‘Sparrow corners’ in aid of state bird

To promote sparrow as the state bird and make children aware about it, the Delhi government will create special ‘sparrow corners’ in about 2,000 schools in the Capital, Atul Mathur reports.

To promote sparrow as the state bird and make children aware about it, the Delhi government will create special ‘sparrow corners’ in about 2,000 schools in the Capital.

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The environment department has also decided to organise expert lectures to make students understand the bird’s life and habitat.

Environment department officials said the eco clubs of private as well as government schools — both state and Central — are being roped in to create sparrow corners.

Apart from planting saplings, the natural habitat of sparrows, the department will also help make the soil conducive for insects on which sparrows survive. “We have been told that some people in Meerut and Ahmedabad make nests for sparrows. We are trying to source those nests,” a senior environment department official said.

Sparrow was declared Delhi’s state bird by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on August 15 last year. The government later prepared an action plan to sensitise people, especially children, about saving the bird.

The sparrow was found in huge numbers in Delhi till about a decade ago.