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 …
In our haste to reclaim coastal regions for human development we seem to be forgetting one simple rule of nature: what is dumped out will eventually return to us in equal measure
The Indian coasts are to be opened to accommodate construction activities. There is a debate brewing in the nation today whether this move will benefit the coastal communities or simply fill the coffers of certain powerful lobbies. There is also a feeling that it will thrust the fragile marine ecosystem …
It is early morning. Kana manoeuvres his boat across the canal towards what appears to be a traffic jam, half-a-kilometre ahead. Soon his boat, too, becomes a part of the incoming traffic. At the centre of the commotion is the Al Murtaza vegetable market
If you have been won over by these lines in the tourism brochure, Srinagar should top your list of places to visit. If you are in Srinagar, you will hire a shikara (boat) to take in the beauty of the lake and the majestic mountains surrounding it. The road on …
There are numerous ways to get to the lake colony. But there is no way to avoid getting the weeds entangled with the oars. The weeds are something the people have learnt to live with, and have also found a couple of uses for them, such as fertilisers. They complain …
AIR quality in Malaysia has been made an "official secret'. The Malaysian government has also launched a new Internet site to counter "negative publicity'. The two developments reflect the Malaysian authorities' obsessive concern with presenting a positive image of Malaysia that overlooks shortcomings and plays down contentious issues. Government officials …
The people of Kashmir have only the Dal to offer to tourists. Brochures are full of life on the Dal lake. Pictures of houseboats used to attract hordes of tourists to the Dal year after year. The Dal was virtually the economic lifeline of Kashmir. One of the large lakes …
health Care Without Harm, a us -based coalition of environmental groups accused the World Bank of "environmental racism' for backing projects that fund dioxin-producing medical waste incinerators in 20 countries around the world. The coalition published the report that claimed the bank funded projects in Africa, the Americas and Asia …
the Aravalli range, stretching from Palanpur in Gujarat to Delhi, divides Rajasthan into three distinct climatic regions. The Udaipur zone of the range is estimated to be around 300 million years old. It is, therefore, not surprising that the range is a unique amphitheatre of biological diversity. But with the …
gorillas are the latest victim of political and ethnic conflicts, that have engulfed eastern Africa. About 300 gorillas live in Bwindi and 320 in the forests that run through Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. In a strange relationship, the survival of the local people depends on the revenue from tourism that …
The South Pacific island of Fiji is suffering from a massive drought. The sugarcane crop of 1998 is well below normal production. Even the torrential rains due to La Nina, which lashed Australia, have stayed away from Fiji. "We were hoping that La Nina could come and bring some rain …
The Responsible Ecological Social Tour (REST) programme, which was launched a year ago, is coming under heavy criticism from environmentalists. The programme was launched in a cluster of villages near the Pra Chang mountain in northern Thailand's Phayao province for the purpose of ecotourism. Officials at non-government organisations running the …
Web grooves Over 14 years ago, more than a hundred companies agreed on a standard way for making music with computers - the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (Midi). Midi player software turns your computer into a virtual musical instrument, as music files tells it - or an electronic instrument connected …
Dig deep Despite all the developments in technology that we have witnessed so far, the past still interests us. It is, after all, responsible for the rich sense of history that we all possess and would feel incomplete without. And perhaps this is one reason why archaeology still has an …
the Union government has asked the Karnataka state government to take over within 45 days a forest area leased to a subsidiary of the Taj Group of Hotels to build a three-star resort. The 6,356 sq m-area falls within the core zone of the Nagarhole National Park in district Kogadu. …
A major factor accounting for the decline in species in Sikkim is lack of study of the ecosystem and inadequate conservation. As A R K Sastry, director, Biodiversity 'Hotspots' Conservation Programme (bhcp) of the Worldwide Fund for Nature says: "Studies conducted on the biodiversity of Sikkim are not enough to …
The first patch of virgin forest was cleared in Sikkim at Nathula Pass, after the king invited the Indian Army to protect the kingdom in 1962. Remote areas were connected by roads to facilitate movement of the army. But development activity began in right earnest after 1975, when Sikkim merged …
Sikkim has three types of forests: temperate broad-leaved (1,829-2,730 m), mixed coniferous (2,730-3,650 m), and alpine scrub and grasslands (above 3,650 m). These forests support a wide range of vegetation. Temperate broad-leaved forests in the state are dominated by oak species like Quercus lineata and Q lamellosa. There are 11 …
