Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Subhas Datta Vs State of West Bengal & Others dated 10/04/2024. The present Original Application has been filed by the Applicant appearing in person stating that in the tourist township of Darjeeling there is the ‘Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary’ popularly known …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
It is widely accepted that panchayati raj is shaping up much better in Leh as compared to other districts of J&K.; The first real panchayat elections in the state were held only in May 2001. Even then, modalities of decentralisation of power to elected village representatives were not issued. After …
The most remarkable aspect of the developmental challenges in Leh district is the small margin for error. Resources are highly limited. Ladakh's ecology is fragile. Unbridled tourism will imperil the pastures of Changthang that support the pashmina goats and the Changpa nomads. The good news from Leh is that the …
What has been the impact of the Public Distribution System (PDS) on Ladakhi agriculture? The subsidy culture has definitely killed local agriculture in Ladakh. What international trade distortions are doing to Indian agriculturethe subsidy system is doing to Ladakhi agriculture. It is exactly the same as industrialised countries dumping their …
Padma Wangyal, 29, is quite an exception. His grandfather pioneered the cooperative societies movement in Ladakhi agriculture. In a region where the average landholding is a mere 1.38 hectares, Wangyal's family owns about 20 hectares. Wangyal attended school and college in Delhi. Like most young Ladakhis, he dreamt of joining …
In Ladakh, the rest of India is referred to as down . Because, at no point in Leh district would you be less than about three kilometres above the mean sea level. This vast barren district is more than 45,000 square kilometre (sq km); it is perhaps India's largest and …
prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's recent announcement in Bangkok that Andaman and Nicobar Islands' capital Port Blair would be twinned with Thailand's tourist haven Phuket was greeted by protests in the union territory (ut). It is apprehended that any association with Phuket, which is said to be a sex tourism …
Huge tourist inflows often spell doom for a region's ecology. But things may turn out quite the opposite for Ladakh, as the Leh Autonomous Hill Council (lahc) plans to make visitors share conservation costs. The responsibility is, however, to be shouldered by foreign tourists only. The lahc proposes to charge …
forty-year-old Nizamuddin couldn't have been struck down by malaria at a worse time. He is laid up at the Pokran primary health centre (phc) in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district instead of tending bajra (millet) and guar (a legume) crops in his fields in Nananiya village. Sadly, a healthy monsoon
A recent study by the Jammu and Kashmir State Pollution Control Board (spcb) shows that vehicular pollution has reached alarming levels in parts of the Kashmir valley. The state government has reacted by directing petrol and diesel pump owners not to provide fuel for vehicles without pollution under control certificates. …
New visitors to Toronto, if any, cannot be blamed if they think the city has become a ghost town. Tourists are likely to be greeted by empty shops and streets, with hotels offering high discounts to fill their mainly vacant rooms. The World Health Organisation's (who) recent advisory against travelling …
The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on the state's plans to construct a commercial corridor between Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The court cited the Krishan Mahajan report, which was commissioned to research the environmental aspects of tourism promotion around the Taj. The report …
Nepal plans to open the highest lake in the world for tourists from May 1. Tilicho lake, at 5119 metres above sea level, is also noted for its natural beauty and religious significance to local people. Other tourist spots that can now be visited include Rara lake and Khaptad National …
every other day, one comes across studies that are testimony to corals dying across the world. Most of us do not bother to ponder over the implications of this loss, thinking that corals are mere
Kerala's popular fleet of tourist houseboats can now be differentiated by quality. Rising numbers of these backwater dwellings had disturbed the residents of Kuttanad, who demanded some regulation. Consequently, the state's tourism department has decided to classify the houseboats based on environmental and safety norms. Kerala's tourism minister, K V …
Rising pollution levels in Nepal's Kathmandu valley are a cause for concern. In a recent survey, tourists singled out air pollution as the most disturbing factor during their stay in the country. Specifically during the period between November and January, air pollution levels zoom in the region. During these winter …
The heavy influx of tourists into sleepy, coconut tree-fringed Saligao is no longer welcome. This Goan village has not been able to live down the reputation it acquired in the late 1960s as a popular hippy haunt. To this day, it is a riotous and overgrown tourism centre. It is …
Excessive pollution is threatening to put Nepal's picturesque Pokhara out of the tourist map. The panoramic view of the snow-clad Himalayas from the valley is fast fading. Industrial and vehicular pollution is to be blamed for the deplorable scenario. "If this trend continues unchecked, the peripheral mountains will not be …
Bis Hazari lake in the buffer zone of Nepal's Royal Chitawan National Park (RCNP) is getting a facelift. Efforts are on to sanitise and beautify the picturesque waterbody. The district development committee (DDC), district tourism development committee and RCNP's buffer zone area management council have joined hands to conserve the …
