A village fears for its venerated peacocks

Morachi Chincholi is known for its special relationship with the peacock. The birds are venerated here, enough to get it recognition from the state as a tourist destination.

However, the delayed monsoon has caused a problem. With no water to irrigate land and barely enough to drink, the villagers are worried that their 650-odd peacocks may migrate.

“We have half empty stomachs,” says Kisanbai Nanekar, echoing the sentiments of the 2,000 villagers, pointing out that they reserve some of their food and water supplies for the peacocks.

On Sunday, Chandan Pathare and volunteers of the Jungle Cub group spread 2,000 kg of foodgrains across the vast parched fields for the peacocks. But the worry is water, which the birds require in huge quantities. Says Dr Satish Pande, an avid ornithologist who had conducted a census of the peacocks two years ago at the village: “These are huge birds and feed on insects, amphibians, reptiles, scorpions. They glean the foodgrains from the ground and eat it. But they require a lot of water.”

Till then their only hope is the tankers. “The authorities have assured to send us a tanker with a capacity of 12,000 litres of water on August 1,” says Gorde.

• Out of 78 tehsils in Marthwada, 67 have seen rainfall less than 50 per cent. Sowing has been done in only 19 per cent of the land. With water scarce in dams, it is being kept for domestic purposes and will not be provided for irrigation

• With sowing less than 10 per cent by some estimates in Purandar tehsil, the local MLA says they are working on a proposal to reimburse farmers for expenses incurred due to sowing. With few farmers turning up, market transactions at the tehsil headquarters are down 80 per cent

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