PICTURE SPEAK

PARADISE OF BIRDS: Rao at Uppalapadu

When K. Mrutyumjaya Rao, an avid bird-watcher, visited the small patch of wetland in Uppalapadu on the outskirts of Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district in 1990, little did he know that it would turn into a lifelong obsession. The egrets and pelicans he had come to see were in abundance but he found some other species of birds too. Unwittingly he had stumbled on a unique bird habitat.

His interest whetted, Rao has made it a point to visit Uppalapadu at least twice a month-and it doesn't matter where he has to travel from. He visited the 7-acre wetland from wherever he was posted as a subdivisional engineer in BSNL and continues to do so after retirement last year.

Thanks to Rao's efforts, not only has the number of species at the wetland grown from a mere seven to 60, but their numbers have also swelled to about 20,000. This would not have been possible without the cooperation of the 8,000-odd villagers in the vicinity of the Uppalapadu lake. But it needed convincing. The villagers considered the birds a nuisance polluting their source of water. They went to the extent of chopping down trees to discourage the birds from flying to the area. Today, even children are sensitive enough to refrain from throwing stones at the winged visitors. The species there include the white ibis, glossy ibis, little cormorants, open-billed storks, night herons, moorhens, spot-billed ducks, coots, whistling teals and painted storks. Several species live at Uppalapadu throughout the year. "Usually wetlands are home to migratory birds for six-seven months. Uppalapadu is a rare phenomenon," says Rao. Villagers acknowledge his commitment. "His single-minded devotion is bringing our place the distinction of providing a home for birds throughout the year," says M. Seetharamaiah. Adds K. Ramana, an excise officer who works in Guntur: "Rao is a natural conservationist who spent several hours educating the villagers."

But the ornithologist's work is not yet over. He is now fighting for more space for the birds. "There are a record 400 nests and 950 grey and white pelicans that stay here till May," he says. Rao has appealed to the authorities to acquire more land for the birds, deepen the lake, fence the area, increase the green cover and build watch towers. In 2002, he persuaded the state Forest Department to appoint two watchmen. Rao, now an honorary wildlife warden, also wants Uppalapadu to be declared a bird sanctuary. For him, this is no flight of fancy, just a mission possible.

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