IFS Officer Inspires Kids to Give Up Slingshots to Save Birds, Wins Hearts Online

Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Anand Reddy is winning hearts online after he and his team managed to convince children in Nasik villages to give up slingshots, which they used to kill birds. The officer in a series of tweets revealed how the team worked on this and were successful in creating awareness in a manner that the children voluntarily gave up the slingshot. The main idea behind this was to make efforts in the direction of saving birds. In a part of his tweet, Anand said, “It leads to empty forests — no birds, no chirping, no singing. Only silence!”

In order to convince the children, the IFS officer used four methods –talking to each child, making them aware about how painful it is for the bird, asking them to promise that they will never use it and nudging them to give it up ‘voluntarily.’ Reddy shared pictures and videos of children in which they can be seen becoming a part of this crucial movement.

The officer informed that the department had started an initiative named ‘Galor Samarpan Abhiyan’ on Environment Day. He also stressed how the last 30 days, in particular, were special as 590 slingshots were surrendered and children from 68 villages took the pledge to not use the galor. Furthermore, some children were sensitised to the extent that they themselves approached the forest department for surrendering their slingshot.

Reddy also appreciated the efforts made by his team in a tweet. He wrote, “Once our green warriors found the purpose, they worked relentlessly — nights, weekends & in rains to reach out to every kid.” He concluded the series of posts by sharing a picture of a child who is holding a pamphlet of the ‘Galor Samarpan Abhiyan’. Through the post, he stressed the importance of changing a young mind. He wrote, “Change a child, you’ll change a generation.”

The majority of the netizens have lauded him for his efforts on the ground.

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