Let's get the 'chirp' back in our neighbourhood, ‘Save the Sparrow’ drive picks pace in Ahmedabad

With the chirping of sparrows fading from Ahmedabad’s old neighbourhoods, a local animal welfare group has launched a renewed appeal to residents to help revive the dwindling bird population by creating nesting spaces outside their homes.

Marking World Sparrow Day, members of Animal Life Care have intensified their campaign titled 'Ek Prayas Chakli Bachavvano' (An effort to save the sparrow), urging citizens to take a simple pledge: to install small nesting boxes, or ‘bakhol’, outside their houses.

Activists say that the once-common house sparrow, locally known as ‘chakli’, has seen a sharp decline in urban areas such as Ahmedabad, particularly in traditional pols where its presence was once a defining feature.

“Earlier, homes were designed with small openings and ledges where sparrows could nest. Today, modern constructions have eliminated these spaces, effectively taking away their homes,” said an activist of Animal Life Care, which has been leading efforts to install nesting boxes across the city.

Sparrows were once an integral part of daily life. “When we were children, stories of sparrows were told at home, and their chirping was a constant sound. The current generation rarely sees them. That is a worrying change,” the activist further said.

Experts and activists attribute the decline to a combination of factors, including rapid urbanisation, loss of green cover, increasing pollution, and radiation from mobile towers. Noise pollution and shrinking natural habitats have further pushed sparrows to the brink in many urban centres.

Over the past several months, volunteers from the organisation have been installing artificial nests in residential areas, particularly in older city neighbourhoods, in an attempt to provide safe breeding spaces for the birds.

As part of the campaign, free distribution of sparrow nests was carried out at Parimal Garden and other parts of the city. The group has also encouraged residents to place small water bowls outside their homes, especially during the summer months.

“Saving the sparrow is not a complex task. If every household installs even a single nest and provides water, it can make a significant difference,” an activist said, appealing for greater public participation.

The organisation plans to continue distributing nests free of cost and expand its outreach in the coming months, hoping to restore the familiar chirping of sparrows to the city’s soundscape.