Manjit Singh is on a mission to give a safe burial to dead birds and treat the injured in Chandigarh city. For this, he has converted his bicycle into a ‘bird ambulance’.
With this, he has treated 1,160 birds so far. He even ensures that dead birds are treated well. So far, he has given 1,280 avians like pigeons, crows, parrots, and turtle doves a proper burial.
He comes to know of the injured or dead birds through the local people. Usually, these birds get wounded by sharp kite strings or from fans in shops. In summer, exhausted birds fall from the sky or collide with high-tension wires.
Manjit carries all the necessary equipment and medicines along with him. This includes a small spade, antibacterial Negasunt powder, Bird Plus syrup, and a pair of scissors to free birds from tangled wires.
“If the bird is dead, I dig a 1.5 ft hole and bury it in an open ground in the city. If there is a minor injury, I take them to my house where I feed them and after they get well, I set them free in 2-5 days,” he says.
In 2016, Manjit was offered a job as an animal attendant by the animal husbandry department of Chandigarh. He keeps aside 20 percent of his salary for his volunteer work.
“Many people have offered a fee to rescue birds but I request them to instead pay me in kind and provide bird feed for the injured birds. If I start asking money for it, it won’t be a seva (service), it will become a business,” he says.
“I consider these birds like my children. Their lives are equally important as anyone else’s,” he says.
In 2015, Manjit’s name was listed in the Limca Book of Records for saving thousands of birds in Chandigarh. The same year, he was also awarded by the Chandigarh government on the occasion of Republic Day.