Giving back to nature

The Universal Human Rights Foundation has set up clay pots across the city to aid thirsty birds in the cruel summer months.

The Universal Human Rights Foundation has set up clay pots across the city to aid thirsty birds in the cruel summer months

When it’s hot,we like to have a drink,and nothing is more refreshing than a glass of nice,cool water. We humans have the option of drinking water from refrigerators or earthen pots,but what of animals?, asks Sunmeet Singh Chowdhary. With rapid urbanisation,the few water bodies that are left in the city are also drying up,and it affects wildlife,which dies of thirst and the heat, he adds. Chowdhary is the chairperson of Universal Human Rights Foundation,an organisation that was started last year. The foundation realised the pain animals would be going through because of the heat,and have started setting up clay pots and bowls filled with water so that birds can have their fill of water. Distributing these pots and bowl across the city during a four-day drive,the members have received interest from both shops and residential complexes. We request people to keep the bowls and pots in balconies,terraces,gardens,society compounds and shop associations. All they have to do is to change the water on a daily basis; apart from that,one can forget about the pot or bowl for the rest of the day, says Chowdhary.

The whole idea helping birds came from an unusally hot day,when Singh and his friends decided to quench their thirst with soft drinks. “At that moment,we saw a crow cawing nearby,looking very forlorn because of the heat. We decided that since animals also share our earth,we should work for them too.” In fact,Chowdhary is also planning to work for stray dogs in the city.

The objective of the foundation is to bring together and integrate the youth. “We want to mobilise the youth against today’s social problems,like child labour,female infanticide and feoticide,the dowry system and so on.” However,there is no politics involved at all. As Chowdhary says,Because of its taints,and a fresh load of scams being uncovered almost everyday,the youth tends to stay away from politics. Thus,to gain their support,we too have stayed as far away as possible from the whole process. With 150 members in the city and over 1000 across the state,the foundation is next looking to expand to the entire country.

The foundation has received very positive feedback more and more requests are pouring in for these pots. We also have kept these pots at our headquarters at NIBM road for people who might find it more convenient to pick them up here, adds Singh. The foundation is currently in talks with the Wadia group of colleges to set up a few pots within the college premises.

The next step that the foundation is going to take for the welfare of birds is setting up nests. We are collecting wood,saw shavings,and other waste materials to build nests which we will then distribute just like the pots, says Chowdhary. He invites contributions from people,but has a strict no-cash policy. When actual money gets involved,people might get sticky fingers. We want to erase that possibility altogether, he explains.

To request for a pot or to donate waste material for the nests,you can email the foundation at universalhumanrightsfoundation@gmail.com .

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