Chamarajanagar:  The first State-level three-day Bird Festival (Hakki Habba) began at the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar District yesterday. 

The area is also a Tiger Protected Zone. Though many State-level Bird Festivals were held at other places in the past, the Forest Department and the Karnataka Eco Tourism Development Board is conducting the festival at BRT Sanctuary for the first time. The festival will be on till Jan. 7. 

The festival — in its seventh edition — is an attempt to save the vanishing avian species and to connect people to the rich avian diversity in this lesser-explored forest habitat. The BRT Sanctuary has more than 274 species of birds and the rich biodiversity of the area supports rich flora and fauna. 

MLA N. Mahesh inaugurated the festival in Morarji Desai Residential School at Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Hill. He said that renowned ornithologist late Salim Ali had identified nearly 100 species in the BRT forests in 1939 and another survey conducted in 2012 had increased their numbers to 282 species. “Now, there are more than 300 species of birds,” he claimed. 

He suggested the Department to involve the local Soliga tribals as they will know more and more about bird species, their behaviours, and habitat and nesting practices. Tribals have been living inside the forest since centuries and they will have innate knowledge about the flora and fauna, the MLA said. 

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and CEO of Karnataka Eco Tourism Development Board Ajai Misra said the bird festival is an effort to collate the bird species and to sensitise people about the fragile ecosystem where bird species thrive. “Similar festivals have been conducted in Mysuru, Srirangapatna, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Dandeli, Chikkamagalur, Mangaluru and Ballari. There was pressure on us to conduct such a festival at BRT Sanctuary because of its rich biodiversity,” he said. 

Additional Chief Secretary of Forest, Environment and Ecology Department Sandeep Dave, BRT Tiger Reserve Director Santosh Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests of Chamarajanagar Manoj Kumar, Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve Natesh, Deputy Conservator of Forests – Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Division V. Yedukondalu and others were present. 

Experts and bird scientists have been roped in along with resource persons to give information about the bird species and special lectures have been organised as part of the festival.