SIRUGUPPA (BALLARI): With the sighting of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) becoming increasingly rare, the forest department is planning rewards to anyone who sights this critically endangered bird. Several years ago, the Uttara Kannada forest department had introduced incentives to create awareness and promote the protection of Olive Ridley turtles.
Then, any person who found an Olive Ridley turtle nest was given Rs 1,000. The Ballari Forest Department is now contemplating a similar reward-based incentive for helping sight GIB. “We discussed it in the meeting and we are thinking about it. We will decide soon,” said a senior forest official. Ballari Deputy Conservator of Forests Basavraj confirmed it, but refused to comment on it.
The department has also introduced an app - GIMPs, which is an inventory, monitoring and patrolling application that is being tried as a pilot from Monday. “Our 12 watchers will use the app to record footprints, eggs, if any, egg shells, feathers and other aspects of GIB in protected areas. They will also record blackbucks, which thrive on grasslands like GIBs.
The watchers will also look for the birds in nearby agriculture fields and also keep an eye on the cattle. If there are cattle, there will also be dogs to protect them. These dogs can be dangerous to GIBs,” said Basavraj.
“The app will later be put on Playstore, from where people can download it. If they see the bird or anything associated with it, they can take a picture and post it. This will ensure the status of the bird and its conservation,” he added.