Endgame for bustards

Just mention the large brown-and-white bird and the residents of Mardi village in Solapur burst out in anger. The district in Maharashtra is one of the few refuges for the rare Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), endemic to the grasslands of India and Pakistan. Of the 30-35 birds remaining in Maharashtra, Solapur’s grasslands support the largest population—25. But residents are not keen to protect the bird, called maldhok locally, because they perceive the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary as the stumbling block to the region’s development.