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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Bengaluru Police bust major drug network; 16 arrested, narcotics worth Rs 36.67 crore seized
Bengaluru: In a major crackdown on drug trafficking and illegal narcotics trade, Bengaluru City Police have arrested 16 accused persons and seized narcotic substances worth Rs 36.67 crore.
According to Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh, those arrested include four foreign nationals, eight persons from other states and four locals. Police said the network had interstate as well as international links.
Police recovered 9 kg 64 grams of MDMA, 5 kg 195 grams of hydro ganja, 19,755 LSD strips, 156 grams of heroin, 618 grams of charas, 332 grams of cocaine, 315 grams of drug-mixed gummies and 11 kg 470 grams of ganja from the accused.
The Commissioner said the action was carried out as part of a major anti-drug operation in the city. The network was busted with the support of the CCB Narcotics Control Squad and police stations of Bagaluru, Adugodi, Chikkajala, HSR Layout, Yeshwanthpur, Jalahalli and Jnanabharathi.
Cases were registered in CCB, East Division and West Division police stations based on specific intelligence received on different dates, following which raids were conducted.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were procuring drugs at lower prices from foreign, interstate and local sources and selling them in Bengaluru at higher rates.
Police said college students and working professionals were among the main targets of the accused.
