Dear All
It’s the New Year, which means a lot of new beginnings, some strong new resolutions and some old ones which still need to be worked on. Doing something better for the planet certainly features on my list of New Year resolutions.
This planet is all we have but the growing greed for unplanned development and big profits is killing it. Every action taken to protect the environment is a step towards saving the planet. It is an investment in a cleaner and greener future.
2011 marks the end of a decade and the beginning of a new one. Let’s hope the new decade is green, peaceful and sustainable. This is our little New Year wish and greeting for those who inhabit this precious planet
Thanks & Regards,
GNYC...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Great Indian Bustards in peril
With Only 300 Left Number Has Reduced By Half Since 2000
A global population count reveals that there are just around 300 birds left, compared to 600 in the year 2000 and 1,260 in 1969.
The largest population of 100-125 birds is in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner districts of Rajasthan. Other places have fewer than 35 birds each. These findings were published in a recent paper, titled “Running out of time? The Great Indian Bustard”, of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The figures were compiled from statistics taken from the forest departments of different states. Experts say the drastic fall in the number of bustards brings up the need to develop core breeding areas and a landscape conservation strategy for the birds.
WII researcher Sutirtha Dutta told TOI that while there is no “robust monitoring” of the bustard count, the rapid decline in numbers is pretty evident. “Human intervention like infrastructural development (roads, electricity poles), conversion of agricultural land and hunting are factors contributing to the declining bustard population,” he said. “Bustards are terrestrial and low-flying birds.
They can collide with electricity poles or get hit by vehicles. These birds prefer wide, open, short grass plains and open scrubland with scattered trees. During mid-summer and the monsoons, they congregate in traditional areas to breed and avoid human disturbance. In crop lands, it is speculated that pesticides have a detrimental effect
on their reproduction and survival.”
The Great Indian Bustards are slow reproducing species, Dutta said. “They have a long life span and lay just one egg a year. There is no telemetry study (useful for monitoring threatened species at the individual level) done to know their movements,” he said.
Scientific experts have stressed that there is a need to initiate a conservation breeding programme for the bird. Such breeding has been taken up in Europe and Africa. The paper states that closer home, the bustard haven in Maharashtra has seen rapid industrialization and an increase in human population over the last 30 years.
The shift in the agricultural practice — from monsoon crops like sorghum and millet to sugarcane and grapes now — has resulted in a severe habitat loss for the bustards. Pramod Patil, who works for the conservation and protection of bustards in the state, said the bird’s future lies in the proper protection of core breeding grasslands and promotion of traditional organic farming.
When contacted, M K Rao, conservator of forests (wildlife), Pune, said no eggs of the Great Indian Bustard have been found in Nannaj over the last three years. “We are not sure whether the eggs were destroyed. Bustards need an environment free of disturbance to lay their eggs. Grazing and the movement of vehicles and people affect them,” he said.
Pune: The Great Indian Bustard, which has been listed as a critically endangered bird, is steadily moving towards extinction.
A global population count reveals that there are just around 300 birds left, compared to 600 in the year 2000 and 1,260 in 1969. In Nannaj, Maharashtra, the recent count was nine compared to 21 last year and 24 in 2008. Bustards endemic to the Indian subcontinent are seen in just six states, compared to 11 historically. They are seen in Rajasthan (shared with Pakistan), Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. They are no longer seen in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
The largest population of 100-125 birds is in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner districts of Rajasthan. Other places have fewer than 35 birds each. These findings were published in a recent paper, titled “Running out of time? The Great Indian Bustard”, of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The figures were compiled from statistics taken from the forest departments of different states. Experts say the drastic fall in the number of bustards brings up the need to develop core breeding areas and a landscape conservation strategy for the birds.
WII researcher Sutirtha Dutta told TOI that while there is no “robust monitoring” of the bustard count, the rapid decline in numbers is pretty evident. “Human intervention like infrastructural development (roads, electricity poles), conversion of agricultural land and hunting are factors contributing to the declining bustard population,” he said. “Bustards are terrestrial and low-flying birds.
They can collide with electricity poles or get hit by vehicles. These birds prefer wide, open, short grass plains and open scrubland with scattered trees. During mid-summer and the monsoons, they congregate in traditional areas to breed and avoid human disturbance. In crop lands, it is speculated that pesticides have a detrimental effect
on their reproduction and survival.”
The Great Indian Bustards are slow reproducing species, Dutta said. “They have a long life span and lay just one egg a year. There is no telemetry study (useful for monitoring threatened species at the individual level) done to know their movements,” he said.
Scientific experts have stressed that there is a need to initiate a conservation breeding programme for the bird. Such breeding has been taken up in Europe and Africa. The paper states that closer home, the bustard haven in Maharashtra has seen rapid industrialization and an increase in human population over the last 30 years.
The shift in the agricultural practice — from monsoon crops like sorghum and millet to sugarcane and grapes now — has resulted in a severe habitat loss for the bustards. Pramod Patil, who works for the conservation and protection of bustards in the state, said the bird’s future lies in the proper protection of core breeding grasslands and promotion of traditional organic farming.
When contacted, M K Rao, conservator of forests (wildlife), Pune, said no eggs of the Great Indian Bustard have been found in Nannaj over the last three years. “We are not sure whether the eggs were destroyed. Bustards need an environment free of disturbance to lay their eggs. Grazing and the movement of vehicles and people affect them,” he said.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Narendra Modi authors 'green' book
Gandhinagar: After having authored books about the Emergency and RSS leaders, and having published even a collection of poems, chief minister Narendra Modi is showing his versatility and range as a writer, with a new venture. The CM has now come up with a book about climate change, an issue believed to be close to his heart.The book, titled 'Convenient action — Gujarat's response to challenges of climate change', speaks of the CM's vision to tackle the problem of climate change. It covers the various initiatives taken by the Gujarat government to transform the state into a low-carbon economy and build on a model of positive partnerships to tackle climate change.
"This book is like a 'green autobiography' of CM Narendra Modi. Climate change is threatening the world, but Modi and Gujarat have shown how to tackle it," said Sanjay Singh, chief publisher for higher education at Macmillan Publishers India Ltd, to DNA.
A senior government official said that the issue of climate change is very close to the CM's heart.
"Gujarat was the first state to have a full-fledged department of climate change, as per the CM's idea. The government has also initiated steps to promote green energy by encouraging environment-friendly power generation. The book may speak about these initiatives," the official said.
According to Macmillan officials, the book, to have four colours, will comprise 250 pages. It will be available in both hard cover and paperback editions, which will be priced at Rs695 and Rs495 respectively.
Singh said that the book took three years to write, while the publishing deal was finalised this year. He declined to reveal the size of the initial print order, but said that it would be a very big book launch. "There will be functions in Ahmedabad, and in other cities too.
The book will be launched internationally as well," said Singh.
According to government officials, former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam will launch the book and preside over the function,to be held on December 21, while IPCC chairman RK Pachauri will be the guest of honour. The book will be available from December 22 onwards.
Friday, December 17, 2010
A lion claw made out of buffalo horns, dog skin!
Ahmedabad: Make fake claws using body parts of dogs, goats, mongoose, cows and buffaloes and pass them off as original claws of the king of the jungle! This was the modus operandi of 25 tribals arrested by forest department on charges of poaching and cheating. The gang of 25 tribals from south India was arrested on Tuesday morning with fake claws by the forest department, acting on a tip off from volunteers
of Prakruti nature club.
This is the second incident in recent times where fake claws are recovered from tribals who gain entry from nearby areas in the sanctuary as casual labourers. Earlier, on January 9, the Amreli police had used a decoy and arrested two people in connection with selling fake lion claws. Two fake lion claws with nine nails were recovered. The couple had demanded Rs 1.5 lakh from the decoy for the two claws.
Officials said that a case of cheating will be registered against the gang as they were found cheating people by selling fake claws. Sources in Sasan said that the math is simple: a single fake lion paw made from a buffalo horn would cost just about Rs 2,500 - Rs 3,000. But if a paw is shown to the prospective buyer, a single nail would cost anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000 per nail.
And if any one wanted the claw with all five nails, it would be anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000. This prompted the cheats to go to great lengths to craft together a paw with claws using hair, skin and bones of different animals.
Officials said lion’s claws are sold like gemstones in parts of Saurashtra. These claws are worn for virility and as a status symbol. Fishermen venturing out to sea wear it to make them ‘lion-hearted’. The fishermen and members of a particular community are known to encase these claws in gold and wear them as pendants.
Sources said that the manufacturing of the paw with nails was complex. First a nail like structure was prepared from the horns of the buffalo and then it was fitted into the paw using the skin of dog
or mongoose. The paw was filled with dried flesh of a dog. Hairs from the mongoose and goats’ tail were used to give it an authentic look.
Officials said that to a trained eye, the claws were obviously fake. The final report, however, will be submitted by the Forensic Science Laboratory. Ramesh Katara, the deputy conservator of forest, said that prima facie the seized paw appeared artificial and definitely not that of a lion’s.
Katara further said that the 25 tribal people arrested from Kodinar town of Junagadh district hail from Shimoga in Karnataka. The arrested people include 10 men, 10 women and five children. "During interrogation, we found that these people have made it their business to sale fake body parts of lions and other endangered animals," Katara said.
Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) R Asari said, “These are fake claws. The gang has even used adhesives and oil colours to make them look real. The gang has used domestic cattle along with skin of dog and goat. But we are not taking any chances. The FSL team has arrived to check the veracity of the seized material.”
By :times of india
HC stays land deals in Gir periphery
Issue involves possession of land by non-Maldharis
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has stayed land deals in the periphery of the lions’ den – the Gir sanctuary – as the issue of possession of land by non-Maldharis in the surrounding forest reserve is to be resolved before the division bench.
After declaring Gir forest as sanctuary, the government in 1977 began shifting 845 Maldharis from the forest to the outskirts and allotted plots for their rehabilitation. Some 588 families were given land in the periphery of the sanctuary. However, revenue department later allowed them to sell the land to non-Maldharis and 292 plots were sold out.
The forest department said, those Maldharis who sold their land actually went back to the forest. Hence the purpose for allotting the land was defeated. As per the state government’s declaration of the area as reserve forest, nobody except Maldharis should be allowed to stay or carry out non-forest activity on this land, which largely falls under the Mendarda block of Junagadh.
When the forest officials restricted one Anil Chudasama from construction on a land purchased in this area, he approached the authorities and later the high court. While the forest department insisted that such people who have purchased land from the Maldharis should be evicted, the revenue department had another take on it.
Last year, justice MR Shah appointed advocate Amit Panchal as amicus curie, who submitted a report that such land needs to be taken back. Accordingly, justice Shah held that Chudasama had no right to carry out construction or agriculture activity on the plot, though he was the third purchaser of the plot after the Maldhari sold it long ago.
The HC accepted that the land falls under reserved forest category. Moreover, justice Shah also directed the chief conservator of forest to inquire into the cases of 292 plots and decide as per the provisions of the forest act, which means that the land holding would be declared as illegal.
This had also an indication that the decision to allot land to the tribals in 1977 could be declared null and void. When this decision was challenged by Chudasama before a division bench, it ordered to maintain status quo on the land and clarified that the plot would not be sold without prior permission of the court.
Don’t become prey to lions: CJ
Ahmedabad: While ordering a stay on land deals in the reserved forest surrounding the Gir sanctuary, chief justice SJ Mukhopadhaya called for maintaining a balance between development and nature. The forest department has been maintaining that the increased grazing has resulted in decrease of prey for lions in the forest. Moreover, the forest officials have also been insisting that the sale of plots allotted to Maldharis be declared illegal, and non-Maldharis be evicted from the place. However, the petitioner claims that he has been deliberately harassed by forest officials due to other social consideration and his ownership of the plot is legal. To this, the chief justice commented, “Lions’ place has to be protected. You shift from the place before you become prey to lions.
By: TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has stayed land deals in the periphery of the lions’ den – the Gir sanctuary – as the issue of possession of land by non-Maldharis in the surrounding forest reserve is to be resolved before the division bench. Earlier, a single-judge bench held that the land was allotted to Maldharis towards rehabilitation purpose. But since the land was sold to other people, it frustrates the purpose of conservation of forest and hence should be taken back by the forest department as per the Indian Forest and Wildlife Protection Act.
After declaring Gir forest as sanctuary, the government in 1977 began shifting 845 Maldharis from the forest to the outskirts and allotted plots for their rehabilitation. Some 588 families were given land in the periphery of the sanctuary. However, revenue department later allowed them to sell the land to non-Maldharis and 292 plots were sold out.
The forest department said, those Maldharis who sold their land actually went back to the forest. Hence the purpose for allotting the land was defeated. As per the state government’s declaration of the area as reserve forest, nobody except Maldharis should be allowed to stay or carry out non-forest activity on this land, which largely falls under the Mendarda block of Junagadh.
When the forest officials restricted one Anil Chudasama from construction on a land purchased in this area, he approached the authorities and later the high court. While the forest department insisted that such people who have purchased land from the Maldharis should be evicted, the revenue department had another take on it.
Last year, justice MR Shah appointed advocate Amit Panchal as amicus curie, who submitted a report that such land needs to be taken back. Accordingly, justice Shah held that Chudasama had no right to carry out construction or agriculture activity on the plot, though he was the third purchaser of the plot after the Maldhari sold it long ago.
The HC accepted that the land falls under reserved forest category. Moreover, justice Shah also directed the chief conservator of forest to inquire into the cases of 292 plots and decide as per the provisions of the forest act, which means that the land holding would be declared as illegal.
This had also an indication that the decision to allot land to the tribals in 1977 could be declared null and void. When this decision was challenged by Chudasama before a division bench, it ordered to maintain status quo on the land and clarified that the plot would not be sold without prior permission of the court.
Don’t become prey to lions: CJ
Ahmedabad: While ordering a stay on land deals in the reserved forest surrounding the Gir sanctuary, chief justice SJ Mukhopadhaya called for maintaining a balance between development and nature. The forest department has been maintaining that the increased grazing has resulted in decrease of prey for lions in the forest. Moreover, the forest officials have also been insisting that the sale of plots allotted to Maldharis be declared illegal, and non-Maldharis be evicted from the place. However, the petitioner claims that he has been deliberately harassed by forest officials due to other social consideration and his ownership of the plot is legal. To this, the chief justice commented, “Lions’ place has to be protected. You shift from the place before you become prey to lions.
By: TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Monday, December 13, 2010
NDTV-Toyota Eco Awards:Special Jury Award for Late Mr.Amit Jethva
Amit Jethwa: As the president of the Gir Nature Youth Club at khambha, Amit Jethwa had been active in fighting against encroachment of forests and poaching. He was also instrumental in the five year jail term of Bollywood actor Salman Khan for shooting an endangered Chinkara deer, a case that concluded after being pursued by activists for eight years. He campaigned vigorously against corruption among officers of the Indian Forest Service. In 2007, he drew attention to the mysterious deaths of lions in Gir Forest including three that were shot within a few hundred meters of the Babariya forest guard outpost. The incident ultimately led to the uncovering of a large lion poaching gang. He was fighting a court case against illegal mining in Gir, when he was gunned down by 2 hired killers
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Guns out in south Gujarat to kill man-eating leopard , Plz comment
The Wild Cat Has Killed Four Persons In Three Weeks In The Region
Times of india : Yagnesh Mehta
Surat: For the first time an order to shoot a leopard has been issued in South Gujarat’s forest region after the man eater killed an 11-yearold girl in the wee hours of Friday at Vareli Patna village in Mandvi taluka of Surat district. “In the past such orders had been issued in Godhra and Chhota Udepur. However, it is first time that an order to shoot a leopard has been given in South Gujarat,” said Deva Babu Ande, conservator of forest, Surat.
In Godhra, the order to shoot a leopard was issued in 2003 after it killed nine people. Similar incidents forced the authorities to issue an order to shoot the wild cat in Chhota Udepur in 2005. The order to shoot the leopard in South Gujarat comes in the wake of the wild cat killing four persons, including the minor girl, in Mandvi taluka of Surat district in a span of three weeks.
“The leopard has turned a man eater. We are taking help of a tracker, tranquilising experts and two teams which has two shooters to hunt down the leopard,” said Anil Vasava, deputy conservator of forest, Mandvi. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the deceased.
Kajal Rathod was sleeping with her mother, Lakhiben, in their house. Her father Ishwar was sleeping outside when at about 5 am a
leopard entered their house and attacked Kajal.
The leopard caught the victim from neck and dragged her outside the house. The victim’s screams woke up her mother who tried to save her daughter from the clutches of the fully grown wild cat but failed.
The victim was dragged to a sugarcane farm near the village around half a kilometre by the leopard. A group of villagers gathered on hearing Kajal’s parents shouts for help. The people followed the animal into the field which escaped on seeing the crowd. However, the leopard had eaten a large part of the victim’s body leaving only legs, one arm and the head.
Those who were recently killed by the leopard are Ravidas Arjun Valvi, 10, of Kamlapor village. He was attacked on November 5. Jasuben Daniya Chaudhary, 70, of Areth village, became the wild cat’s victim on November 13 while Priti Kiran Chaudhary, 21, was killed by it at Nandpor village on November 18. There were two other incidents of attack by the leopard in the area but the victims were fortunate to survive. Attacks on the cattle are a routine affair by the leopards in the rural areas of Surat district.
Meanwhile, a leopard was caught near Bhatkhai village of Mandvi on Saturday. However, forest officials believe it might not be the same man eater which had killed four people in the taluka.
Plz comment
Times of india : Yagnesh Mehta
Surat: For the first time an order to shoot a leopard has been issued in South Gujarat’s forest region after the man eater killed an 11-yearold girl in the wee hours of Friday at Vareli Patna village in Mandvi taluka of Surat district. “In the past such orders had been issued in Godhra and Chhota Udepur. However, it is first time that an order to shoot a leopard has been given in South Gujarat,” said Deva Babu Ande, conservator of forest, Surat. In Godhra, the order to shoot a leopard was issued in 2003 after it killed nine people. Similar incidents forced the authorities to issue an order to shoot the wild cat in Chhota Udepur in 2005. The order to shoot the leopard in South Gujarat comes in the wake of the wild cat killing four persons, including the minor girl, in Mandvi taluka of Surat district in a span of three weeks.
“The leopard has turned a man eater. We are taking help of a tracker, tranquilising experts and two teams which has two shooters to hunt down the leopard,” said Anil Vasava, deputy conservator of forest, Mandvi. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the deceased.
Kajal Rathod was sleeping with her mother, Lakhiben, in their house. Her father Ishwar was sleeping outside when at about 5 am a
leopard entered their house and attacked Kajal.
The leopard caught the victim from neck and dragged her outside the house. The victim’s screams woke up her mother who tried to save her daughter from the clutches of the fully grown wild cat but failed.
The victim was dragged to a sugarcane farm near the village around half a kilometre by the leopard. A group of villagers gathered on hearing Kajal’s parents shouts for help. The people followed the animal into the field which escaped on seeing the crowd. However, the leopard had eaten a large part of the victim’s body leaving only legs, one arm and the head.
Those who were recently killed by the leopard are Ravidas Arjun Valvi, 10, of Kamlapor village. He was attacked on November 5. Jasuben Daniya Chaudhary, 70, of Areth village, became the wild cat’s victim on November 13 while Priti Kiran Chaudhary, 21, was killed by it at Nandpor village on November 18. There were two other incidents of attack by the leopard in the area but the victims were fortunate to survive. Attacks on the cattle are a routine affair by the leopards in the rural areas of Surat district.
Meanwhile, a leopard was caught near Bhatkhai village of Mandvi on Saturday. However, forest officials believe it might not be the same man eater which had killed four people in the taluka.
Plz comment
Friday, November 19, 2010
RTI activist’s killer nabbed from Mumbai
According to sources, Pandya was hiding in Mumbai and was in touch with other criminals. Sources added that Rajiv Kadam, additional commissioner of police (crime), Mumbai had got information about a criminal and found Pandya during a search. During questioning, he said that he was wanted in Gujarat in connection with a 2010 murder case and two attempt to murder cases of 2008.
When TOI contacted city crime branch officials, they feigned ignorance about the development. However, later, after contacting their counterparts in Mumbai, city police officials confirmed the arrest. According to a senior official, a team will start off for Mumbai early on Wednesday to get custody of him, after Mumbai police completes the formalities.
Jethava was shot dead at point-blank range by Pandya, along with another man, Pachan Shiva. The duo came near Jethava when he was coming out of Satyamev Complex opposite HC on July 20. Officials said that Jethava’s role as an activist had hindered some projects in protected forest areas. This had irked the powerful mining lobby.
In subsequent investigation, four persons were arrested for the murder, including Shiva Solanki, nephew of Junagadh MP Dinu Solanki, Bahadursinh Vadher, a police constable, Pachan Shiva, Vadher’s friend and Sanjay Chauhan, who pointed out Jethava to Pandya.
by: TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Friday, October 29, 2010
Environment Ministry Team Visits India's Largest Nuke Power Plant Site
MADBAN VILLAGE (Ratnagiri): A 14-member team of the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) finished inspecting the proposed site for India's largest nuclear power plant (10,000 mega watt), which is to come up in this scenic coastal village, in less than two hours on Thursday afternoon.
As declared, the team did not meet the villagers who have been opposing the project for the past five years. However government sources said that there was nothing wrong with the visit which was a site inspection trip of the MoEF expert assessment team. Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh had promised the villagers that the environment clearance for the project would be given only after all the doubts of the villagers had been answered.
The nuclear plant which is to come up in the form of six reactors of 1,650 mega watt each, manufactured by the French firm AREVA, is slated to come up between a large grassy plateau and the shore.
The MoEF team which came in a luxury bus under police escort, was spotted going to the plateau at 10.30 am. It left the site at 1 pm. Since it takes an hour to reach the shore from the laterite plateau which has no roads, villagers estimated that the expert team would have had less than half an hour for inspection. "We learnt that the expert team was accompanied by officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. In all fairness, they should have met us also," said Pravin Gawankar, president of Janhit Seva Manch Samiti, Madban. "This only strengthens our suspicions that the government is trying to hide something," he added.
"The Indian government is obviously in a hurry to clear this project before the visit of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy in December," said Satyajit Chavan of the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti, which is also opposing the host of thermal power plants that are coming up in the two coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
Only a handful of the villagers have accepted the compensation cheques and the rest are resolutely opposed to the nuclear plant on environmental grounds. One of their objections is that Konkan is in the seismic zone 3 and is prone to earthquakes. On Dussehra, the villagers defied prohibitory orders and lit bonfires of the new compensation package announced by state revenue minister Narayan Rane whose son Nilesh is the MP from Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri.
The police is now using this incident to round up activists of the Samiti before the 'Jail Bharo' agitation of the villagers on Friday. "The police have raked up some old and concocted cases against our activists to prevent us from gathering in large numbers," said Gawankar. The police had come to arrest him too when he was speaking at the rally at the fishing village of Tulsunde on Thursday afternoon. But he got wind of it and escaped by boat.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
As declared, the team did not meet the villagers who have been opposing the project for the past five years. However government sources said that there was nothing wrong with the visit which was a site inspection trip of the MoEF expert assessment team. Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh had promised the villagers that the environment clearance for the project would be given only after all the doubts of the villagers had been answered.
The nuclear plant which is to come up in the form of six reactors of 1,650 mega watt each, manufactured by the French firm AREVA, is slated to come up between a large grassy plateau and the shore.
The MoEF team which came in a luxury bus under police escort, was spotted going to the plateau at 10.30 am. It left the site at 1 pm. Since it takes an hour to reach the shore from the laterite plateau which has no roads, villagers estimated that the expert team would have had less than half an hour for inspection. "We learnt that the expert team was accompanied by officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. In all fairness, they should have met us also," said Pravin Gawankar, president of Janhit Seva Manch Samiti, Madban. "This only strengthens our suspicions that the government is trying to hide something," he added.
"The Indian government is obviously in a hurry to clear this project before the visit of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy in December," said Satyajit Chavan of the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalp Virodhi Samiti, which is also opposing the host of thermal power plants that are coming up in the two coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
Only a handful of the villagers have accepted the compensation cheques and the rest are resolutely opposed to the nuclear plant on environmental grounds. One of their objections is that Konkan is in the seismic zone 3 and is prone to earthquakes. On Dussehra, the villagers defied prohibitory orders and lit bonfires of the new compensation package announced by state revenue minister Narayan Rane whose son Nilesh is the MP from Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri.
The police is now using this incident to round up activists of the Samiti before the 'Jail Bharo' agitation of the villagers on Friday. "The police have raked up some old and concocted cases against our activists to prevent us from gathering in large numbers," said Gawankar. The police had come to arrest him too when he was speaking at the rally at the fishing village of Tulsunde on Thursday afternoon. But he got wind of it and escaped by boat.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Girl mauled by leopard, dies
Rajkot: A 10-year-old girl was dragged away and killed by a leopard at a field in Dhari taluka of Amreli district on Monday night. This is the second such incident in last 15 days when a leopard has killed a child in the region.
According to reports, victim Laxmi Devi Pujak and her family had come to the village to meet her aunt. The incident happened in the night when Laxmi was collecting firewood from the field in Dangawadar village. The leopard pounced on her and dragged her to an adjacent field. Hearing her screams, villagers rushed to Laxmi’s help. But by then, the big cat had escaped, leaving behind her body.
The incident has caused panic in the village, especially as this is the second such death recently. Earlier, an eight-yearold tribal girl was dragged away while she was sleeping at night in an open hutment at a farm and killed by a leopard in Dhari range of the Gir sanctuary. Chandrika Bamaniya, a native of Jambua district in Madhya Pradesh, and her family had moved to Gopalgram village in Dhari taluka of Amreli district for labour work in agriculture. The family was sleeping in a makeshift arrangement in an open agriculture field.
According to reports, victim Laxmi Devi Pujak and her family had come to the village to meet her aunt. The incident happened in the night when Laxmi was collecting firewood from the field in Dangawadar village. The leopard pounced on her and dragged her to an adjacent field. Hearing her screams, villagers rushed to Laxmi’s help. But by then, the big cat had escaped, leaving behind her body.
The incident has caused panic in the village, especially as this is the second such death recently. Earlier, an eight-yearold tribal girl was dragged away while she was sleeping at night in an open hutment at a farm and killed by a leopard in Dhari range of the Gir sanctuary. Chandrika Bamaniya, a native of Jambua district in Madhya Pradesh, and her family had moved to Gopalgram village in Dhari taluka of Amreli district for labour work in agriculture. The family was sleeping in a makeshift arrangement in an open agriculture field.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Who will protect the whistleblower?
About a month after activist Amit Jethava was murdered, the Central government came up with a legislative proposal to prevent such tragic killings. The dead man was an environmentalist and died because he campaigned to save Gujarat's Gir lion reserve from the ravages of illegal mining. The Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 26 expanded the definition of whistleblower. It said anyone who makes a "public interest disclosure" is a whistleblower.
It was a great leap forward from where we stood till then. Under the 2004 Cabinet resolution, only a public servant could be a whistleblower. But the expanded definition is the only real positive change in the official attitude towards whistleblowing. In other respects, "the public interest disclosure and protection to persons making the disclosure Bill, 2010", to call it by its real name, is anodyne. The Bill's biggest weakness is that it retains the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) as the designated agency or "competent authority" to deal with complaints filed by whistleblowers. The CVC is also meant to protect whistleblowers. Both provisions are carry-overs from the 2004 Cabinet resolution on whistleblowing.
Both carry over the problems of the past into an era meant that is meant to be more free and fair. The CVC, the apex body for all vigilance cases at the Centre, is embroiled in controversy. Moreover, it is a toothless body and can only ever give advice rather than registering a criminal case or issuing any direction to CBI. The CVC's recommendations are routinely rejected by many government departments. The CBI too pays it little heed. In its current form then, the Whistleblower Bill, will make no difference to the culture of impunity in corruption cases. The CVC can only make recommendations when instances of corruption are brought to light by whistleblowers. What use will that be to anyone, particularly a society that wants to clean up?
But there is an even bigger problem with making the CVC the Bill's designating agency. Of late, there is a question mark over its independence. Telecom secretary P J Thomas's September 7 appointment as its head triggered the row. There were allegations that the government appointed Thomas to the CVC in order to shield telecom minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum scam. Just a month before Thomas arrived in his new job, he signed a document that claimed the spectrum allocation was impervious to investigation by any agency because "revenue considerations play a secondary role" in government policy on telecommunications.
Clearly, the Whistleblower Bill's expectations of the CVC are misplaced when it deems the agency trustworthy enough to recommend "appropriate administrative steps for redressing the loss caused to the government as a result of corrupt practice or misuse of office or misuse of discretion". Given the way Thomas sought to justify revenue losses in the 2G spectrum scam, what recommendation would the CVC he heads make if the public servants named by whistleblowers came up with similar arguments in their own defence?
But there is one area in which the Bill empowers the CVC to issue binding orders – protecting whistleblowers from victimization and/or physical attack. It also gives the CVC the authority to issue interim orders to stop any corrupt practice highlighted by the whistleblower. But these limited powers are likely to prove inadequate as long as the CVC remains no more than an advisory body when it comes to sensitive matters such as whether or not a corruption case is to be registered against a public servant.
Experts, the enlightened and the eminent — a loose coalition of concerned citizens — have been asking that the government call a spade a spade and redress the many problems in the anti-corruption mechanism. The group, which includes the Karnataka Lok Ayukta, Santosh Hegde, said nomenclature was irrelevant. Call it CVC or Lok Pal or anything else, but it should have the necessary authority and resources to register cases based on whistleblower complaints. They have a point. The scale of corruption in India calls for an ambitious rethink. Sadly, this Bill is only a tiny step in the right direction. There is a long way to go.
Read more: Who will protect the whistleblower? - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Who-will-protect-the-whistleblower/articleshow/6582535.cms#ixzz103WtsYa4
It was a great leap forward from where we stood till then. Under the 2004 Cabinet resolution, only a public servant could be a whistleblower. But the expanded definition is the only real positive change in the official attitude towards whistleblowing. In other respects, "the public interest disclosure and protection to persons making the disclosure Bill, 2010", to call it by its real name, is anodyne. The Bill's biggest weakness is that it retains the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) as the designated agency or "competent authority" to deal with complaints filed by whistleblowers. The CVC is also meant to protect whistleblowers. Both provisions are carry-overs from the 2004 Cabinet resolution on whistleblowing.
Both carry over the problems of the past into an era meant that is meant to be more free and fair. The CVC, the apex body for all vigilance cases at the Centre, is embroiled in controversy. Moreover, it is a toothless body and can only ever give advice rather than registering a criminal case or issuing any direction to CBI. The CVC's recommendations are routinely rejected by many government departments. The CBI too pays it little heed. In its current form then, the Whistleblower Bill, will make no difference to the culture of impunity in corruption cases. The CVC can only make recommendations when instances of corruption are brought to light by whistleblowers. What use will that be to anyone, particularly a society that wants to clean up?
But there is an even bigger problem with making the CVC the Bill's designating agency. Of late, there is a question mark over its independence. Telecom secretary P J Thomas's September 7 appointment as its head triggered the row. There were allegations that the government appointed Thomas to the CVC in order to shield telecom minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum scam. Just a month before Thomas arrived in his new job, he signed a document that claimed the spectrum allocation was impervious to investigation by any agency because "revenue considerations play a secondary role" in government policy on telecommunications.
Clearly, the Whistleblower Bill's expectations of the CVC are misplaced when it deems the agency trustworthy enough to recommend "appropriate administrative steps for redressing the loss caused to the government as a result of corrupt practice or misuse of office or misuse of discretion". Given the way Thomas sought to justify revenue losses in the 2G spectrum scam, what recommendation would the CVC he heads make if the public servants named by whistleblowers came up with similar arguments in their own defence?
But there is one area in which the Bill empowers the CVC to issue binding orders – protecting whistleblowers from victimization and/or physical attack. It also gives the CVC the authority to issue interim orders to stop any corrupt practice highlighted by the whistleblower. But these limited powers are likely to prove inadequate as long as the CVC remains no more than an advisory body when it comes to sensitive matters such as whether or not a corruption case is to be registered against a public servant.
Experts, the enlightened and the eminent — a loose coalition of concerned citizens — have been asking that the government call a spade a spade and redress the many problems in the anti-corruption mechanism. The group, which includes the Karnataka Lok Ayukta, Santosh Hegde, said nomenclature was irrelevant. Call it CVC or Lok Pal or anything else, but it should have the necessary authority and resources to register cases based on whistleblower complaints. They have a point. The scale of corruption in India calls for an ambitious rethink. Sadly, this Bill is only a tiny step in the right direction. There is a long way to go.
Read more: Who will protect the whistleblower? - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Who-will-protect-the-whistleblower/articleshow/6582535.cms#ixzz103WtsYa4
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
'RTI activist Amit Jethva is martyr': Law Minister of India
New Delhi: Calling Right To Information (RTI) activists who have been killed mar tyrs,law minister Veerapp a Moily on Monday said an act meant to protect whistleblowers will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament beginning mid-November.The RTI activists like Amit Jethava and Satish Shetty are martyrs.I salute them, Moily said while inaugurating a two-day conference on RTI organized by the Central Information Commission.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Union Cabinet approves Whistleblowers Bill
New Delhi, Aug 9 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2010, which gives sweeping powers to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to protect whistleblowers from any disciplinary action for exposing corruption in a government department.
The Bill will now be tabled in the Parliament, and if passed would be sent to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil for her consent.
It will become an Act if President Patil signs it.
Revealing the identity of a whistleblower can invite up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 50,000.
The Bill also proposes that no court can interfere in the case and can have any powers over the decision made by the CVC. It will also be able to take action against anyone, who makes frivolous complaints.
The Bill, if cleared by the Cabinet and thereafter passed by Parliament, will go a long way in helping those who make disclosures in public interest.
The proposed law comes in the wake of the murder of Right to Information activist Amit Jethwa in Ahmedabad recently. (ANI)
The Bill will now be tabled in the Parliament, and if passed would be sent to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil for her consent.
It will become an Act if President Patil signs it.
Revealing the identity of a whistleblower can invite up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 50,000.
The Bill also proposes that no court can interfere in the case and can have any powers over the decision made by the CVC. It will also be able to take action against anyone, who makes frivolous complaints.
The Bill, if cleared by the Cabinet and thereafter passed by Parliament, will go a long way in helping those who make disclosures in public interest.
The proposed law comes in the wake of the murder of Right to Information activist Amit Jethwa in Ahmedabad recently. (ANI)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Amit Jethwa : A Remembrance
Amit Jethwa : A Remembrance
Amit Jethwa, the well-known naturalist, ecological & RTI-activist, is not among us today, yet the foot-prints left by him will be showing way to the thousands of youths like us, associated with his campaign through, “Gir Nature Youth Club”.
In a short span of less than a decade, how a lab-technician of Khambha Village of Saurashtra emerged as one of the active workers in field of forest-preservation, ecological-balance and awareness among people, especially on “Right to Information (RTI)”, is a much-told story. To his close associates, he was a truly devoted worker who never expected, or should I say that never accepted any reward or award for his acclaimed works. He was a source of inspiration among his team-mates, who usually passed on credits to them. Young Naturalist Award, constituted by Sanctuary Magazine, for 2006 to GNYC workers Bharat Kamaliya for protection of whale-shark and the same for 2007 to Hakkabhai Makwana for Vulture-protection shows that saplings grew below the big Banyan.
As the Chief Editor of “Around the Nature” he evolved an effective tool of communication with the people with concern over the effect of industrial and commercial activities on ecological balance and wild-life. He had also earned reputation as the member of GEER Foundation established by Gujarat Government.
His unfortunate tragic end has left a huge gap in the scenario, especially before the youths, who has been working with him for years and for whom, he was a source of guidance as well as of inspiration and courage. His sudden demise will, ofcourse, not bring such activities to an end, what matters is that we have lost a developer of enthusiastic and devoted activists.
We all members of Gir Natural Youth Club condemn his brutal assassination. We are also in receipt of several such messages from all across Gujarat. We are shocked but still committed to bring forward his campaign with all our strength.
May GOD rest his soul to eternal peace!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Bird watchers’ global meet on Nov 25
The three-day ‘Global Bird Watcher’s Conference’ will be held in Khijadia from November 25. About 100 participants from abroad and different parts of the state are expected to attend the conference.
Officials in the tourism department said that the conference was being planned in order to put Khijadia on the global map like Nal Sarovar and to make it a tourist attraction. Also, the conference will be held during that time of the year when migratory birds are found in large numbers.
Khijadia is the only place where fresh water and sea water is found. It also witnesses about 250 different species of bird flocking here every year.Chief Minister Narendra Modi has posted a message on Gujarat Tourism website and said that Gujarat is fast emerging as an eco-tourism destination, boasting of a wide range of pristine and even hitherto unexplored destination for avid nature lovers. He adds that over 350 species of birds from distant lands are found here since decades.
While tourism department officials said Khijadia falls on way to Dwarka and is just 15 km away from Jamnagar and so this route which is in bad shape will be repaired soon.
About 100 experts from abroad and other states as well as another 300 participants from Gujarat will be attending the conference. Moreover, papers would be presented on migratory birds and the route they take to reach Khijadia, their behaviour and breeding pattern will be studied. An interpretation center has also been constructed.
Officials in the tourism department said that the conference was being planned in order to put Khijadia on the global map like Nal Sarovar and to make it a tourist attraction. Also, the conference will be held during that time of the year when migratory birds are found in large numbers. Khijadia is the only place where fresh water and sea water is found. It also witnesses about 250 different species of bird flocking here every year.Chief Minister Narendra Modi has posted a message on Gujarat Tourism website and said that Gujarat is fast emerging as an eco-tourism destination, boasting of a wide range of pristine and even hitherto unexplored destination for avid nature lovers. He adds that over 350 species of birds from distant lands are found here since decades.
While tourism department officials said Khijadia falls on way to Dwarka and is just 15 km away from Jamnagar and so this route which is in bad shape will be repaired soon.
About 100 experts from abroad and other states as well as another 300 participants from Gujarat will be attending the conference. Moreover, papers would be presented on migratory birds and the route they take to reach Khijadia, their behaviour and breeding pattern will be studied. An interpretation center has also been constructed.
Relocation of tiger to Panna put off for now
‘‘If we shift a male tiger as planned earlier, it might devour the hapless cubs which are less than two months old,’’ said HS Pabla, principal chief conservator (wildlife), Madhya Pradesh.
‘‘Panna currently has one male and two female big cats, including the lactating one. The cubs will face survival threat if a new alien tiger is introduced...The unrelated male may even kill them if they are not their offsprings...This is a natural tendency among the predators,’’ tiger expert K Shankar said.
The state government, on its part, has beefed up security with the entire area being closed for tourists to ensure safe habitat for the cubs.
Overly cautious and secretive, tigresses are often reluctant to let a stranger male go near their litter and immediately move them far from the area which they feel becomes disturbed or threatened, Shankar said.
A tigress spends nearly 70% of its time nursing its cub for the initial few days after birth. This reduces to 30% by the time the cub is one month old. Approximately half of the litters do not survive to attain the age of two, said scientist from Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India. For instance, Shankar said, last November an 11-month-old female cub was killed inside the Kanha National Park by an adult tiger. In another incident, a two-year- old tigress was attacked and killed by a tiger while trying to protect her cubs.
Young tigers become independent from their mothers around 17 to 24 months of age, when they first settle temporarily in marginal habitats and then take a permanent territory of their own.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Green Dandi project launched
The Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative (Gandhi) memorial project was launched in Dandi, some 50 km off Surat, in coastal areas of Navsari district on Wednesday by Union minister of forest and environment Jairam Ramesh at Dandi.
The project worth Rs 25 crore has been taken up by Societies of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an agency working under the Union environment ministry in collaboration with Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad and Gujarat Ecology Commission.
While inaugurating the project, Ramesh said, “Guiding principals of Mahatma Gandhi hold great significance even today in every sphere including economic, social and environmental development. This new project will go a long way in conserving environment sustainably with overall development of the society.”
Gopal Krishna Gandhi, chairman Dandi Memorial Committee, said, “Gandhiji was unconsciously an environmentalist. His guiding principals will help in making this project a success.”
S K Nanda, principal secretary, department of forest and environment in Gujarat, said, “The project will focus on four main tools — conservation of coast and coastal resources, adopting nature-based development of resources, encouraging integrated village and community development, promoting eco-tourism and Dandi as an environment positive tourist destination.”
This project is likely to be completed in two years’ time and its funding will be done through World Bank assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project implemented by SICOM. Under the project, mangrove forestation, promotion of non-conventional energy sources, conservation of water, waste management, establishing carbon neutral villages, improvement in livelihood of the locals, village development, and promotion of Gandhian values will take place.
by : times network
The project worth Rs 25 crore has been taken up by Societies of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an agency working under the Union environment ministry in collaboration with Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad and Gujarat Ecology Commission.
While inaugurating the project, Ramesh said, “Guiding principals of Mahatma Gandhi hold great significance even today in every sphere including economic, social and environmental development. This new project will go a long way in conserving environment sustainably with overall development of the society.”
Gopal Krishna Gandhi, chairman Dandi Memorial Committee, said, “Gandhiji was unconsciously an environmentalist. His guiding principals will help in making this project a success.”
S K Nanda, principal secretary, department of forest and environment in Gujarat, said, “The project will focus on four main tools — conservation of coast and coastal resources, adopting nature-based development of resources, encouraging integrated village and community development, promoting eco-tourism and Dandi as an environment positive tourist destination.”
This project is likely to be completed in two years’ time and its funding will be done through World Bank assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project implemented by SICOM. Under the project, mangrove forestation, promotion of non-conventional energy sources, conservation of water, waste management, establishing carbon neutral villages, improvement in livelihood of the locals, village development, and promotion of Gandhian values will take place.
by : times network
Fighting pollution: Jairam’s pat for Vapi, rap for Ankleshwar
One of the most important landmarks of India’s freedom struggle, Dandi was on Wednesday declared an eco-sensitive zone by Union minister of forest and environment Jairam Ramesh. The minister made the declaration in the presence of chairman of Dandi Memorial Committee Gopal Krishna Gandhi in the coastal town.
Apart from Dandi, three villages surrounding Dandi will also be covered under the Environment Protection Act, 1980, he said. Any new industries that want to set up base at Dandi will now have to function under the Act’s purview. A local monitoring committee comprising locals from Dandi, Matwad, Onjal and Samapar villages of Jalapore taluka of Navsari district will be set up to monitor the procedures. “Maintenance of the eco-sensitive zone will be the responsibility of this committee,” Ramesh said.
The villages have a population of 20,000 in all. The eco-friendly development of the region will complete in couple of years’ time. In another important development, the environment minister said that the Gulf of Kutch too will be declared an eco-sensitive zone soon.
“We might have come late, but now that we have arrived we will do our best to preserve the rightful importance of Dandi,” Ramesh said on the occasion. He also added that this initiative should have been taken up a lot earlier, but “better late than never” is the catch phrase in the case of Dandi. As part of the project, an environment friendly ‘smarak’ (memorial) of Gandhiji will also come up.
Talking to a small gathering, Ramesh said that development of Dandi is a national programme and that there is no politics involved. In this endeavour, both the state and central government are together.
Linking Gandhiji with nature and environment, Gopal Krishna said, “Our aim is to see Dandi as an internationally promoted ecological centre. Gandhi was always linked to nature and environment. While developing this historic place, we have to look for ecological gains. We can achieve this objective by establishing bio-shield steps and making the Dandi beach totally pollution-free.”
by : times of india
Apart from Dandi, three villages surrounding Dandi will also be covered under the Environment Protection Act, 1980, he said. Any new industries that want to set up base at Dandi will now have to function under the Act’s purview. A local monitoring committee comprising locals from Dandi, Matwad, Onjal and Samapar villages of Jalapore taluka of Navsari district will be set up to monitor the procedures. “Maintenance of the eco-sensitive zone will be the responsibility of this committee,” Ramesh said.
The villages have a population of 20,000 in all. The eco-friendly development of the region will complete in couple of years’ time. In another important development, the environment minister said that the Gulf of Kutch too will be declared an eco-sensitive zone soon.
“We might have come late, but now that we have arrived we will do our best to preserve the rightful importance of Dandi,” Ramesh said on the occasion. He also added that this initiative should have been taken up a lot earlier, but “better late than never” is the catch phrase in the case of Dandi. As part of the project, an environment friendly ‘smarak’ (memorial) of Gandhiji will also come up.
Talking to a small gathering, Ramesh said that development of Dandi is a national programme and that there is no politics involved. In this endeavour, both the state and central government are together.
Linking Gandhiji with nature and environment, Gopal Krishna said, “Our aim is to see Dandi as an internationally promoted ecological centre. Gandhi was always linked to nature and environment. While developing this historic place, we have to look for ecological gains. We can achieve this objective by establishing bio-shield steps and making the Dandi beach totally pollution-free.”
by : times of india
Monday, July 5, 2010
Villagers kill leopard after it attacks 9 in Banaskantha
According to forest department officials, the incident of leopard attacks took place in the wee hours of the day when some villagers were on their way to attend to nature’s call. Chaman Thakore spotted the wild cat, but before he could react the animals had pounced on him. Hearing his cries, other villagers, who were nearby, came forward and were also attacked the by the leopard.
Some of the villagers intimated the area beat guard R K Purohit. Purohit too was attacked when he tried to tackle the animal. “Purohit was severely injured as he got into a physical fight with the big cat. He suffered fractures to his limbs and was admitted to a private hospital,” said range forest officer B M Chaudhari. The other injured included Jidalji Thakore, Arjan Thakore, Darga Hira and three others.
However, as a major operation was underway at the village to cage the wild cat, the villagers got to the animal first. While RFO Chaudhari spoke about the leopard attacks in the morning, he was unavailable for comment when the news of the leopard killing came in. “As many as 30 police jawans and a dozen forest officials and revenue officials were present in the village to cage the animal. But, the angry villagers chased the animal with sticks and stones and killed it by late evening,” said police subinspector AM Bariya.
by : TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Friday, July 2, 2010
BELLING THE BIG CAT
Soon-to-be-fitted GPS collars will not just help record lions’ position in Gir but also their body temperature and heartbeat
Soon, forest department will be able to record body temperature and heartbeat of big cats in and around Sasan Gir. The forest department, which has recently issued tenders for use of GPS in Sasan and nearby areas, has decided to use GPS-based animal collar system. Of the 411 lions in the sanctuary, the department proposes to collar upto 10 per cent lions, which is about 50 lions, in the initial phase.
According to the tender bid, the animal collar should send position, heartbeat and body temperature of the animal with time stamping, at
least once in a day, and preferably 2 to 3 times.The government has proposed that the neck-band be adjustable, lightweight, low in power consumption and with a battery life of around one year, weighing around 1 kg.
An official said the radio antenna of the collar must be embedded in neck band and should not have an exposed end. It may result in injury, hindrance for the lion while moving around in the forest. Officials said as per specification, the vendor setting up GPS system will have to set up a radio network which should automatically capture data transmitted by collar and deliver data it to control room set up at Sasan headquarters.
There are 550 waterholes and few natural water bodies in Gir which provide water to the wild animals. Almost all animals visit these waterholes once a day. The government proposes to establish VHF/UHF radio network infrastructure-based access points around these locations.
BY : Times of india
Gir collects Rs 2 crore from tourist inflow
Ahmedabad: For the first time, Gir sanctuary and Devaliya Interpretation Centre has crossed the Rs 2 crore mark as far as tourism revenues are concerned, an increase of over 17 per cent from earlier years.
Official data shows that the number of visitors too has gone up. In Gir Sanctuary, it has gone up by 23 per cent while the same in Devaliya has gone up by nearly 30 per cent.
Deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar said this year more than 13,299 more visitors have visited during the season from October 2009 to 15 June 2010. The number of visitors during tourist season was 70,391.
Senior officers said the number of foreigners who visited the sanctuary is just 7 per cent of the total visitors. Of the 70,391, 4,957 were foreigners, which was 541 more than 2008-09. Lesser foreigners have visited Devaliya. According to Kumar, the increase in revenue is because of rise in tourists as the entry rates remain unchanged. He further said only 90 vehicles were permitted to enter the sanctuary in two shifts — morning and evening. “During vacation and on holidays, there was a need to increase the number of permits as many tourists had to wait for their turn,” said an official.
The maximum rush was noticed during Diwali holidays, Dusshera, Christmas, New Year and Uttarayan. During summer vacation, the rush was as expected.
Officials further said that because of uncertainity of sighting a lion, many Indian tourists prefer to have a look of the majestic lion in Devaliya rather then coming to Gir Sanctuary. Also, those on the way to Somnath would make a short halt at Devaliya and then resume their journey
According to the tender bid, the animal collar should send position, heartbeat and body temperature of the animal with time stamping, at
least once in a day, and preferably 2 to 3 times.The government has proposed that the neck-band be adjustable, lightweight, low in power consumption and with a battery life of around one year, weighing around 1 kg.
An official said the radio antenna of the collar must be embedded in neck band and should not have an exposed end. It may result in injury, hindrance for the lion while moving around in the forest. Officials said as per specification, the vendor setting up GPS system will have to set up a radio network which should automatically capture data transmitted by collar and deliver data it to control room set up at Sasan headquarters.
There are 550 waterholes and few natural water bodies in Gir which provide water to the wild animals. Almost all animals visit these waterholes once a day. The government proposes to establish VHF/UHF radio network infrastructure-based access points around these locations.
BY : Times of india
Gir collects Rs 2 crore from tourist inflow
Ahmedabad: For the first time, Gir sanctuary and Devaliya Interpretation Centre has crossed the Rs 2 crore mark as far as tourism revenues are concerned, an increase of over 17 per cent from earlier years.
Official data shows that the number of visitors too has gone up. In Gir Sanctuary, it has gone up by 23 per cent while the same in Devaliya has gone up by nearly 30 per cent.
Deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar said this year more than 13,299 more visitors have visited during the season from October 2009 to 15 June 2010. The number of visitors during tourist season was 70,391.
Senior officers said the number of foreigners who visited the sanctuary is just 7 per cent of the total visitors. Of the 70,391, 4,957 were foreigners, which was 541 more than 2008-09. Lesser foreigners have visited Devaliya. According to Kumar, the increase in revenue is because of rise in tourists as the entry rates remain unchanged. He further said only 90 vehicles were permitted to enter the sanctuary in two shifts — morning and evening. “During vacation and on holidays, there was a need to increase the number of permits as many tourists had to wait for their turn,” said an official.
The maximum rush was noticed during Diwali holidays, Dusshera, Christmas, New Year and Uttarayan. During summer vacation, the rush was as expected.
Officials further said that because of uncertainity of sighting a lion, many Indian tourists prefer to have a look of the majestic lion in Devaliya rather then coming to Gir Sanctuary. Also, those on the way to Somnath would make a short halt at Devaliya and then resume their journey
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Great Indian bustard may soon be extinct
Ahmedabad: It may not be long before we lose the great Indian bustard forever.The very existence of the bird, which was once touted as a strong contender to replace the peacock as the national bird in the 1960s, is in crisis. As its only habitat in Naliya in Kutch grasslands is being converted to agricultural land and thus would be lost for the bird forever.
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh,in an letter to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on June 9, wrote that the grasslands of Kutch were one of the last remaining pockets that hold promise for recovery of great Indian bustard (GIB).
“Conservationists and researchers working in Kutch have brought to my attention the opening of areas in Abdasa grasslands in Naliya (Kutch), a prime breeding ground for the bustard, for agriculture. I am writing to request you to immediately intervene and prevent the diversion of revenue gauchar land (grassland) to agriculture, and to ensure that the district officials support the Naliya conservation initiatives.If we do not intervene, the possibility of the bustard becoming extinct in Gujarat is very real and high,” Ramesh wrote.
He further mentioned, “A researcher also forwarded a photograph that clearly shows the marking for new agricultural plot.”
There are 22 species of bustards in the world, 16 of which are found in Africa. Indian subcontinent had six species: GIB, houbara or Macqueen’s bustard, lesser florican and Bengal florican, but in the last 80 years, there has been no record of the existence of the Great and Little bustards.Houbara bustard is purely migratory and seen in arid parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat during winters.
A recent study by Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (Geer) foundation had revealed that bustards were distributed over 996 sq km with a core area of 97 sq km. However, only 2 sq km was protected as a sanctuary. The study suggested that Kanothia, Kalatalav,Bhachunda,Vinghaber and Parjau, which are revenue areas, be acquired under forest land rules.
Destruction of GIB’s habitat was the major cause, apart from hunting, of their dwindling numbers. Grasslands, the bustards prime habitat, were under tremendous pressure from overgrazing, expanding agricultural fields and urbanisation. The state till date does not have a clearcut grazing policy. If grasslands were protected under bustard protection, they would provide fodder to livestock once the bustard breeding season is over.
THREAT PERCEPTION
INDUSTRIALISATION
Windmill installation has been taking a toll on important habitats in Lala, Budia, Jakhau and Vanku, Parjau villages. Fencing by windmill as well as erection of allied electric wire networks has caused loss of grassland areas.
ENCROACHMENT
Agriculture encroachment on revenue village land of Kanothia, Bhachunda, Kanatalav, Bhanada and Vinghaber. This activity led to more movement of vehicles and people.
UNDESIRABLE HABITAT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Number of grassland management activities carried out by forest department and NGOs in the area lead to loss or change of GIB habitat. TRENCHING AND BUNDING
Many grass or fodder plots have been developed by forest department and NGOs by trenching areas in middle of large grassland patches. Being a bird of flat grasslands, Indian Bustard prefers areas with high visibility. Therefore, these plots result in undesirable habitats.
PONDS FOR MOISTURE CONSERVATION IN PRIME GRASSLAND AREAS
Forest department and NGOs have prepared many small ponds for rainwater harvesting structures to conserve moisture in the middle of grassland patches. These structures disturb topography of grassland habitat.
PLOUGHING OF GRASSLAND DURING BREEDING SEASON
It was observed that some grassland areas were ploughed during monsoon and post-monsoon season for planting better species of grass and their growth. Such activities create a great disturbance to nests, eggs or chicks of Indian Bustard.
PLANTATION OF ANOTHER GRASS SPECIES
In some areas, grass plots for fodder are being developed by planting palatable species in Indian Bustard range.
REMEDIES SUGGESTED BY GEER FOUNDATION
RESEARCH ON MOVEMENT PATTERN
The birds are likely to move from Thar desert along edges of Great Rann of Kutch and reach open, sparse grassland patches of Little Rann of Kutch and some degraded grasslands in Surendranagar district. They are then likely to move to grasslands of Velavadar National Park.
INVOLVE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Since bustards move over a large area, local communities should be mobilised and involved in conservation efforts.
HABITAT MANAGEMENT
Bustards thrive in a grassland, scrubland ecosystem. To improve their habitat, trees could be planted to maintain savannah characteristics. Also, excavation of ponds and trenches should be stopped and Prosopis Juliflora, commonly known as gando baval, be removed as the thorny shrub injures the bird.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
They are needed to garner support and enlighten people about the sentiments of various stakeholders interested in conservation of the bird and grassland ecosystem.
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh,in an letter to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on June 9, wrote that the grasslands of Kutch were one of the last remaining pockets that hold promise for recovery of great Indian bustard (GIB).
“Conservationists and researchers working in Kutch have brought to my attention the opening of areas in Abdasa grasslands in Naliya (Kutch), a prime breeding ground for the bustard, for agriculture. I am writing to request you to immediately intervene and prevent the diversion of revenue gauchar land (grassland) to agriculture, and to ensure that the district officials support the Naliya conservation initiatives.If we do not intervene, the possibility of the bustard becoming extinct in Gujarat is very real and high,” Ramesh wrote.
He further mentioned, “A researcher also forwarded a photograph that clearly shows the marking for new agricultural plot.”
There are 22 species of bustards in the world, 16 of which are found in Africa. Indian subcontinent had six species: GIB, houbara or Macqueen’s bustard, lesser florican and Bengal florican, but in the last 80 years, there has been no record of the existence of the Great and Little bustards.Houbara bustard is purely migratory and seen in arid parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat during winters.
A recent study by Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (Geer) foundation had revealed that bustards were distributed over 996 sq km with a core area of 97 sq km. However, only 2 sq km was protected as a sanctuary. The study suggested that Kanothia, Kalatalav,Bhachunda,Vinghaber and Parjau, which are revenue areas, be acquired under forest land rules.
Destruction of GIB’s habitat was the major cause, apart from hunting, of their dwindling numbers. Grasslands, the bustards prime habitat, were under tremendous pressure from overgrazing, expanding agricultural fields and urbanisation. The state till date does not have a clearcut grazing policy. If grasslands were protected under bustard protection, they would provide fodder to livestock once the bustard breeding season is over.
THREAT PERCEPTION
INDUSTRIALISATION
Windmill installation has been taking a toll on important habitats in Lala, Budia, Jakhau and Vanku, Parjau villages. Fencing by windmill as well as erection of allied electric wire networks has caused loss of grassland areas.
ENCROACHMENT
Agriculture encroachment on revenue village land of Kanothia, Bhachunda, Kanatalav, Bhanada and Vinghaber. This activity led to more movement of vehicles and people.
UNDESIRABLE HABITAT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Number of grassland management activities carried out by forest department and NGOs in the area lead to loss or change of GIB habitat. TRENCHING AND BUNDING
Many grass or fodder plots have been developed by forest department and NGOs by trenching areas in middle of large grassland patches. Being a bird of flat grasslands, Indian Bustard prefers areas with high visibility. Therefore, these plots result in undesirable habitats.
PONDS FOR MOISTURE CONSERVATION IN PRIME GRASSLAND AREAS
Forest department and NGOs have prepared many small ponds for rainwater harvesting structures to conserve moisture in the middle of grassland patches. These structures disturb topography of grassland habitat.
PLOUGHING OF GRASSLAND DURING BREEDING SEASON
It was observed that some grassland areas were ploughed during monsoon and post-monsoon season for planting better species of grass and their growth. Such activities create a great disturbance to nests, eggs or chicks of Indian Bustard.
PLANTATION OF ANOTHER GRASS SPECIES
In some areas, grass plots for fodder are being developed by planting palatable species in Indian Bustard range.
REMEDIES SUGGESTED BY GEER FOUNDATION
RESEARCH ON MOVEMENT PATTERN
The birds are likely to move from Thar desert along edges of Great Rann of Kutch and reach open, sparse grassland patches of Little Rann of Kutch and some degraded grasslands in Surendranagar district. They are then likely to move to grasslands of Velavadar National Park.
INVOLVE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Since bustards move over a large area, local communities should be mobilised and involved in conservation efforts.
HABITAT MANAGEMENT
Bustards thrive in a grassland, scrubland ecosystem. To improve their habitat, trees could be planted to maintain savannah characteristics. Also, excavation of ponds and trenches should be stopped and Prosopis Juliflora, commonly known as gando baval, be removed as the thorny shrub injures the bird.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
They are needed to garner support and enlighten people about the sentiments of various stakeholders interested in conservation of the bird and grassland ecosystem.
15 held for selling fake wildlife skin, bones in Bhavnagar
Rajkot: Bhavnagar district forest department on Sunday arrested around 15 men and women — mostly married couples — from the outskirts of Bhavnagar for selling fake lion and tiger skin and bones. All accused are from Karnataka. According to range forest officer (RFO) Bhavnagar KK Bharwad, the department was tipped off by volunteers of a Bhavnagar-based nature club. The accused were selling the skin and bones to common people. “The accused sold these skins by going from house to house. They happened to sell an item to a member of nature’s club, who alerted the forest department. Following this, we organised a trap and arrested them from their makeshift houses,” Bharwad said.
“We have arrested 15 people, including eight women. All those arrested are from Karnataka. They arrived in Bhavnagar just two days ago. The forest department has seized all the materials that the group was selling. They used their network to reach residents and sold the skins and nails of tigers and lions,” he added.
The skin and bones were sent to the department for a thorough examination, where it was verified that none of them were original. The accused purchased skins of dogs and goats from around the place where they lived. The skins were then painted and tampered with chemicals and made to look like those of tigers and lions.
“We have confirmed that all the material seized is duplicate,” Bharwad said.
According to officials, it was the women’s job to get clients and sell them while the males were the ones who reworked the skins. Taking note of lion poaching incidents earlier in the state, state forest department officials did not want to take chance and arrested all the people involved.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Lioness gives birth to 3 cubs in Gir forest .
Amreli (Gujarat), Jun 15 (PTI) A lioness has given birth to three cubs in the Gir forest region of Jafrabad taluka in the district, forest officials said today.
The cubs were born last night in the forest region near Nageshari village, they said.
Lions are enlisted as a Schedule-1 animal under the (Indian) Wildlife Act, whose existence is considered to be on the verge of extinction.
The Gir forest is spread in three districts of Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar, and is considered to be the last abode of Asiatic lions.
According to the lion census conducted between April 24- 27 early this year, there were 411 lions in Gir forests, which included 162 females and 97 males, 77 cubs less than one-year- old and 75 cubs aged between one to three years.
The cubs were born last night in the forest region near Nageshari village, they said.
Lions are enlisted as a Schedule-1 animal under the (Indian) Wildlife Act, whose existence is considered to be on the verge of extinction.
The Gir forest is spread in three districts of Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar, and is considered to be the last abode of Asiatic lions.
According to the lion census conducted between April 24- 27 early this year, there were 411 lions in Gir forests, which included 162 females and 97 males, 77 cubs less than one-year- old and 75 cubs aged between one to three years.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Environment ministry has no intention of banning tourism in tiger reserves
Tourists are not the problem
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has got this one right. He has said that his ministry has no intention to ban tourism in tiger reserves, as demanded by some sections of the environment department. Those in favour of the ban have argued that an increased number of tourists and tourism-related construction was proving to be disastrous for tigers and their habitat, resulting in dwindling numbers. This is a flawed argument.
Indeed, the only way to save the tiger is to ensure that the economic
value of a live tiger is much higher than the profit to be made from killing it for body parts. This can be done primarily by making tigers and tiger reserves a tourist draw.
The worrying fall in the number of tigers in India – which stands at around 1,400 – has little to do with tourists. This has happened because of poaching and encroachment of the tiger habitat. These are the real issues that need to be tackled. Our ill-equipped and poorly paid forest guards are fighting an uphill battle against poachers. Besides, forest conservation laws are regularly flouted.
All over the world tourists flock to see animals in their natural habitat without any adverse impact. Indeed, the money from tourism is funnelled back to protecting the animals. In India, some of the mostvisited national parks such as Corbett also have the highest number of tigers. However, no one is arguing that tourism
in national parks should be unregulated. Tourists in tiger reserves must be accompanied by trained guides. Tourism-related infrastructure should not be allowed inside the core area of national parks and activities in wildlife resorts must be strictly regulated.
The Indian tiger is in dire straits. The only way to save it is to highlight how precious it is. Encouraging more tourists to tiger reserves will only help this cause.
So, the lid’s been put on the tiger tourism fracas. Official talk about turning ecologically sensitive tiger reserves into no-go zones irked the tourism lobby. That lobby’s won this round. None of this alters the fact unregulated wildlife tourism is a migraine for conservationists the world over. Yes, we love to look at untamed animals; if we can be billed for it, it’s a business to boost like any other. Only, right now, there’s a bigger priority: staving off tiger extinction. Just about 1,400 remain in natural habitats. Who knows how many will go the Sariska and Panna way?
Tiger tourism, some say, can be micro-managed. But if it’s been a neardisaster till now, what’s the chance we’ll change stripes? We all know the scandal of hotels and lodges being built on tiger corridors, damaging grasslands and causing loss of precious habitat. We all know unsupervised tourists turned picnickers and wedding guests harass the big cats and disperse their prey. As for tourism as a tool against poaching, law enforcers must net poachers anyway. If anything, serious issues like poaching and encroachment risk getting obscured in the wildlife tourism spat.
It’s argued that tiger protection needs money, and foreign tourists especially bring top dollars. That’s sophistry drawing on economic reductionism to give animals their due. It’s like saying non-human species have a ‘right’ to exist only if bred for food or fur, hunted for sport or shackled in zoos and amusement parks. Without ‘value’ extraction, who’d care for crocs or dolphins? Here’s the counter-argument. Species need conserving for their intrinsic worth. They have a life, a subjectivity and a purpose that are irreducible and inalienable. So, their ‘value’ doesn’t depend on how many of us will pay to exploit them.
By : Times of india
Indeed, the only way to save the tiger is to ensure that the economic
value of a live tiger is much higher than the profit to be made from killing it for body parts. This can be done primarily by making tigers and tiger reserves a tourist draw.
The worrying fall in the number of tigers in India – which stands at around 1,400 – has little to do with tourists. This has happened because of poaching and encroachment of the tiger habitat. These are the real issues that need to be tackled. Our ill-equipped and poorly paid forest guards are fighting an uphill battle against poachers. Besides, forest conservation laws are regularly flouted.
All over the world tourists flock to see animals in their natural habitat without any adverse impact. Indeed, the money from tourism is funnelled back to protecting the animals. In India, some of the mostvisited national parks such as Corbett also have the highest number of tigers. However, no one is arguing that tourism
in national parks should be unregulated. Tourists in tiger reserves must be accompanied by trained guides. Tourism-related infrastructure should not be allowed inside the core area of national parks and activities in wildlife resorts must be strictly regulated.
The Indian tiger is in dire straits. The only way to save it is to highlight how precious it is. Encouraging more tourists to tiger reserves will only help this cause.
So, the lid’s been put on the tiger tourism fracas. Official talk about turning ecologically sensitive tiger reserves into no-go zones irked the tourism lobby. That lobby’s won this round. None of this alters the fact unregulated wildlife tourism is a migraine for conservationists the world over. Yes, we love to look at untamed animals; if we can be billed for it, it’s a business to boost like any other. Only, right now, there’s a bigger priority: staving off tiger extinction. Just about 1,400 remain in natural habitats. Who knows how many will go the Sariska and Panna way?
Tiger tourism, some say, can be micro-managed. But if it’s been a neardisaster till now, what’s the chance we’ll change stripes? We all know the scandal of hotels and lodges being built on tiger corridors, damaging grasslands and causing loss of precious habitat. We all know unsupervised tourists turned picnickers and wedding guests harass the big cats and disperse their prey. As for tourism as a tool against poaching, law enforcers must net poachers anyway. If anything, serious issues like poaching and encroachment risk getting obscured in the wildlife tourism spat.
It’s argued that tiger protection needs money, and foreign tourists especially bring top dollars. That’s sophistry drawing on economic reductionism to give animals their due. It’s like saying non-human species have a ‘right’ to exist only if bred for food or fur, hunted for sport or shackled in zoos and amusement parks. Without ‘value’ extraction, who’d care for crocs or dolphins? Here’s the counter-argument. Species need conserving for their intrinsic worth. They have a life, a subjectivity and a purpose that are irreducible and inalienable. So, their ‘value’ doesn’t depend on how many of us will pay to exploit them.
By : Times of india
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
74 big cats outside Gir sanctuary
Gandhinagar: The 2010 census has found 74 lions in the revenue areas of Amreli, Bhavnagar and Junagadh.
Forest department officials said that the figure could have gone up to about 85-90 as those in the revenue area around Sasan were included in the count for Gir National Park. They said the state government is in process of developing new sanctuaries, including the Barda Dungar in Porbandar.
Apart from the Gir National Park, the government has declared Paniya, Mitiyala and Girnar as sanctuaries in 1984, 2004 and 2007 respectively. The area of these three sanctuaries put together is around 235 sq km. Another 190 sq km is the area of Barda, which is ready and lions would soon be moved in there.
Officials said the department was waiting for the lions to move to Barda on their own. This has delayed completion of the Barda Dungar project.
Senior forest officials admitted that the human interference was causing problems for the wildlife. With 90-odd lions moving outside the Gir Sanctuary, the attacks on the human and animal were also on the increase.
Revtubha Raijada, former member of the Wild Life Board, said, “Gir’s carrying capacity is just 270-odd lions and as of now it has well above 400 lions. The lions are moving out because they need food and also there may be a fight for the territory.”
He said that for lions, getting prey in the sanctuary was becoming increasingly difficult and it is easier to get a catch outside. “Once the animal gets used to easy killing, it will not move back to the sanctuary. Even if the lions are caught and forced back to the sanctuary, they will sneak out and come closer to the human habitat,” he said.
A senior forest official agreed with him that the animals were moving out of the sanctuary for food and territory. An adult lions requires an area of 30-40 sq km and, hence, there is always a fight for territory which results in the weaker lion coming out of the sanctuary and coming in direct conflict with the human beings, he said
Forest department officials said that the figure could have gone up to about 85-90 as those in the revenue area around Sasan were included in the count for Gir National Park. They said the state government is in process of developing new sanctuaries, including the Barda Dungar in Porbandar.
Apart from the Gir National Park, the government has declared Paniya, Mitiyala and Girnar as sanctuaries in 1984, 2004 and 2007 respectively. The area of these three sanctuaries put together is around 235 sq km. Another 190 sq km is the area of Barda, which is ready and lions would soon be moved in there.
Officials said the department was waiting for the lions to move to Barda on their own. This has delayed completion of the Barda Dungar project.
Senior forest officials admitted that the human interference was causing problems for the wildlife. With 90-odd lions moving outside the Gir Sanctuary, the attacks on the human and animal were also on the increase.
Revtubha Raijada, former member of the Wild Life Board, said, “Gir’s carrying capacity is just 270-odd lions and as of now it has well above 400 lions. The lions are moving out because they need food and also there may be a fight for the territory.”
He said that for lions, getting prey in the sanctuary was becoming increasingly difficult and it is easier to get a catch outside. “Once the animal gets used to easy killing, it will not move back to the sanctuary. Even if the lions are caught and forced back to the sanctuary, they will sneak out and come closer to the human habitat,” he said.
A senior forest official agreed with him that the animals were moving out of the sanctuary for food and territory. An adult lions requires an area of 30-40 sq km and, hence, there is always a fight for territory which results in the weaker lion coming out of the sanctuary and coming in direct conflict with the human beings, he said
NO LIONS FOR MADHYA PRADESH: MODI
While announcing the latest lion census figures on Sunday he said, “After the 2007 poaching incident in Gir, I had visited lion territory and wanted to talk to the people in and around the sanctuary. But they refused to talk to me until I promised them that not a single lion would be given to Madhya Pradesh. When I told them that the lion was killing their cattle, they said they were ready to suffer the loss as the wild cat had become part of their family.”
Modi added that even the Maldharis were ready to sacrifice their cattle to ensure that the lions stay in Gujarat. The Gujarat government has even opposed a PIL in the Supreme Court asking for some wild lions to be shifted to Madhya Pradesh. The court is slated to hear the issue later this week.
Madhya Pradesh government’s argument has been that three to four per cent per cent of the Gir lions die of unnatural death every year. Given these circumstances, there was no harm in shifting five lions to the Kuno-Palpur forest. The counter affidavit filed by Madhya Pradesh has stated that many lions were dying by falling into open wells, poaching and were even getting electrocuted.
However, Modi made it clear that only one unnatural death was reported in the last year and that too a cub had died after falling in a well.
The Gujarat government has been opposing the move on technical grounds as well, stating that tiger and lions cannot stay together. Gujarat has stated in the Supreme Court that relocating lions from the Gir sanctuary could cause irreparable damage to the sociology of lions and asserted that Madhya Pradesh could not manage the relocation as it had failed to protect its own tigers.
Roaring success: Lion numbers leap in Gujarat
- The big cats recorded 14.4% growth over last census
- Male-female ratio at one male for every 1.67 females is the highest ever
- Lions found in Bhavnagar, 250 km from Gir national park
- 18% found outside the sanctuary
- Only one incident of a cub falling in an open well in 2009; in past years an average of 10 cubs died annually
- More than 13,000 open wells capped
- Census covered 10,000 sq km
Friday, April 30, 2010
Two leopards caught from Veraval, Rajula
Forest department caged two leopards from Veraval in Junagadh and Rajula in Amreli in past 48 hours. One of the big cats died of heat. The big cat that died was a female caught in Savani village near Veraval on Wednesday morning. “The leopard used to prey upon village cattle and had been thwarting our attempts of caging her. As a last-ditch effort, we had set up a cage with a live goat as bait inside it in an orchard. Attracted by constant bleating of the goat, the leopard got inside the cage at 5am and was trapped,” said Jokhia, in-charge range forest officer of Veraval.
However, the leopard appeared seriously ill and after spending a few hours in the cage it died. Preliminary investigation of the forest department attributed heat wave as the cause of the death. The big cat’s body was sent to veterinary hospital in Sasan Gir for postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.
The deceased leopard appeared about three years old, five feet long and two feet high. Meanwhile in Rajula, a male leopard was found caged on Tuesday morning. The leopard had killed four goats and an equal number of dogs on the outskirts of Rajula and Jhampadar village in the past 10 days.
By : Timesofindia
However, the leopard appeared seriously ill and after spending a few hours in the cage it died. Preliminary investigation of the forest department attributed heat wave as the cause of the death. The big cat’s body was sent to veterinary hospital in Sasan Gir for postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.
The deceased leopard appeared about three years old, five feet long and two feet high. Meanwhile in Rajula, a male leopard was found caged on Tuesday morning. The leopard had killed four goats and an equal number of dogs on the outskirts of Rajula and Jhampadar village in the past 10 days.
By : Timesofindia
By identifying India’s first individual whale shark, Gujarat has taken a big step forward in understanding this often misunderstood...
Whale sharks — the world’s biggest fish species — swam the waters of the world even before dinosaurs evolved. And yet scientists today don’t even have basic statistics on this endangered species. Exact numbers? Your guess is as good as anyone else’s. Besides, breeding grounds of this mammoth fish are a mystery and no one has photographed a newborn whale shark. Its reproductive system was understood as late as 1996.
It is for this reason that marine scientists are excited about India identifying its first individual whale shark recently along the Gujarat coast as part of the Whale Shark Conservation Project. Detailed photographs taken of the fish will be sent to ECOCEAN, which maintains the global whale shark database and coordinates international research.
“To preserve this prehistoric species, we need to understand its habitat, migratory patterns, its DNA and breeding grounds,” says Dhiresh Joshi, coordinator of Wildlife
Trust of India (WTI), one of the partners on the conservation effort. “Gujarat has already done a lot in conserving the whale shark, but with this endeavour, we are joining hands with the global community.”
Once the ECOCEAN database has enough numbers, scientists hope to get details on whether the schools found in Asia, the Caribbean, Australia and the Far East are individual communities that never meet each other or if they breed with each other. They also want to know migratory patterns. One recently, a radio-collared whale shark travelled 13,000 km within a few months, giving some idea of the long distances they travel.
“Gujarat will play a crucial role in conserving the whale shark because the species congregates in unusually large numbers here,” Joshi adds. “Satellite imaging from Isro has shown the Gujarat coast is ideal for plankton breeding, the whale shark’s favourite meal, but we need to understand the food highways better.”
In Vietnam, the whale shark is the deity ‘Ca Ong’, which translates as ‘Sir Fish’
In Kenya it got the name ‘papa shillingi’ from the myth that God threw shillings upon the shark which are now its spots
Javanese also refer to the stars by calling it ‘geger lintang’, meaning ‘stars on the back’
COOL CUSTOMERS
Although massive, whale sharks are docile fish and sometimes allow swimmers to hitch a ride. In fact, fishermen often take advantage of the fish’s cool nature, sail close to it and harpoon it to death
WHERE THEY LIVE
They are found in all tropical seas and migrate every spring to Australia given the abundance of plankton there. They are sighted in large numbers along the Gujarat coast as well
UNDER THREAT
In Gujarat, fishermen killed this species to use its liver oil as waterproofing in traditional boats. In the Far East, its fin is used for the infamous shark-fin soup
WHAT THEY EAT
Fortunately human beings are not on the menu of this fish! Its favourite meal is plankton or drifting organisms and plants that it gulps down with huge amounts of water
In a unique endeavour, Gujarat made Ram Kathakar Morari Bapu ambassador of the ‘Save the Whale Shark’
It is for this reason that marine scientists are excited about India identifying its first individual whale shark recently along the Gujarat coast as part of the Whale Shark Conservation Project. Detailed photographs taken of the fish will be sent to ECOCEAN, which maintains the global whale shark database and coordinates international research.
“To preserve this prehistoric species, we need to understand its habitat, migratory patterns, its DNA and breeding grounds,” says Dhiresh Joshi, coordinator of Wildlife
Trust of India (WTI), one of the partners on the conservation effort. “Gujarat has already done a lot in conserving the whale shark, but with this endeavour, we are joining hands with the global community.”
Once the ECOCEAN database has enough numbers, scientists hope to get details on whether the schools found in Asia, the Caribbean, Australia and the Far East are individual communities that never meet each other or if they breed with each other. They also want to know migratory patterns. One recently, a radio-collared whale shark travelled 13,000 km within a few months, giving some idea of the long distances they travel.
“Gujarat will play a crucial role in conserving the whale shark because the species congregates in unusually large numbers here,” Joshi adds. “Satellite imaging from Isro has shown the Gujarat coast is ideal for plankton breeding, the whale shark’s favourite meal, but we need to understand the food highways better.”
In Vietnam, the whale shark is the deity ‘Ca Ong’, which translates as ‘Sir Fish’
In Kenya it got the name ‘papa shillingi’ from the myth that God threw shillings upon the shark which are now its spots
Javanese also refer to the stars by calling it ‘geger lintang’, meaning ‘stars on the back’
COOL CUSTOMERS
Although massive, whale sharks are docile fish and sometimes allow swimmers to hitch a ride. In fact, fishermen often take advantage of the fish’s cool nature, sail close to it and harpoon it to death
WHERE THEY LIVE
They are found in all tropical seas and migrate every spring to Australia given the abundance of plankton there. They are sighted in large numbers along the Gujarat coast as well
UNDER THREAT
In Gujarat, fishermen killed this species to use its liver oil as waterproofing in traditional boats. In the Far East, its fin is used for the infamous shark-fin soup
WHAT THEY EAT
Fortunately human beings are not on the menu of this fish! Its favourite meal is plankton or drifting organisms and plants that it gulps down with huge amounts of water
In a unique endeavour, Gujarat made Ram Kathakar Morari Bapu ambassador of the ‘Save the Whale Shark’
campaign. This was the first time that a spiritual leader was roped in for an environmental cause and was effective in convincing fishermen not to kill the species.
India has put the whale shark under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and banned its fishing and trade in 2001. Maximum punishment for killing a whale shark is seven years imprisonment.
Gujarat’s pride: Lion count touches 405
“We are putting the number at around 405,” said a source. The final count would be declared by senior officials who would take a call on Friday morning before the data is submitted to Chief Minister Narendra Modi by 4 pm.
Sources further said there was much hue and cry over the large number of lions moving out in the fringe areas of Gir. However, according to officials, the count in Gir forest was around 290 lions while another 25-odd lions were spotted in the Girnar and Mityala sanctuaries.
Officials said the three sanctuaries put together would account for around 315 lions, while the remaining were in Khamba, Mahuva, Palitana and parts of Amreli district.
A senior forest official said this was exactly the figure which was derived at during the nine-month exercise which began before the census. Officials said that of the 90-odd lions which venture out of the Gir sanctuary, about 25 are in Mahuva, while another 30 are in Khamba. Interestingly, not a single lion was sighted in the coastal belt from Veraval to Mangrol.
The four-day census exercise, which began on April 24, covered a large area spread over 10,000 sq km. No less than 1,300 forest officials and volunteers were deployed for the exercise using global positioning system and digital photography.
Officials said photographs taken by volunteers had helped forest officials cut down on the time taken previously to complete the census. “We have been able to arrive at the final count in less than 72 hours of the completion of census,” said a senior official.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Fund crunch blocks move to shift Maldharis from Gir sanctuary
Ahmedabad: It will be a good few years before the Asiatic Lions are able to enjoy complete privacy in their abode in the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh.
The 376 Maldhari families currently living in the sanctuary area with their livestock will continue to stay there till the state government receives funds from the Centre to facilitate their relocation.
Recently, a grant of Rs50 crore was approved by Union ministry for environment and forest for Gujarat for the purpose of lion conservation.
This, however, is a fraction of the Rs236 crore sought by the state for several conservation projects.
Principal Chief Conservator of forests Pradip Khanna said plans to be funded by the grant had already been prepared.
The task of relocating the maldhari families will take more than the sanctioned amount, he added.
“We will take up other projects such as eco-development, gene pool project, etc,” Khanna said. “Relocation of Maldharis will not happen for now.”
The presence of Maldharis is believed to have detrimental effect on the lions, driving them out of the sanctuary area. The department estimates that the cost of rehabilitating one Maldhari family would come to at least Rs10 lakh.
“The crucial part is to get all of them to agree to be relocated,” said a former forest official from the region. “And if they agree and are given land outside the sanctuary, then it has to be ensured that they do not leave the land allotted to them and return to the forest, as has happened in the past.”
The recently released CAG report highlights similar irregularities in the relocation of Maldharis.
The report states that, between 1972 and 78, 588 families were shifted out of the Gir protected area.
Each family was given eight acres of cultivable and grazing land, 600 sq meters of residential plot and Rs 6050. A total of 257 families were not shifted.But of the 588 families that were relocated, 87 returned to the forests and reside with authorization in the protected area.
According to the CAG report, the forest department had said that a scheme for the rehabilitation of Maldharis had been approved and would be implemented on availability of funds from the Centre.
But adequate steps to prevent relocated Maldhari families from returning to the protected area were not taken, the CAG report says.
“Consequently, the expenditure that was incurred on their earlier relocation towards farm lands, housing plots and cash, proved to be infructuous,” the report has commented.
The 376 Maldhari families currently living in the sanctuary area with their livestock will continue to stay there till the state government receives funds from the Centre to facilitate their relocation.
Recently, a grant of Rs50 crore was approved by Union ministry for environment and forest for Gujarat for the purpose of lion conservation.
This, however, is a fraction of the Rs236 crore sought by the state for several conservation projects.
Principal Chief Conservator of forests Pradip Khanna said plans to be funded by the grant had already been prepared.
The task of relocating the maldhari families will take more than the sanctioned amount, he added.
“We will take up other projects such as eco-development, gene pool project, etc,” Khanna said. “Relocation of Maldharis will not happen for now.”
The presence of Maldharis is believed to have detrimental effect on the lions, driving them out of the sanctuary area. The department estimates that the cost of rehabilitating one Maldhari family would come to at least Rs10 lakh.
“The crucial part is to get all of them to agree to be relocated,” said a former forest official from the region. “And if they agree and are given land outside the sanctuary, then it has to be ensured that they do not leave the land allotted to them and return to the forest, as has happened in the past.”
The recently released CAG report highlights similar irregularities in the relocation of Maldharis.
The report states that, between 1972 and 78, 588 families were shifted out of the Gir protected area.
Each family was given eight acres of cultivable and grazing land, 600 sq meters of residential plot and Rs 6050. A total of 257 families were not shifted.But of the 588 families that were relocated, 87 returned to the forests and reside with authorization in the protected area.
According to the CAG report, the forest department had said that a scheme for the rehabilitation of Maldharis had been approved and would be implemented on availability of funds from the Centre.
But adequate steps to prevent relocated Maldhari families from returning to the protected area were not taken, the CAG report says.
“Consequently, the expenditure that was incurred on their earlier relocation towards farm lands, housing plots and cash, proved to be infructuous,” the report has commented.
Forest dept officials move in AC cars to count lions
No less than 70 air-conditioned cars have been hired by the forest department for the officials during the fourday census which concluded on Tuesday.
Sources in the department said that the forest department was estimating an expenditure of 25 lakh for the census.
Sources said that during census the officials especially the senior officers used these
cars while travelling. Not only that, some officials in the forest department
were also seen travelling in cars with their families. A volunteer also said that the choice of the volunteer was also to be questioned as those selected were not associated with the field.
However, a senior officer said that these cars were hired in the name of the sub-zonal team which were to travel from one beat to another clicking photographs and recording the location of the lions on the GPS. He said that since these teams were to move around quickly they needed cars. However, these teams were given jeeps while the cars were being kept at the services of the officials.
He said that the local villagers should have been given preference than as they were aware of the movement of the animal in their respective areas. A officer refusing to be quoted said that several of the volunteers instead of helping the officials were seen standing and watching lions. Officials said that there was no screening of volunteers. It is worthy recalling that the volunteers even complained of families attending the census.
Officials said that the mismanagement part was more in the revenue area where even friends were taken in the teams. A local journalist from Amreli said that he had visited the census not officially but illegally with few of his friends who were volunteering for the census.
By: Times of india
Sources in the department said that the forest department was estimating an expenditure of 25 lakh for the census.
Sources said that during census the officials especially the senior officers used these
cars while travelling. Not only that, some officials in the forest department
were also seen travelling in cars with their families. A volunteer also said that the choice of the volunteer was also to be questioned as those selected were not associated with the field.
However, a senior officer said that these cars were hired in the name of the sub-zonal team which were to travel from one beat to another clicking photographs and recording the location of the lions on the GPS. He said that since these teams were to move around quickly they needed cars. However, these teams were given jeeps while the cars were being kept at the services of the officials.
He said that the local villagers should have been given preference than as they were aware of the movement of the animal in their respective areas. A officer refusing to be quoted said that several of the volunteers instead of helping the officials were seen standing and watching lions. Officials said that there was no screening of volunteers. It is worthy recalling that the volunteers even complained of families attending the census.
Officials said that the mismanagement part was more in the revenue area where even friends were taken in the teams. A local journalist from Amreli said that he had visited the census not officially but illegally with few of his friends who were volunteering for the census.
By: Times of india
Monday, April 26, 2010
He forced govt to take notice of 56 illegal mines around Gir
Porbandar: The Asiatic lion census in Gir began on Saturday only to reaffirm the fact that lions enjoy a respectable stay in the state and need no other sanctuary anywhere in the country. But one would have to share this pride with Bhanu Odedara, a Porbandar resident who through his RTI applications forced the government to take notice of the 56 illegal mines surrounding the Gir sanctuary that were proving dangerous for the lions.
“Blasting in mining activity is a m a j o r threat to w i l d l i f e and has har mful e f f e c t s. When we talk of s av i n g our lions — this should be the first step towards that cause — providing a conducive environment for our wildlife,” says Odedara.
Last year, Odedara’s RTI brought out the issue of illegal mining activities within the 5 km periphery of Barda Wi l d l i f e Sanctuary. “Twenty-one permissions for mining around the forest area had been g r a n t e d since 2002 by state geological department, many of which were given without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state forest department. According to the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), mining is not permissible in the 5 km periphery of the sanctuary,’’ says Odedara.
Forest officials were forced to admit that mining was going on in villages of Kodinar and Una taluka of Junagadh district. The villages include Ghantvad, Harmadiya, Valadar, Pinchhava in Kodinar taluka and Jamwala, Kansariya in Una taluka of Junagadh district.
“Forest officials said that they have issued showcause notices to the mine operators in the area. But, they should take harsh actions against the illegal mine operators,” says Odedara. He is now following up on the issue through filing RTI application.
In February 2010, office of the assistant conservator of forests, Talala (Gir) range had assured Odedara officially that the details of mines that are live within the 5 km periphery of Gir sanctuary were being sought. A detailed report is now being prepared on the action taken by the forest department to stop illegal mining activities.
“ Fo re s t officials said that there are 56 s u ch mines active in Talala range area within the 5 km periphery of Gir sanctuary,” says Odedara.
By: Times of india
“Blasting in mining activity is a m a j o r threat to w i l d l i f e and has har mful e f f e c t s. When we talk of s av i n g our lions — this should be the first step towards that cause — providing a conducive environment for our wildlife,” says Odedara.
Last year, Odedara’s RTI brought out the issue of illegal mining activities within the 5 km periphery of Barda Wi l d l i f e Sanctuary. “Twenty-one permissions for mining around the forest area had been g r a n t e d since 2002 by state geological department, many of which were given without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state forest department. According to the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), mining is not permissible in the 5 km periphery of the sanctuary,’’ says Odedara.
Forest officials were forced to admit that mining was going on in villages of Kodinar and Una taluka of Junagadh district. The villages include Ghantvad, Harmadiya, Valadar, Pinchhava in Kodinar taluka and Jamwala, Kansariya in Una taluka of Junagadh district.
“Forest officials said that they have issued showcause notices to the mine operators in the area. But, they should take harsh actions against the illegal mine operators,” says Odedara. He is now following up on the issue through filing RTI application.
In February 2010, office of the assistant conservator of forests, Talala (Gir) range had assured Odedara officially that the details of mines that are live within the 5 km periphery of Gir sanctuary were being sought. A detailed report is now being prepared on the action taken by the forest department to stop illegal mining activities.
“ Fo re s t officials said that there are 56 s u ch mines active in Talala range area within the 5 km periphery of Gir sanctuary,” says Odedara.
By: Times of india
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Gir village to run on solar power
Principal secretary, environment and forests, SK Nanda, says, “This is pilot project to be implemented first in this village. Later on it will be replicated in other villages too. Solar-based lighting system is the best suited to the villagers’ need without compromising on the sanctuary ecology.”
According to forest department, Jambhutala is solely depended upon either kerosene or firewood, none available easily.
The project will be implemented by Gujarat Ecology Commission. Member Secretary of GEC, E Balagurusamy, says, “These villages are part of the Gir eco system and play a crucial role in protection of the wildlife. They are also a great source of information for the forest department on any suspicious activities inside the sanctuary.”
“Providing electricity lines is not a viable options as the overhead wires or underground electric wires are fraught with dangers, which can affect the wildlife inside the sanctuary,” adds he.
The total project cost will be around Rs five lakh. Balagurusamy says, “We are hoping that the project will be completed before the monsoon season.”
According to GEC, each of the household will be provided with two solar lights, one for the kitchen purpose and other for other household activities and also street light facility for them. Nanda says, “Earlier, during our meeting with villagers inside the sanctuary, they had complained of non-availability of kerosene and also lot of problems in collecting firewood.”
By : Times Of India
GOLDEN REIGN OF LION KING!
Lion Census Begins Today, Results May Be Out On Gujarat’s Golden Jubilee
Ahmedabad: Gujarat will start counting the number of lions in the wild on Saturday. And, from all accounts, the results of the census, which will take about a week to tabulate, will bring cheer to Gujarat on its Golden Jubilee.
This census is important as some rare poaching incidents have been reported since the last census five years ago, involving gangs from Madhya Pradesh which wants to rob Gujarat of the tag of being the only place where Asiatic lions roam free.
Almost 10,000 sq km will be combed by over 1,600 officials and volunteers in this once-in-five-year exercise. The last census conducted in 2005 had revealed a lion population of 359. The 2010 census covers a much wider area spread in five Saurashtra districts of Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Porbandar and Rajkot.
On Friday, volunteers were issued identity cards and they were introduced to their other beat members. They will fan out at about 2 pm on Saturday and return only after 24 hours. Volunteers will take rest for 24 hours and get back to the count on Monday at about 2 pm only to return on Tuesday afternoon.
The officials also instructed the teams about the angles at which the photographs have to be taken. There would be five members in a team and each team is armed with a camera and a GPS. Keeping in view the scorching heat that enumerators will have to encounter during the lion census, the forest department is taking all precautions. It will include a team of doctors and a constant supply of drinking water, juices and biscuits for the volunteers participating in the event.
The officials said that the department have identified 450 spot after a ninemonth-long survey of the lion movements and sightings. These include s e t t l e m e n t colonies where lions are seen regularly.
“The timing is perfect for the census as visibility in the jungle is high. One can easily see half a kilometre into the jungle. The water holes have shrunk with the onset of summer, making it easy to monitor the movement of the lions,” said SK Nanda, principal secretary, forest and environment.
The computer analysis of data will start from April 27 with observers from Wildlife Institute of India, which has drawn up a plan to shift some lions at an alternate habitat in neighbouring MP. Gujarat, obviously, does not want to give up its ‘pride’ and officials are confident that the census would only reinforce the lion conservation efforts of the state’s forest department in the last 50 years.
By :- Times Of India
Ahmedabad: Gujarat will start counting the number of lions in the wild on Saturday. And, from all accounts, the results of the census, which will take about a week to tabulate, will bring cheer to Gujarat on its Golden Jubilee.
This census is important as some rare poaching incidents have been reported since the last census five years ago, involving gangs from Madhya Pradesh which wants to rob Gujarat of the tag of being the only place where Asiatic lions roam free.
Almost 10,000 sq km will be combed by over 1,600 officials and volunteers in this once-in-five-year exercise. The last census conducted in 2005 had revealed a lion population of 359. The 2010 census covers a much wider area spread in five Saurashtra districts of Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Porbandar and Rajkot.
On Friday, volunteers were issued identity cards and they were introduced to their other beat members. They will fan out at about 2 pm on Saturday and return only after 24 hours. Volunteers will take rest for 24 hours and get back to the count on Monday at about 2 pm only to return on Tuesday afternoon.
The officials also instructed the teams about the angles at which the photographs have to be taken. There would be five members in a team and each team is armed with a camera and a GPS. Keeping in view the scorching heat that enumerators will have to encounter during the lion census, the forest department is taking all precautions. It will include a team of doctors and a constant supply of drinking water, juices and biscuits for the volunteers participating in the event.
The officials said that the department have identified 450 spot after a ninemonth-long survey of the lion movements and sightings. These include s e t t l e m e n t colonies where lions are seen regularly.
“The timing is perfect for the census as visibility in the jungle is high. One can easily see half a kilometre into the jungle. The water holes have shrunk with the onset of summer, making it easy to monitor the movement of the lions,” said SK Nanda, principal secretary, forest and environment.
The computer analysis of data will start from April 27 with observers from Wildlife Institute of India, which has drawn up a plan to shift some lions at an alternate habitat in neighbouring MP. Gujarat, obviously, does not want to give up its ‘pride’ and officials are confident that the census would only reinforce the lion conservation efforts of the state’s forest department in the last 50 years.
By :- Times Of India
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