For long, Morachi Chincholi and its 2,500-odd peacocks lived happily. But a scorching summer and the government’s hurried plans to promote tourism have upset the birds

Morachi Chincholi’s ‘privileged’ residents—a community of around 2,500 peacocks—have never had it this bad. This summer has been punishing. The wells have turned into muddied pools of water and when the birds strut up to one of the about 12 cement tanks in the village for their evening drink, they end up disappointed—some of them are bone dry and the others have turned into leaky cesspools.

Villagers say the tanks have to be repaired but the government has other plans: it’s busy wooing tourists to this ‘peacock village’. “The peacocks have been eating grains from our fields and drinking water from our wells for several years. The summer was especially bad since there is a scarcity of both water and foodgrains. But the government is busy building guesthouses and hotels for tourists, “ said Kamal Shivaji Dhanesar, a villager.

“Tourists and those from the city send foodgrains when they hear of the peacocks’ plight, but there is no fixed pattern. If we get them, we scatter them on our fields for the birds to eat,” said Gopinath Nanekar, a villager.

But Morachi Chincholi’s sarpanch Mahesh Gorde seemed happy with the attention the birds and the village were getting. “Our village has traditionally been home to thousands of peacocks and we felt that developing the village as a peacock attraction would do wonders for both the birds and the people. A guesthouse with two big rooms is already ready, but remains to be furnished,” he said, beaming with pride. “The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation has granted us over Rs 50 lakh to develop Chincholi into a tourist spot. A stadium, an amphitheatre, a budget hotel and landscaping are being planned,” said former sarpanch, Vishwanath Karanjkar.

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