Affidavit filed by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam in the matter of news item titled "the last feral horses in India" appearing in Mongabay, November 5, 2024. The matter relates to the critically endangered status of feral horses in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park as well as of smuggling of these …
Ban blessing Some people in the region regard the ban as a blessing in disguise. Though the situation was difficult initially, they have ventured into other sources of income. In Tirap district, many people once involved in timber trade have now switched to tea cultivation. Says Mithi: "We are promoting …
Reinforcing laws The court acted methodically. First, it asked states to define forests. Interestingly, a clear definition of forests is not given in the existing legal instruments - Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980, Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 1988, and the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Under Section 2 of the FCA …
Unquiet woods With the ban and without access to forest revenue, Northeast economy is in doldrums THERE is an unusual quietness in the forests of India's northeast, arguably the country's best timberlands and one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. Brought about by the Supreme Court's blanket ban on tree felling …
• For effective development and utilisation of its natural resources, the Orissa government intends to draft a mineral policy soon. Along with this, the state also wants to formulate a gems policy to tap its vast gem reserves. • Around 4,000 villagers of Gondriala in Kodad mandal of Nalgonda district …
for years the rainforests of Assam have suffered the ignominy of isolation and neglect. Attempts are now underway to conserve this national heritage with active public participation. As a measure of this enterprise, a three-day festival rejoicing the cultural and spiritual links between these rainforests and the local communities was …
the familiar sound of conch shells (shankh) resonating during auspicious occasions may soon be a thing of the past, courtesy a recent Union government decision. The July 11, 2001, gazette notification by the Ministry of environment and forests has de facto banned the harvest, processing, stocking and sale of Xancus …
seventeen children have died and thousands of others have reported sick after being administered the pulse Vitamin A dose in different districts of Assam. The dose was given as part of an immunisation programme organised by the state government and aided by the United Nations Children's Fund (unicef). Even as …
If it was Lucknow which mourned its dead children a few weeks ago, it is Guwahati which is a mute witness to its children literally dropping dead. And no one seems to care. Does life really have no value for us, especially those of our young. In Lucknow, several new-born …
conflicts with human beings have recently taken toll on 18 elephants in Nameri National Park, Assam, the state which houses half of India's elephant population. What was first believed to be a disease killing, later turned out to be a case of poisoning. The crisis, which is also said to …
T he merit of kat-ki-kunni (timber-cornered building) of Himachal Pradesh can be traced back to 1905, if not earlier. A massive temblor levelled every village from Dharamsala to Kangra. Measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, it lasted two minutes and was felt over 416,000 sq km. But, buildings with kat-ki-kunni …
At 2.53 am on October 25, 1991, a moderate earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale affected more than 425,000 people of about 2,100 villages in the districts of Uttarkashi, Tehri and Chamoli in what was then Uttar Pradesh and is now the hill state of Uttaranchal. Traditionally built timber …
a weed called mimosa is destroying the grasslands of Assam's Kaziranga National Park ( knp ). The weed has covered over 120 hectares of the park's area, thereby, threatening the lives of herbivore animals that feed on the grass. Mimosa devours the existing grass cover of any area. The park …
The Assam Pollution Control Board (apcb) has served a closure notice to the Digboi authorities for releasing highly toxic effluents, including oil and grease, into waterbodies. According to an official of the apcb, untreated effluents from the refinery is causing extensive damage to agricultural fields and forests. In response, the …
people build castles in the air and homes on firm ground. But Abdul Hussain builds his castles on the shifting sands of the Brahmaputra bank. He has been living on an earthen embankment on the banks of Brahmaputra for the last 15 years. This embankment gets shifted every year as …
poaching and encroachments threaten the 79 sq km Orang National Park ( onp ), habitat of the famous one-horned rhinocerous in Assam. During the last five years, no less than 44 rhinos have fallen prey to poachers, official sources admit. Barring one natural death, the sanctuary, which falls on the …
a 500 square kilometre stretch of rain forest has been discovered in Assam. The discovery was made by Saumyadeep Dutta, an environmentalist. This was reported in The Times of India. According to Dutta, the forest which spills into Arunachal Pradesh, houses 32 species of mammals and 260 species of birds, …
The Guwahati high court has asked the Assam government to take immediate steps to stop illegal felling of trees and begin afforestation. The order was given by a division bench while disposing a petition filed by wildlife activist Bibhav Kumar Talukdar. The bench also took note of the fact that …
