AHMEDABAD: The once ubiquitous black, white and brown birdies cohabiting with humans are constantly on downward slope . Sparrows have got diminished from cities like Ahmedabad in past couple of decades due to multiple factors.Jagat Kinkhabwala, a city-based businessman who is termed ‘Sparrow Man’ with mention in the PM’s Mann ki Baat, said that vehicular pollution is one of the reasons. “Petrol combustion emits compounds such as methyl nitrite, which is highly toxic for insects.Coupled with insecticides, it attacks directly at the base of the food chain for the birds. Another factor is absence of safer nests — they are forced to lay eggs in the open or at places where they are attacked by predators and insects,” he said.But all hope is not lost, out of nearly 1 lakh nests that were prepared or distributed by Kinkhabwala and several thousands prepared by different NGOs are yielding results. “Awareness is rising about conservation efforts. We have cases where the families prepare lapsi (Gujarati delicacy) if the nest reports a chick,” he said. This year, he is propagating the concept of bottle house — made of discarded bottles — for conservation. It uses discarded plastic bottles to make a small enclosure with grains and water to provide safe haven for the birds. “This way, we can also reduce the pollution by plastic,” said Kinkhabwala.

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