If you think the person in the picture is bursting crackers in the Diwali estate, then you are wrong. He does interesting work and gets paid for it. His job is to drive away the birds with crackers, which graze to eat the shelled seeds sown in the fields. It is now a common sight in the paddy fields of Cherpu near Thrissur district in Kerala. Today, Cherpus Pazhuvil–Varriam Kole Padavu and the surrounding areas, where the sowing has just finished, resound with the sounds of explosive cracking. Cole-rice fields are a very productive ecosystem. They are known for their rich diversity of birds, including migratory birds.
However, the biggest threat is the local pigeon, which arrives in large flocks and eats the newly sown seeds. P.K Ibrahim, a rice field owner who employed migrant labor to scare away these birds, told Business Line that most of the rice field owners have been using this method for some time in the 150 hectares of land in Varriam Kole. They are mostly employed by Tamilian workers who get a daily wage of 800-900 rupees for their work, which is very comparable to other workplaces.
