Environment India

  No more Great Indian Bustard in Andhra Pradesh The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a critically endangered bird, whose future appears increasingly bleak even in its ‘stronghold’ in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan where individual birds have been dying regularly after coming into contact with overhead power lines, is feared to have disappeared from Andhra Pradesh where the bird was living on an extended lease of life. The last sighting of a Great Indian Bustard in Andhra Pradesh was outside of the Rollapadu wildlife sanctuary, a small patch of about 10 sq km, in Kurnool district. In the last three years, there has only been sporadic sighting of the bustard in and around Rollapadu. 👉 Deccan Chronical Residents oppose three infrastructure projects at Vetal Tekdi: Maharashtra 1,000 people gathered at Vetal Tekdi (hills) early Sunday morning, expressing concern against Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) plan of developing roads and tunnels through the hill, located in the western...

  Chennai airport turning into hub for star tortoise smuggling Chennai international airport seems to be turning into south India's hub for the smuggling of star tortoises, and two back-to-back seizures from there of the animals have sent the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) on high alert. Air intelligence at Chennai airport had, in the past couple of months, seized several star tortoises that were bound for South Eastern countries and Gulf countries. Air intelligence sources told that in a seizure that was executed in the first week of April following a tip-off, 3,600 live star tortoises were recovered. 👉 Daijiworld Forest area surrounding Tirupati engulfed in flames As summer has started and the temperature is soaring, the Seshachalam forest area, which surrounds the hill shrine of Tirumala Tirupati, was engulfed in flames on Tuesday evening. Representative pic Fires spread rapidly in the forest area near Elephant Arch on the First Ghat Road ...

  Vultures in Assam die by pesticide poisoning targeting stray dogs On March 17, carcasses of 100 Himalayan griffon vultures and one steppe eagle were found in Assam’s Chaygaon. Pesticide poisoning is suspected to be the cause of death. The intended target for the poisoning was not the raptors but the stray dogs which have been attacking village livestock. The incident at Chaygaon is not an isolated incident of vultures dying after consuming contaminated carrion. A fortnight before the Chaygaon incident, 30 vultures died after feeding on a poisoned carcass in Dibrugarh and earlier in January this year, 23 vultures died under similar circumstances. Even three years ago, 19 and 39 vultures had died in two separate incidents in Sivasagar district. However with increasing awareness about the role of vultures in the ecosystem and the impact of pesticides along with the forest department’s efforts in vulture conservation, there seems to be hope in protecting the birds an...

SALINITY, RECHARGE ISSUES AND EXTRACTION HAVE SPELT DOOM In Gothra and Khanpur Khurd: HARYANA Gothra village is located in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana’s newest district on the state’s border with Rajasthan. It looks like any other dusty village in north India. Except that it is suffering extreme water shortages which, if not controlled, will soon make the village a desert. The village has fallen prey to excessive salinity in its groundwater, caused by lack of recharge due to decreasing rainfall and consequent extreme groundwater extraction. All this has led to the village being caught in a vicious cycle which is now so bad that it neither has potable drinking water nor water for its crops .Gothra is in the ‘over-exploited’ category as far as groundwater is concerned, according to the Central Ground Water Authority. This means that more groundwater is being drained out than necessary. The groundwater in Gothra continues to fall, according to the Haryana Water Resources (conservation, regulat...

  Birds, animals killed in Paschim Medinipur hunting festival: W.Bengal A traditional hunting festival in Paschim Medinipur district killed several birds and animals on Monday, alleged animal activists who accused the forest department and police of inaction. A Calcutta High Court order in 2019 put a complete embargo on ritual hunting in various districts of south-west Bengal. In another order dated March 21, 2021, the court iterated its earlier order, saying that all such illegal activities have to be completely stopped by the state by exercising police power, if needed. Animal lovers fear a rerun of the massacre of a range of wildlife on several upcoming dates of ritual hunting in the southwestern districts of Bengal — Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Jhargram and Purulia. The kills included wild boars and birds like orange-headed thrush, said members of HEAL (Human and Environment Alliance League), who were in Paschim Medinipur to track the alleged hunters. "The...

  Meghalaya’s Living Root Bridges Find A Spot In Unesco’s Tentative List Known for its extensive cave system and its unique living root bridges, Meghalaya is a traveller’s paradise. The state has once again been put on a global map with the inclusion of the living roots in the tentative list of Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. The announcement was made by Meghalaya’s Chief Minister — Conrad K Sangma — on Twitter. “The living root bridges not only stand out for their exemplary human-environment symbiotic relationship but also focus on their pioneering use for connectivity and resilience, and the need to adopt sustainable measures to balance economy and ecology,” he said. Often used as a path across a stream or a river, the bridges famous in Meghalaya are found in many villages — currently about 100 bridges spread across nearly 70 villages. These bridges are built by the local tribal communities and take a few years before they are fully strengthened and ready for use. ...

Reduce air pollution to avoid land conflicts due to solar projects, recommends study Due to high air pollution, India is witnessing an estimated loss of US$ 245-835 million every year. Improvement in air quality will in turn improve the performance of the solar power projects, says a study. Soiling Effect According to the researchers who conducted the study, cleaner air and better performance of solar power projects would also mean that India could save a crucial resource like land by which conflicts with communities and the environment could also be avoided. According to the study, aerosols in the atmosphere attenuate incoming solar radiation through scattering and absorption and this is known as the “atmospheric attenuation effect.” In addition, aerosols often get deposited over panel surfaces and affect their PV performances. High air pollution translates into low efficiency of solar power projects which leads to higher auxiliary power consumption (use of robots for cle...