Schoolchildren come to see bats and other birds at the CM’s residence twice a week. It helps dispel many of their myths
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s neighbours are of the winged kind. And there are over 5,000 of them, mostly bats who have made Lutyens’ Delhi their favourite dwelling place, thanks to the unfettered growth of tall and old trees in the area.
There are bats in Mayur Vihar and Nangloi, but Motilal Nehru Place has undoubtedly the largest concentration of bats in the Capital, says Lima Rosalind, a senior consultant with WWF. Rosalind is constantly monitoring the bat population in the area as part of her school education programme.
Acknowledging the increased number of bats in and around her house, the chief minister said, “Though these days they are making a lot of noise, I enjoy watching them in the morning. One can see mother bats with their pups hanging in the trees as the place has become a good roosting site for them.”
Rosalind has set up a Nature Trail project at the CM’s residence, where schoolchildren come to see the bats and other birds twice a week. Besides bats, there are about 65 species of birds, including shikra, koel, rose-ringed parakeet, spotted owlet, purple rumped sunbird, which can be seen on the lawns of the CM’s bungalow. Since the project’s launch in 2006, over 2,500 schoolchildren have visited the site. Through the programme, Rosalind is trying to dispel myths about bats. “Earlier, children were afraid of bats because of myths, like their attacking human beings to drink blood. We try to dispel such myths. Most children come back with more queries. Many schools have also come forward to form bat clubs,” she said.
Bats prefer to live in the proximity of human habitation. They help in pollination of trees, are nocturnal and disperse after sunset to come back to the trees early in the morning. Lutyens’ Delhi is the obvious choice for bats as there are more than 100 tress including mulberry, Arjuna, ficus, kartsagon, imli, neem and babul in the area where the bats make their nests.
