RAIPUR: At a time when access to mobile phones and internet connectivity is ubiquitous, residents of Lachkera in Gariyaband district of Chhattisgarh willingly forego it, fearing that the radiation from cell towers may impact Asian Openbill storks, a migratory bird species that flock the region every year.
Amid interpretations that the radiation may affect the migratory birds, the Lachkera village, with around 600 households, does not allow the installation of cell towers in the neighbourhood. They nurture strong assumptions that such towers might endanger the life, reproductive and navigational capacities of the Asian Openbill storks.
“We have learnt that the transmission towers cause radiation that is harmful; we would rather prefer to live with weak network connectivity from the adjoining locations. It’s a delight to welcome Openbill storks with the onset of the monsoon. They nest in the trees of our village and no one in the village disturbs them. We don’t permit any mobile phone service provider to establish their tower despite the pressure and temptation from them,” said Uday Nishad, the Lachkera sarpanch.
The gram panchayat had passed a resolution to not allow any company to install their mobile towers in its limits to provide a safe habitat for the storks. Further, a punitive fine of Rs 1,000 is imposed on anyone found harming or disturbing the birds. However, such a penalty rarely happens since the locals reportedly have great regard for the birds.
Thousands of Openbill storks keep returning to Lachkera around monsoon and leave by Diwali festival, said Gokul Soni, a photojournalist who often keeps track of migratory birds. According to Soni, the villagers claim that the birds apparently have a profound attachment to their village, owing to the safe shelter.
Ornithologists, however, do not completely agree with the Lachkera residents over the potential hazards from cell towers on the navigational capacities of the birds. “It is inspiring if the Lachkera villagers are doing something good for the safety of migratory birds, based on informed assumptions about the adverse effect of the radiation. But such impact is yet to be thoroughly proven by systematic research studies,” commented ornithologist Ravi Naidu from Bombay National History Society.
The villagers, however, remain fond of the visiting birds. “The arrival of Openbill stork indicates the onset of monsoon. The birds don’t visit any of the nearby villages,” said Nishad, recollecting that his father Firanta, who was also a sarpanch, used to narrate stories about the storks visiting Lachkera every year.