bharat Jethva, said.

Under-Secretary of the forest department, Uday Vora, said that a large number of house sparrows could be found in areas on the outskirts of major cities. “Population of sparrows thrives in regions where there are fewer mobile phone towers,” he said.

A scientist associated with the Anand Agricultural University (AAU), Bhavabhuti Parasiya, concurred with Vora’s observation. “I visited Kutch, and I saw thousands of sparrows,” he said.