Rajamahendravaram: Winged guests keep their appointment with Punyakshetram

Rajamahendravaram: The tiny village of Punyakshetram near here is echoing with the sounds of migratory birds, Siberian open-billed storks (Gooda Kongalu). Around 1,000 storks visit the village every year and reside on the trees at a tank as well as in the backyards of the houses in the village.

The birds travel 8,000 kilometre from Siberia to Punyakshetram to stay there from September to December. During their stay, they build nests, lay eggs and hatch and fly back with their chicks. They feed their chick with fish, frogs and snails.

The villagers treat the birds as their guests and protect them during their stay in the village. They punish the persons who try to do any harm to the birds.

There was a demand to set up a sanctuary in Punyakshetram village for a long time but it has not yet materialised.

According to B Rama Rao, a resident of the village, they birds have been coming to the village for the last 100 years from Siberia as the climate is conducive here for breeding.