3 more peacocks die

BERHAMPUR/ASKA: Carcasses of three more peacocks were recovered from Kerikerijola village, located at the foot of Pakidi, a bald hill, under Sheragarh block, on Friday. With this the total number of peacock deaths in the area has gone up to 13.Earlier on Monday, forest officials had found the carcasses of nine peacocks from the 60-acre farm near Kerikerijola and Ambuabadi villages and one bird died during treatment at the veterinary hospital in Sheragada on Tuesday. The farm owner, G Sambha Shiva Rao, was arrested for the deaths and sent to judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected. Problem started when Rao, belonging to Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district, took up cotton cultivation after taking lease of 60 acre of fallow land near Pakidi hills. The peacocks which feed on cotton leaves and seeds, are believed to have died since the crop was sprinkled with a pesticide called ‘Atom’.A local conservationist Samir Pradhan, who was conferred the Biju Patnaik Award by the State Government in 2005-06 for excellent work for protection of the national bird, said the number of affected peacocks could be more since the birds feed on the crop fields of the neighbouring villages.The Pakidi hills area is one of the biggest peacock habitats in the country. “The love and affection shown by the villagers for the national bird is the main reason for increase in the birds’ population in the area,” said Pradhan who is also the president of Peacock Protection Committee. He added that at present, there are around 500 peacocks in the area.Villagers believe more deaths may have occurred over the last weekend. Upon post mortem on the dead birds, the vets found seeds and leaves of the cotton plants from their stomach. The parts have been sent to Bhubaneswar for further examination.Meanwhile, Forest and Environment Minister Debi Prasad Mishra has directed forest officials to inquire into the matter. An awareness campaign to protect the national bird has been started in the area and forest officials from Bhubaneswar are scheduled to visit the hill on Sunday.