Assam’s ‘Stork Lady’ bags the Nari Shakti Puraskar
In the wetlands around Guwahati, environmentalist Purnima Devi Barman commands an army of conservationists who work towards saving the endangered greater adjutant storks.
Barman has succeeded in not only building a conservation network for the bird but also helped change the mindset of the members of the local community, who were against any attempts to save the ‘filthy’ scavenger bird, which can grow up to five feet.
Her contribution in saving the bird, whose numbers have dwindled to 1,200, were recognised on Thursday when President Ram Nath Kovind conferred her with the Nari Shakti Puraskar. She has also been a recipient of Whitley Awards or the ‘Green Oscars’ for her conservation efforts.
From a lone crusader, the 40-year-old has now been able to build up a conservation team of around 10,000 villagers, including a 200-strong all woman group called the Hargilla Army, (Hargilla is the local name of the bird).
The team now rescues 40-50 storks every year.
“It wasn’t easy to involve the locals in conservation of adjutant storks and change their mindset,” Barman said as she recalled how people would initially be furious when she would try to tell them the need to conserve the bird.
Barman’s association with the bird goes back to her childhood. The daughter of an army officer, she grew up with her grandmother in a village around Deepor Bil and Palasbari wetlands, home to most number of endangered storks.
During her PhD fieldwork, Barman said she saw a villager cutting down a tree where the storks had nested. According to the conservationist, the sight of newly born storks dropping to the ground prompted her to work for their conservation full time. She joined Aaranyak, a wildlife conservation organisation.
“My parents were skeptical of me going to the Aaranyak nature camps. They thought it was not secure. Plus they wanted me to become a big officer,” she said.
The focus of conservation programmes in saving the “glamorous rhinos and tigers” was something which Barman said pushed her towards spreading awareness about the need to save the wetlands and the adjutant storks.
The activist has also been able to involve the local police in her group’s work. “The presence of the superintendent of the police in rescue and conservation efforts makes a big difference,” Barman said as she credited the local administration for providing the group with a rescue vehicle to transport the birds.
The ‘Stork Lady’, as Barman is referred to in conservation circles, said it was important to include information about the bird in the school curriculum. However, she stressed that the urgent need of the hour was to safeguard wetlands from “mindless development”.
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