The entire issue of alleged destruction of paddy by the swamphen must be examined with scientific rigour without any bias or prejudice
Purple colour represents power, dignity, and independence; attributes that align with disability rights movement globally. In January this year, Goa added to its ‘cap of firsts’, yet another feather by hosting the first International Purple Fest, a celebration of inclusivity and participation of individuals with as many as 21 diverse disabilities listed in ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’. The event drew enthusiastic participation and liberal praise from various quarters for its purpose, appeal, and execution, sending a strong message of recognition of rights of people with disabilities and for addressing their deprivation with dignity.
Purple colour is royal, rare, whimsical, and magical. Just a few months into the new year after the purple fest; for the paddy growers in Saxtti, the colour triggers panic and anxiety! Going by some recent press reports, the paddy growers in Macazana and adjoining villages are anguished by the damage caused to their transplanted paddy in expansive croplands by a brightly blue-purple coloured bird called the ‘Purple Swamphen’. The farmers allege that flocks of this sizeable and sociable migratory bird descend into their paddy fields by dusk and start foraging on tender shoots of freshly transplanted paddy saplings. The matter has got escalated to the Departments of Agriculture and Forest, for assessment of damage and necessary intervention, besides an alert having been sent to the ICAR, Old Goa for a solution.
The tone of the farmers is clearly that which ascribes a ‘nuisance value’ to this elegant bird of our wetlands in Goa, locally known as ‘Tel Combo’. One of the easiest to spot in field for a novice, even without a field-scope or binoculars, this is a noisy bird that effortlessly negotiates through the reeds and mats of hydrophytes like water hyacinth, foraging on tender shoots with their triangular red beaks and long toes that show amazing dexterity in ‘handling’ food. A notable feature of this noisy bird is its habit of flicking its short blunt tail intermittently, and their sudden short chase to exclude competitors from their defended territory.
Prior to strict enforcement of Wildlife Protection Act and during the decades marked by lack of understanding and appreciation for wildfowl in Goa, this bird was commonly trapped or shot for the pot; along with many waders, both resident and migratory. It is only in the last decade or so that the aesthetic and ecological values of our wildlife have taken centrestage, and the fear of punitive action has further discouraged the poachers from trapping and shooting birds of our wetlands. The efforts of the state in granting protection to birds through sustained awareness programmes such as bird festivals, active patrolling, intelligence gathering have paid rich dividends by offering safe refuge to many birds in Goa’s wetlands. Today’s youngsters have dropped the guns and picked the cameras to shoot the birds here!
Notwithstanding a compassionate outlook towards wildlife, perceptions change when people suffer loses, and turn hostile. ‘Victim’ is swept by angst and demand for urgent action to deter further economic loses, even if it means eliminating the conflict species in a kneejerk. Now this is a tricky situation with multiple spinoffs and must be handled with utmost care and caution in a spirit of scientific enquiry and effective grievance redressal to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
While I first messaged the Member Secretary of the State Biodiversity Board on castigation of this bird, I did also share my worry with the Chief Wildlife Warden, Goa state when I met him during the recent ‘India Climate and Development Partners Meet’ on February 20, where our Chief Minister Pramod Sawant mooted the idea of making Goa the ‘First Green Tourism Hotspot’ with support from World Bank. But the ‘purple’ being accused of devastating the ‘green’ in the agroecosystem of Amche Goem overshadowed my joy.
I am sensitive to the woes of our farmers and dubious viability of their agro-enterprise due to diminishing returns against investment, but I am also firm that this entire issue of alleged destruction of paddy by the swamphen must be examined with scientific rigour without any bias or prejudice. While agriculture in Goa needs desperate boost through reasonable subsidies, minimum support price and compensation against crop raiding and weather anomalies; the habitat value of this croplands for wildlife is never highlighted. Paddy fields are seasonal wetlands that offer foraging grounds, refuge, and hideout to a range of birds that live in their proximity. In fact, many of these birds reciprocate by keeping the fields free of pests and by offering gratis manure through their nutrient rich faeces.
There are a few misconceptions in minds of our farmers that need to be addressed. First, the species that they claim to be as ‘Western Swamphen’ destroying their rice seedlings is in fact the ‘Grey-headed Swamphen’ (Porphyrio poliocephalus) that shows seasonal movements along altitudes, despite not having an impressive flight. There are cases on record where these birds have raided fresh rice transplants feeding on succulent sprouts. In 2021, the ‘Pokkali’ rice farmers of Thrissur, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts in Kerala had similarly appealed to their state and even approached the high court praying that ‘Neela Kozi’ be declared as vermin and culled. But studies have revealed that the scale of damage is much less than what is claimed.
In fact, of the odd 1,200 Indian species of birds, only 25 are known to be of agronomic consequences; and Baya Weaver Birds, House Sparrows, Pea Fowls and Rose-ringed Parakeets cause more agricultural losses than the Grey-headed Swamphen.
Such impulsive blame-fixing without careful evaluation should not pave way to increase our ‘list of vermin’; rather thinking out of box to dissuade the birds from entering paddy fields by altering crop regimes, installing perimeter fencing and clearing hydrophytic vegetation around rice fields during sprouting and transplant could keep the birds at bay.
The state that celebrates ‘Purple Fest’ cannot just give in to the ‘Purple Fear’ based on sporadic incidents.
