Order of the National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone, Chennai) in the matter of Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake and Bird Conservation Trust Vs State of Karnataka & Others dated 02/05/2025. Pursuant to the tribunal order dated April 24, 2025, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) informed the court that as per …
Ranging behaviour of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) was studied using radio telemetry in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve had home ranges of over 500 sq km. These sizes are much larger than those defined by earlier studies. The study ranged across the three southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and …
WHEN VISITING a village in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri or Karnataka's Mysore districts, you may come across a group of about 25 adults busily laying out an intricate design on the ground, using powdered rice, coloured chalk, twigs and pebbles. The designs are not mere patterns in colour; they are diagrams …
A typical PALM exercise takes about five days and includes the following: Day 1: Introductory The focus is on understanding the history of the village, its layout and the infrastructure available. Some other exercises called "empathisers" and "equalisers" are also included. These are held in the village and include the …
In a chilling reminder of his prowess as an outlaw, sandalwood smuggler and poacher Veerappan and his gang exploded an electronic landmine, which destroyed a van carrying members of a task force set up specially to nab him. Twenty-two policemen died in the April 9 explosion at, which occurred less …
The hilly tract of Uttara Kannada district in the Western Ghats of India has been famous for its arecanut and spice orchards for several centuries. The cultivators have evolved complex horticultural practices to maintain productivity under conditions of high rainfall, hilly terrain and leached soils.
THE PRISTINE woods of the Biligirirangan Hills in Mysore district, a reserved forest, are marred by denudation that has left only a few eucalyptus and silver oak patches on the lower slopes. The destruction by contractors has wrought havoc on the Soliga tribals, who have lived in Biligirirangam for centuries. …
BANGALORE is witnessing dramatic protests these days against foreign businesses. Less than a fortnight after agitated farmers raided the offices of Cargill Seeds India Pvt Ltd (Down To Earth, January 31), there were demonstrations in the city against the state government's intention to approve construction of a model township near …
Why are you opposed to the township? The Japanese are coming to make money for themselves. We do not agree this will benefit Karnataka or India. Moreover, the government has been so secretive about the nature and features of the township. The chief minister has given contradictory information. What are …
Why do you want the township? It will bring in an investment of more than Rs 20,000 crore. Nobody in India can match this scale of investment in the present economic situation. What do feel about the fears expressed by environmentalists? The Japanese are extremely quality conscious. They will go …
DESPITE sex-role conditioning by teachers and traditional attitudes that rule out floor and site jobs for women, the number of Indian women taking to engineering has increased manifold in the period between 1975 and 1990. The percentage of women enrolled in engineering degree courses has increased rapidly from 1.3 per …
THE RECENT attack on the Cargill Seeds India Pvt Ltd office in Bangalore, by members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), is evidence of the growing awareness among Indian farmers about "gene thefts" by multinational corporations (MNCs) of the genetic resources of the Third World. More such attacks can …
INDIA is probably the most industrialised developing country in the world today, with more than a million trained scientists. But this has only resulted in creating a deeply divided society. The last three decades have witnessed a proliferation of institutions set up to promote rural development through science and technology. …
A FEW YEARS ago, L Narasimharaju abandoned his M.Tech studies at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and moved to a village. His mission? To help pass on to the people a technology to make cheap and effective cement for rural areas. Narasimharaju based himself at Ungra village …
SANDALWOOD smuggling is raising quite a stink in Karnataka, where poacher-smuggler Veerappan has reportedly recruited three retired army personnel and a former BSF jawan to train other gang members in planting mines and staging ambushes. The four, whose identities are still secret, are supposed to have been paid Rs 4.5 …
ON AUGUST 9 the nation was observing the golden anniversary of the "Quit India" movement; that day, in Neralakuppe (A), a settlement of 40 Jainu-Kuruba households near the Nagarhole sanctuary in Karnataka, a different drama took place -- all the villagers fled to the jungle in fear. They were frightened …
"ONE BY one each of the girls answered my questions. What was their name and age? What do they do during the day? What do their parents do? Had they ever been to school and for how long? The children were remarkably articulate. Half of the children had been to …
DINESH Rama of Sathvadi village in Karnataka is 12, and typical of the youngsters in rural South Kanara district, who migrate in large numbers to Bangalore, Madras and even Delhi, in search of a livelihood. Long-exploited by the Shettys (landlords), Dinesh and his friends would normally have resigned themselves to …
How did you join the sangha? One day Venkates from Gramashrama came to the coir factory for a pooja. I asked him who he was. My friend Shankar was already a member and because I did not go to school, I decided to join. What do you get out of …
The Bedti hydro-electric project in Karnataka is in the midst of another controversy. The project, which was scrapped in the early 1980s following protests from farmers and environmentalists, is being considered by the state afresh. Environmentalists had won the first round when, under immense pressure, the Karnataka Power Corporation (KPQ …
