Villagers Don’t Burst Crackers in These Tamil Nadu Villages to Protect Birds

Chennai: Seven villages in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu are not bursting crackers during Diwali for the past 22 years to protect the avian inhabitants of a nearby bird sanctuary.

These villages are located around the Vadamugam Vellode bird sanctuary, which is visited by thousands of migratory birds between October and January to lay eggs and hatch them. It is also the breeding season of local birds.

So, around 900 families living in these seven villages have taken the decision to refrain from bursting crackers to protect the birds in the sanctuary. They have been observing Diwali with crackers for the past 22 years.

On Diwali evening, the villagers burn diyas and sparklers and never burst crackers.

This year also, the villages of Sellappampalayam, Vadamugam Vellode, Semmandampalayam, Karukkankattu Valasu, Pungampadi and two other villages continued their tradition of silent Deepavali.