Bidar Wildlife Water Trough Initiative Karnataka Youth Help Animals Summer Heat

During the 2020 lockdown, a group of friends in north Karnataka's Bidar district were crossing a forest area while heading to attend a programme. When they stopped to drink water, a monkey came onto the road. As one of the youngsters spilt water on the road, the monkey came and licked it—an incident that prompted the group to think about a way to help wildlife beat the summer heat. Meet the youngsters from Swabhimani Geleyara Balaga (proud friends' association), who have been installing and maintaining water troughs in forests for animals and birds. Bidar records temperatures up to 44 degrees Celsius in summer, drying major water sources in the region. Aurad, Bhalki, and Humnabad taluks have seen the underground water table deplete. Bidar is also part of the Deccan plateau. It’s primarily a dry, deciduous forest area with black bucks, foxes, monkeys, leopards, jungle cats, lizards, and vipers, among other animals. It also houses many birds like peafowl, partridges, and kites. Chandrashekhar Padashetti, president of the Balaga, told indianexpress.com, "The monkey we saw tried to lick the road; it was heart-wrenching. We decided to find a solution." Balaga was formed around 12 years ago, when Padashetti was in college. “Initially, our classmates formed it, and people started to join. Our focus was only on tree planting and recharging the water table, as Bidar is also a drought-hit area. We have planted around 16,000 to 17,000 saplings to date. We started feeding animals after the incident," said Padashetti, 33. Balaga thus decided to place large cement troughs of water across forest areas, ensuring birds and wild animals have access to drinking water. When its members noticed a dead lizard in one of their troughs, Balaga decided to leave some water in places safely accessible to insects. Members of Swabhimani Geleyara Balaga near a water trough. (Photo by special arrangement) Balaga has deputed 40 of its more than 200 members to provide water to animals. Its members now include lecturers, businessmen, and people working in private firms. All members are required to keep water in a pot or vessel on their rooftops. With temperatures at their peak, Balaga members fill the troughs with water every day. "Each trough has a capacity of 120 litres of water. We have built them in the Nagora, Chidri, Shahapur and Nirnada forest areas. During the early days of summer, we used to refill these troughs once every three days, but now we do it every day. The animals do not have the ability to express, but we humans can understand the pain of the voiceless. So, we are doing it," says Padashetti, who works as a marketing executive in a fertiliser company. While Balaga members carry water in 20-litre cans or sometimes in a tractor, animals and birds wait for their arrival.