Seven villages in Tamil Nadu celebrate silent Deepavali to conserve birds in nearby bird sanctuary
Erode: As the boom of firecrackers filled the air across the country celebrating Deepavali with gusto, seven villages in Erode district of Tamil Nadu decided to mark the festival with just lights, and no sound, in a gesture considerate of the winged inhabitants of the bird sanctuary nearby.
The villages are located around Vadamugam Vellode, 10 kilometres from Erode where the bird sanctuary is situated.
Thousands of local bird species and migratory birds from other regions visit the sanctuary between October and January to lay eggs and hatch them.
As Diwali usually falls in the month of October or November, the more than 900 families living around the bird sanctuary took the decision to save the birds and not scare them off by bursting crackers.
They have been following this conservation approach for the past 22 years. The villagers said that during Deepavali (Diwali), they buy their children new clothes and allow them to only burn sparklers, and not burst crackers.
This year as well, the villages of Sellappampalayam, Vadamugam Vellode, Semmandampalayam, Karukkankattu Valasu, Pungampadi and two other villages upheld the respectful tradition of a silent Deepavali.
As the families joyfully celebrated Deepavali in their own way, thousands of birds remained safe and blissfully unaware at the sanctuary, with no incident reported on Saturday and Sunday.
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DMK seeks separate seating in Lok Sabha after split with Congress alliance
New Delhi: Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking a separate seating arrangement for Members of Parliament belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) following the end of the party’s alliance with the Indian National Congress.
In a letter dated May 7 addressed to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi said the changed political situation made it inappropriate for DMK MPs to continue sitting alongside Congress members in the House.
She requested the Speaker to make “suitable changes” in the seating arrangement of the DMK Parliamentary Party and allot separate seating for its MPs.
“In view of the changed political circumstances and as our alliance with the Indian National Congress has come to an end, it may not be appropriate for our Members to continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside them in the House,” the letter stated.
Kanimozhi further said separate seating would help DMK members effectively discharge their responsibilities in the Lok Sabha.
