Whether you want to gaze at Tyeb Mehta's famous Santiniketan triptych or see Krishen Khanna's arresting tableaux of itinerant bandwallahs up close, you no longer have to make the trek to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi. A simple click of the mouse can get you inside with Google Art Project expanding its virtual culture tours to include India.

GAP, which launched last year, digitized artworks from 17 museums in the first phase. Some critics called it Euro-centric but it's now trying to address this skew in favour of the old masters. In the latest expansion, Indian art and antiquities exhibited at the NGMA and the National Museum have found a place on Google's virtual art tour map.

Both institutions are in venerable company as other newcomers include the Art Institute ofChicago, the Rubin Museum in New York and even the White House.

The NGMA has allowed access to 94 artworks by 71 artists, ranging from contemporary art stars like Subodh Gupta and Jitish Kallat to hallowed names like Nandalal Bose and Raja Ravi Varma. The National Museum has also gone online, allowing access to treasures like Tipu Sultan's sword and the terracotta figurine of the Mother Goddess.

A specially designed Street View trolley shot 360-degree images of the two museums, enabling smooth navigation between rooms, akin to actually strolling through the museum.

Amit Sood, head of the project, says "It's no longer just about the Indian student wanting to visitMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is also about the American student wanting to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi." Sood, incidentally, grew up in Mumbai and has been keen to include India ever since the project launched last year. The one hurdle was equipment that could be carried around the world but that has now been overcome.

The best thing about Google art is the extreme detail with super high-resolution, or "gigapixel," photo-capturing technology. The images comprise nearly 7 billion pixels, so you can get closer on these pieces than you ever could in a gallery or museum and see details, such as brushwork and patina, not visible to the naked eye.


The Times of India, 10th April 2012

The Sunderbans, spreading across West Bengal and Bangladesh, is fast emerging as the climate change flashpoint of the globe. Despite the warning signals of increased frequency of cyclones and tidal floods, the West Bengal government has drawn up a massive project to expand the Haldia port which will directly impact the western Sunderbans region

Environmentalists already complain against increasing oil spillage from vessels in and around the Mongia Port that are adversely affecting its biodiversity

Environmentalist Bittu Sahgal warns against the effects of oil spill on the growth and survival of the two species of trees (gewa and sundari) found in the Sunderbans

“Unless the state government, along with the Bangladesh government, takes decisive action, we are going to witness a bigger migration of climate refugees than what took place before the 1971 war,” Mr Sahgal said and warned that already entire communities are being forced to relocate to other districts

Mr Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary magazine, had earlier been a member of the ministry of environment and forests’ committee looking into infrastructure projects coming up in this area

“We had shot down a proposal to start an international steamer channel by the Inland Waters Authorities which would have cut across the Sunderbans tiger reserve. We warned the MoEF (ministry of environment and forests) that granting permission would result in toxic oil spills, noise pollution and the need for regular dredging to maintain the requisite depth of the water channel,” said Mr Sahgal

The government is reported to be keen to restart this project as it will shorten the distance between India and Bangladesh

“Sunderbans has become a posterboy of the ill-effects of climate change,” said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director, CSE, who in a recent report had highlighted that the sea level in the area had almost doubled to 10 mm in the last decade while the sea surface temperature (SST) had risen at 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade. Rising salinity has adversely affected agriculture. This Unesco world heritage site is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forests in the world, covering 10,000 sq. km, of which 4,000 sq. km are in West Bengal while the rest is in Bangladesh

The Asian Age, 10th April 2012

He authored first Tibetan-English dictionary, grammar book

Marble plaque at the entrance of Amrita Sher Gil's birth place in Budapest.—photo: Special Arrangemen

The Hungarian government, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) , is renovating the resting place of the famed orientalist, Sándor Kõrösi Csoma, also known as Alexander Csoma, in Darjeeling and giving the room that he occupied in the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata a facelift

This year marks the 170{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Alexander Csoma, author of the first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book. He travelled to Asia in search of more information on the original Hungarians or Magyar people as they are known

The renovation work comes ahead of tw important visits to India — one being that of the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament. László Kövér, later this month

“We are expecting two VIP delegations to visit Sándor Kõrösi Csoma's resting place in Darjeeling and the Asiatic Society building in Kolkata. And we thought it was a good time to undertake some renovation work at these historic places. The year 2012 also marks the 170{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Csoma and it will be a good opportunity for the delegations to visit and pay homage,” said an official of the Hungarian government

The official said a totem pole carved out of wood is also being erected at the resting place in Darjeeling. “The totem pole has been crafted in Transylvania where Csoma was born. It is being sent by the local people as a mark of respect.

The ASI has offered to carry out the renovation work after the Hungarian government expressed interest in refurbishing the resting place and at the Asiatic Society building. “The resting place in Darjeeling is already classified as a monument of historical importance by the ASI,” the Hungarian official said

Csoma undertook the journey to unravel and trace the origin of the Magyar people in 1820, and arrived at Ladakh. A monastery in Zanskar was his home while he studied the Tibetan language and compiled the first English-Tibetan dictionary while living at Zangla Monastery in 1823. “There is a civil society group of young architects who are already involved with the restoration of the place in Zangla where Csoma de Kõrös lived and compiled the dictionary,” said another official

Csoma spent a few years at the Asiatic Society. He died in 1842 just ahead of his travel to Lhasa

Remembering Amrita Sher-gil

To give a fillip to India-Hungarian cultural tiers, the Hungarian government is planning to organise programmes to mark the birth centenary of renowned painter Amrita Sher-gil in 2013

Amrita Sher-Gil was born in Budapest to Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Majithia, a Sikh aristocrat and Antoina Gottesmann, a Jewish opera singer. “Plans to mark the centenary are still underway. A film on her life is being planned by the government in collaboration with Indian production houses, but the talks are still in nascent stage. The year 2013 also marks the 50{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Dr. Ervin Baktay — author,Indologist and Amrita Sher-Gil's uncle,” the official said.

The Hindu, 10th April 2012

The Government has earmarked funds for relocation of villages from tiger habitats. These funds are being misused JT Rajappa is a content man. He had a bumper crop last  year, yielding him afair amount, from which he has put  aside a little, for his children's future. To Rajappa, and others from the Shetthalli settlement that was relocated from within the Nagarahole National Park, that is the key difference between life then and now: Being  able to dream, to hope for a future. From landless labour, depending on sporadic seasonal employment, they now own land. And, he adds with a grin, "The wife watches TV."

Rajappa is a beneficiary of the Voluntary Relocation Programme from within critical tiger habitats, carried out by Karnataka's forest department, and supported in this case by a local NGO, Living Inspiration for Tribals.

The Prime Minister-appointed Tiger Task Force (set up after the Sarsika debacle) prioritised the voluntary relocation of villages from core critical tiger habitats, recognising the fact that tigers need inviolate areas to live and breed. Most of our tiger reserves have dense human habitations. With people comes disturbance — over- grazed, dead grasslands, lopped trees, garbage, putrid
waterholes, infusion of cattle, and more, thus rendering the habitat inhospitable to tigers and fueling human- wildlife conflict.

Villagers living in remote forests, in the heart of reserves want a different life — that of mobile phones, roads, employment opportunities — away from the fear of elephants and trampled crops. Life outside in the mainstream offers not just basic facilities like healthcare and education, but also opportunities denied in the forests that must remain pristine if we are to safeguard our ecological security.

To facilitate the process, the Union Government enhanced the relocation package. But, while this did give it momentum, the funds made available with Project Tiger for relocation have not kept pace with the need. Currently there are over 45,000 families from 750-odd villages in core critical tiger habitats across India that have been identified for relocation.

Sources in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests confirm that there is a paucity of funds for relocation of people living within core critical tiger habitats in various States. The States have now stepped up relocation following petitions from many gram sabhas requesting for benefits of the enhanced relocation package.

But is there really a paucity of funds? Can State Governments shirk away from this job, given that the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority money — which hasenriched the State exchequer by thousands of crores of rupees — have been earmarked for the purpose of relocation, and wildlife protection?

To step back a little, in response to an affidavit filed by the Ministry, the Supreme Court had in July 2009 ordered the release about Rs 11,000 crore, accumulated since 2002 with CAMPA. Under the interim arrangement, the Union Government was to disburse 10 per cent of the accumulated principal amount on yearly basis to the States.

The Environment and Forests Ministry gave explicit guidelines for the utilisation of the money: It was to be used for wildlife protection, staff empowerment, restoration and regeneration of degraded forests and for meeting financial needs of 'protected areas'. The funds were not for compensatory afforestation and plantations, a fact reiterated by the then Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh in Parliament.

A decision was also taken to utilise the fund for the voluntary relocation of people from protected areas and core critical tiger habitats, given "that this had assumed great significance for the conservation of forests and wildlife". The decision was communicated to the States. In a letter dated September 23, 2010, NTCA reiterated the use of CAMPA funds for voluntary
relocation and rehabilitation of people from tiger reserves.

But two years on, none of the States has utilised CAMPA for the purpose of relocation, or for that matter even for wildlife protection as mandated.

Reports are coming in from States that prime forests are being destroyed to make way for CAMPA-funded plantations. Odisha got a large chunk of the booty, to the tune of Rs 131 crore for 2009-2010. This largesse was used to clear ground vegetation and forest undergrowth in various reserve forests of the State to make way for monoculture plantations with zero eco-system value,pointed out a member of the National Board of Wildlife. Reports indicate that in Andhra Pradesh, prime standing forest is being converted into eucalyptus plantations.

A Pocketful of Forests, a book on compensatory afforestation in India published by Kalpavriksh
Foundation, notes that most States planned to spend this bonanza on the creation of infrastructure, such as construction of offices, hostels and purchase of vehicles, computers and laptops. Goa and Tamil Nadu put aside 69 and 67 per cent for this purpose respectively, while Sikkim and Himachal wanted to allocate about half of their kitty to the same. Uttarakhand and Karnataka planned for a large chunk for plantations, despite there being an explicit order to the contrary.

CAMPA is blood money, the 'net value compensation' for the destruction of natural forests for mines, industries, power projects. It's a double whammy, with States causing further damage by 'replacing' natural forests with plantations or diverting the funds into construction and gadgets.

This is a golden opportunity. We have the funds to make a difference. It is scientifically established that inviolate habitats are the key to sustain viable tiger populations. Creating those inviolate areas is the most significant contribution we can make to conserve wild tigers.

At the same time, voluntary and fair relocation serves the equally important purpose of welfare and advancement of people. But for that, we must optimally and strategically utilise CAMPA, and not treat it as an opportunistic windfall for misuse.

The Pioneer, 11th April 2012

A move by the Pakistani authorities to acquire iconic Indian actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home in Peshawar has triggered a row involving several people who are claiming the property

The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province recently said it would acquire the house in the Mohallah Khudadad area of the historic Qissa Khawni Bazar and preserve it as a national heritage site

Ikramullah, who currently occupies the house, told a press conference in Peshawar Monday he alone owns the property, rejecting claims by several others

He said Dilip Kumar’s father Ghulam Sarwar bought it in 1943, and then sold it to Yaqoob Qureshi in 1944. Qureshi died in 1981, and his son Muhammad Badshah sold the house in 2005. Ikramullah’s partner Haji Lal Muhammad then bought it for Rs. 5.5 million. Ikramullah said Badshah had delayed registering it in Haji Lal’s name

He then went to court to get a certificate of ownership. Ikramullah said Dilip Kumar or his relatives had no rights to it as Sarwar sold it six decades ago.

Krishna is going to Moscow for ‘trilateral’ meet External affairs minister S.M. Krishna will attend a “trilateral” meeting of India, China and Russia in Moscow on Friday to review existing mechanisms of cooperation and also explore newer avenues

This will be the seventh such meeting of the three foreign ministers.
Two earlier ones were held at Wuhan, China, in 2010 and Bengaluru in 2009


The Asian Age, 11th April 2012

Archaeological experts from Banaras Hindu University and Cambridge University have found relics believed to be associated with the Harappan civilization during extensive excavations Khalsa Bohla village in Karnal district of Haryana. The excavation team leader Arun Pandey of Banaras Hindu World School said the team has found utensils, pottery, bones, mud wall, grain store and red-coloured utensils which are believed to have been used by people belonging to the Harappan era. He said that during the excavation, the relics of periods of painted grave wearer and late Harappa period have been found. The aim of the excavation is to find the difference between these two ages. He said a survey of Tila (mound) was done in 1975 by Haryana Archeology Department. An official spokesman said here today that the excavation was initiated on March 28 and would continue till April 1

The Asian Age, 11th April 2012

Artworks from the National Musuem and the National Gallery of Modern Art would now be accessible at the touch of a keystroke with Culture Ministry today announcing a partnership with Google, that allows people to view art and stroll through museums across the world, online.

The two art institutions have joined Google's Art Project that features over 30,000 artworks in gigapixel super high resolution with street view images from 151 partners in 41 countries, including the art collection of the White House and Palace of Versailles in France.

"The partnership is not just about bringing people to the museums but taking the National Museum and the NGMA to people across the globe. From a child accessing the web from an internet cafe in Mumbai to a student in New York looking for inspiration for a thesis, the project will connect a cross section of art enthusiasts," Culture Minister Kumari Selja said after inaugurating the project at NGMA here.

She pointed out that it was unfortunate that in recent times art has become inaccessible for a variety of reasons.

"A substantial body of artwork is locked up in private collections that are not easily accessible. In public museums a vast majority is kept away from public view in reserve collections and even what is on display is subject visiting time limitations and traveling to these museums can be expensive and time consuming," she said.

The project uses street view technology to enable people to move around the gallery virtually to view high quality digitised images and accessing information about the artworks.

Some iconic artworks such as M F Husain's landmark 1955 work "Zameen" or Bhupen Kakkar's "Man with Plastic Flowers (1975) along with works by artists like Jamini Roy and Amrita Shergill would be available for viewing.

Rajan Anandan, Managing Director and VP- Sales and Operations, Google India said, "There are 120 million Indians on the internet everyday and with the Art Project they can go around museums worldwide at the touch of a keystroke. The project illustrates Google's commitment to bringing culture online and making it accessible to widest possible audience."

While the first stage of the Art project's Indian chapter has put online digitised images of 250 artworks NGMA and National Musuem, the Minister said she has asked the two institutions to put up at least 10,000 works each.

"We have a rich heritage of artefacts and art and we need to share them with the world. We are considering along with the Google team a number of other projects and we are confident of quick progress. We will be able to dedicate them to the public within months if not weeks," said the minister.

"It should also inspire and encourage people to come and visit museums," said Selja.

Currently, the National Museum has more than 200,000 artefacts and the NGMA has over 17,000 works and in the first stage of the partnership.

Commenting on the partnership Pavin Srivastave, Director General National Musuem said, "The association allows us to give worldwide virtual access to moments in India's history.. We are extremely happy to be part of this endeavor that enables universal access to Indian art and culture."

Rajiv Lochan, Director, National Gallery of Modern Art said, "The NGMA houses and showcases masterpieces of the changing art forms spanning over 150 years. It endeavors to create sensitivity, awareness and understanding among national and international audiences towards Indian idiom and art expression, and the Google Art project uses sophisticated technology to help us."

For those who are not clued in about art the project can be an immersive experience. "People can view all the 32,000 artworks available ranging from miniature paintings of Mughal era to contemporary art in a magazine format and discover artists and also the space inside museums," said Amit Sood, head of the Google Art Project.

For the project, a special street view trolley took 360 degree images of the interior of selected galleries that were then stitched together enablingsmooth navigation of over 385 rooms within the museums. The art project is not linked to the internet search giant's ad revenue and does not allow permit users to download or print images.

"We licence the works directly from the musuem and the project is purely educational and there is no monetisation of revenues through ads," said Sood, who declined to give the total cost involved in the project.

Other collections in Google's Art Project includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, the Palace of Versailles in France, the White House in Washington DC, and the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar among others. The initiative would also be soon availaible in Hindi and other regional languages as welll

The Economic Times, 11th April 2012

In an order that will have far-reaching implications on the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the MoEF to “disclose” the ecological report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) on Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra

Overruling the MoEF’s stand that “scientific or economic interests of the State” would be affected by “disclosure” at this stage. Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi directed the Ministry to make available to an RTI applicant the summary of the report and also the complete report on the Athirappilly hydro-electric project in Kerala, before May 5

Gandhi also ordered that the public information officer (PIO) attached to the MoEF to ensure “that the complete WGEEP report is placed on the Ministry’s website before May 10, 2012”

In a directive that will make matters difficult for the MoEF in the coming days, Gandhi stated, “The commission directs that the MoEF should publish all reports of commissions, special committees or panels within 30 days of receiving them, unless it feels that any part of such report is exempt under the provisions of Section 8(1) or 9 of the RTI Act

“If it (MoEF) concludes that any part is exempt, the reasons for claiming exemptions should be recorded and the report displayed on the website within 45 days of receipt, after severing the parts claimed to be exempt. There should be a declaration on the website about the parts that have been severed, and the reasons for claiming exemptions as per the provisions of the RTI Act. This direction is being given by the Commission under Section 19(1)(b)(iii) of the Act to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests,” Gandhi stated

Gandhi passed the order on April 9 after MoEF Deputy Director Dr Amit Love, who in his capacity as the Ministry’s PIO, rejected the second appeal made by Kerala-based RTI activist G Krishnan, seeking the summary of a report by the Prof Madhav Gadgil-headed WGEEP and its report on hydro-electric project in Kerala

The panel was set up in 2010 to assess the ecological status of the Western Ghats region, demarcation of areas within the said region required to be notified as ecologically sensitive, and recommendations for conservation, protection and rejuvenation of the Western Ghats region. It was subsequently asked to study the entire stretch of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, including the coastal region and to specifically examine Gundia and Athirappilly hydro-electric projects

While denying information sought by Krishnan, Love had on March 23, 2012 that the information was protected from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act—which exempted “information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence”

Rejecting the stand taken by Love, Gandhi stated in his eight-page order: “ The PIO has not been able to give any reason how disclosure would affect the scientific interests of the State. The PIOs claim for exemption is solely based on Section 8 (1) (a) of the RTI Act. The Commission has examined this claim and does not find any merit in his contention that disclosure would impact the economic interests of the Nation. The Commission therefore rejects the PIOs contention that the information sought by the appellant is exempt under Section 8 (1) (a) of the RTI Act

Underscoring the importance of 14-member WGEEP, Gandhi stated: “From the broad mandate of WGEEP, it is clear that its report would have extensive ramifications on the biodiversity of an ecologically-sensitive region as the Western Ghats. Moreover, as submitted by the PIO, areas covered by WGEEP and the recommendations given therein would influence many important sectors such as agriculture, land use, mining, industry, tourism, water resources, power, roads and railways”

While rubbishing the economic slowdown bogie arising out of environmental concerns, the CIC stated: “the PIO appears to suggest that a slow-down in economic activity on account of environmental concerns is not desirable. If an economic activity causes substantial loss to the environment, then it is necessary that such an activity is not carried out or deferred to a later date”

Meanwhile, Mumbai-based RTI activist Krishnaraj Raj was all praise for the “path-breaking” observations made by the CIC in his order. “With this order, citizens can now have access to all environment assessment reports and the reports of the MoEF-appointed Commissions and special committee, within a month of the submission of reports. The CIC’s order has wide applicability for citizens’ access to government-appointed expert panel reports,” Rao said

 The Pioneer, 12th April 2012

The park in Nizamuddin Basti is the result of a new initiative by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture

“This space was appropriated by garbage, animals and addicts. There was no way we could even step in here…” Najma says as she encourages you to look around the recently renovated park in the middle of the Nizamuddin Basti in Delhi, christened the Zenana Bagh (Women's Park). Marked by high walls with sandstone jalis (latticework), manicured lawns and the absence of men, this women's only space in a conservative locality is the new hangout for shy adolescents, home makers in need of a breather and the older women who want to exchange notes on recipes and domestic squabbles

In between mild workout and some not-so-strenuous exercises, the women sit down to chat. Some keep an eye on their children playing on the nearby swings and for some it is the venue for some quiet “me-time”

Owned by the Delhi Development Authority the park was an example of dilapidation brought on by neglect, quite like a few other parks in the vicinity. The women's park as it stands today, says Najma, is the result of community initiative started by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The women's only park that remains open for specific hours during the day has given women in this densely populated area where houses stand cheek by jowl, an opportunity to step out. “After all these years of living in such a cloistered environment, we finally have a space of our own. We come here to talk, unwind, exercise, all of which was unthinkable earlier. We also have a guard here for safety,” says Shaheen, also a regular at the park

Right next to the women's park is the children's park with colourful swings and exhilarated voices of children. “The park is a boon for the children as well. During the daytime it is used by the students of the school run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and in the evenings it is opened for the Basti children. The school itself looked more rundown than a slum cluster before the AKTC renovated it,” Najma points out

Further down the road from the women's park are the Central Park and the Outer Park, both of which have been refurbished and rid of encroachments, garbage spill-overs and anti-social activities. “In view of the huge number of pilgrims, mostly male and lack of space for women, the Zenana Bagh (Women's park) was built within high enclosure walls,” says Sakshi Saini, programme coordinator, AKTC

Women, she says, are involved in the Zenana Bagh in more ways. “We have volunteers who come to the park twice everyday, to monitor how it is being maintained. They report lapses, point out if the gardeners or the guards are failing in their work; keep an eye on the security. We have monthly meetings where all issues related to the park, for instance the timings, are discussed.

The parks being in possession of the DDA, the AKTC entered into a public-private partnership agreement with the agencies to carry out the work. “The renovation work is part of the AKTC's urban renewal initiative, a not-for profit PPP with Aga Khan Foundation, the MCD, the Archaeological Survey of India and the Central Public Works Department. During the study of the area we found it was a high population density locality with parks that were available but could not be used for various reasons,” says Ratish Nanda, Project Director

Although there is no empirical evidence of how many people visit the renovated parks, the residents claim it is far greater than then “under 2 per cent” that earlier visited the parks. Women are also being encouraged to use a gymnasium, recently opened for them

“From 9.30 to 12.30 in the morning, the gymnasium is open for women alone. We have an instructor who explains workouts and we can use it for free,” explains Najma

Local councillor Farhad Suri says the renovation work and the Zenana Bagh in particular are an illustration of a community dialogue. Creating niche spaces for women who are bound by customs, traditions and perceptions has given the women room for being

“We approached the Lieutenant-Governor to allow landscaping of these parks which were in a terrible state. AKTC has since done a splendid job in close interaction with community members to significantly improve the urban character of the Basti – leading to improvement in law and order too,” he points out

Within the park as dusk slowly gives way to night the women slowly begin to rise. A few have male family members waiting to escort them back home, others find strength in numbers. “We will all assemble here again in the morning and then again in the evening. This is our space,” say Shaheen and Najma as we part

The Hindu, 12th April 2012

ASI MoU With Railways Clears Decks For Mughal-Era Structure To Link With Humayuns Tomb Complex

Soon,the earliest Mughal-era structure in the city will once again become a part of its original complex.Plans by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to integrate the 16th-century Nila Gumbad monument with world heritage site Humayuns Tomb complex have finally got off the ground with a road being built to connect the two sites.The project was conceived back in 2006,but disagreement with Northern Railway over ownership of the land surrounding Nila Gumbad stalled the work.After numerous rounds of dialogue,ASI and Northern Railway signed an MoU last year,which allowed the service road bifurcating the two monuments to be shifted to the east of Nila Gumbad.This would provide connectivity between the two sites

The work is being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).The project team has established that Nila Gumbad was originally enclosed by a garden on a river island.The garden setting was partly destroyed in the 19th century with the laying of railway lines on the riverbed.Conservationists also say the western wall of Nila Gumbad later became the eastern wall of Humayuns Tomb.In the 1980s,however,the monument was cut off from Humayuns Tomb by the building of a sewer line and a service road.As a result,visitors to Humayuns Tomb are not able to explore Nila Gumbad due to lack of connectivity, said an official.Conservationists say the segregation of the two sites has contributed to the neglect of Nila Gumbad

In 2007 when AKTC became engaged with the Humayuns Tomb-Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal project,the original northern arcade of Nila Gumbad was discovered and partially restored.This was followed by talks with the railwaysthat owns portions of the land around Nila Gumbadfor allowing shifting of the service road and rebuilding of the western half of the Nila Gumbad garden,so that at least part of the garden that surrounded the monument could be restored.An agreement was hammered out only last year

As a first step,ASI and AKTC are building a road that will also allow easy access to railway stores.Once the road layout is finalized,the much needed conservation work on Nila Gumbad will be carried out by AKTC.It is expected to take up to two years, said Guntej Bhushan,AKTC project manager.The work will include repairing of cracks and tile work on the dome;reopening of doorways now blocked with masonry;removal of cement repairs made in the 20th century;and restoration of the decorative plasterwork.Collapsed portions of the northern arcade and the western arcaded wall will be rebuilt, said Sangeet Bais,AKTC programme officer,conservation.A 3D laser scanning technology has been used to document the structure.Also,a structural analysis has been done by a UK-based engineer.As a part of the conservation work carried out at Humayuns Tomb with Sir Dorabji Tata Trust co-funding,Nila Gumbad will be secured and,hopefully,be included within the extended world heritage site, added Ratish Nanda,AKTC project director

With blue and green tiles,Nila Gumbad was originally a river island tomb accessible from Humayuns Tomb.It is believed to be the earliest Mughal-era building in Delhi.The northern arcade,unearthed a few years ago,is thought to have protected the monument from Yamuna that once flowed near Humayuns Tomb before it shifted eastwards.ASI officials say access to Nila Gumbad from Humayuns Tomb would be an added attraction for visitors,and the world heritage site can then be enlarged to accommodate Nila Gumbad

The Times of India, 12th April 2012

A panel set up to review norms for no-go areas that will protect certain areas from commercial activity is likely to recommend mining should be disallowed in all national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the country

Sources in the government told TOI that the committee, headed by the Union environment and forests secretary, is likely to close the debate over no-go areas as it is not inclined to reassess protected areas in view of existing legal protection provided to national parks and sanctuaries that has been supplemented by orders of the Supreme Courty.

The committee was set up after a Group of Ministers (GoM) on coal asked the environment ministry to reconsider parameters for no-go areas, where mining is not permitted. They were renamed inviolate areas and the ministry asked to set new norms to be put before the GoM

The panel's decision can make it difficult for any relaxation of a policy that has come under pressure from some central ministries and state governments. While ministries like coal and mining have been keen that the no-go policy be made less rigid, the committee does not seem to favour any dilution

The panel, sources said, feels that parks and sanctuaries provided a higher level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1976, should not be re-evaluated for their forest value. The head of the Wildlife Institute of India, Forest Survey of India and other senior forest officers from the Centre and select states are the other members of the committee

There are 661 such protected areas comprising of 100 National Parks, 514 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 43 Conservation Reserves and 4 Community Reserves that add up to roughly 5% of the country's geographical area. This includes the tiger reserves as well

The committee is likely to recommend that patches of forest be measured for their forest cover as well as biodiversity values. The panel has not considered the implications of the Forest Rights Act as yet. Under the existing rules, the ministry cannot allocate forest lands to development projects until the rights of the people under the FRA have been settled and the village councils of the affected area agreed to the diversion of forest

Once the committee's recommendations are considered by the GoM and approved, the ministry would be asked to again demarcate the no-go zones for mining, but this may happen only after the cases of Mahan and Chhatrasal blocks in Madhya Pradesh, which the GoM has pushed hard for clearing, are reassessed

The Times of India, 13th April 2012

As part of the process to prepare a nomination dossier for Delhi's entry in UNESCO list of World Heritage Cities, INTACH is reaching out to school students and their teachers to create awareness among them on the subject. A workshop was organised by INTACH yesterday during which 33 teachers from 31 schools participated and witnessed a presentation on the nomination process and the aims and objectives of getting the world heritage tag for the capital. ASI Delhi chief K K Mohammad asked the teachers to care for heritage and highlighted on the exhibits at Children's Replica Museum in Siri Fort. He also asked students to adopt a monument in their locality

The Times of India, 13th April 2012

The capital is set to get a world-class cultural multiplex of its own. "The centre will be developed into a vibrant hub for world-class cultural performances," an official said

The plan to construct the centre has been charted out by the Planning Commission's working group on art and culture, which proposes to implement it over the 12th five-year plan in four phases.The panel headed by the secretary, culture ministry, has suggested that the complex coul

 possibly be taken up as a public-private partnership project. The first three phases will be implemented through the departments and an SPV will be created by the ministry to implement the 4th phase

Delhi does not have a world-class integrated facility for hosting performing arts events, something which most capitals of the world have. The idea to have such a complex first got serious attention during the mid-term appraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan. But it could not be implemented as a proper site for the centre could not be made available in central Delhi

An official said a grand 'cultural multiplex' in the capital would be the perfect stage for showcasing India's performing arts. It would also host international productions, apart from developing its own repertory. "The need for an international-class cultural complex has long been felt in the capital," the official said, adding that the existing facilities are isolated, inadequate and do not meet professional requirements for presenting large, state-of-the-art productions

The Planning Commission panel noted that as Mumbai already has a National Centre of Performing Arts and one is being proposed for Delhi, it will only be appropriate that such mega cultural complexes are also set up in Kolkata and Chennai during the 12th Plan, as joint Centre-state ventures. For these complexes, the Centre could bear up to 60% of the project cost

The Times of India, 14th April 2012

A tree census for the entire Capital and NCR is needed, say environmentalists

Conservationists in the Capital claim to be fighting a losing battle in the absence of any authentic tree inventory. Though often proposed, Delhi is yet to have a census of its trees, making it hard for those campaigning against their illegal felling and pruning

While cities like Mumbai, Pune and Chennai have already taken the lead in cataloguing information on their trees, Delhi is yet to make the big start. “There are several land owning agencies in Delhi that are responsible for maintenance of trees. Of them, the New Delhi Municipal Council carried out a tree census in 2005-06 in its areas including trees on roadsides and those in the parks and gardens. But a complete tree census for entire Delhi is still a pending matter,” says Deputy Inspector General of Forests Subhash Chandra, who is also the former NDMC Horticulture Director

Thus, so far, the sense of Delhi's green cover has been derived mainly from the satellite imagery generated by the Forest Survey of India. A detailed survey inclusive of all its plantations, parks and gardens, trees on the roads and inside the colonies is however crucial to Delhi since it houses a substantial tree cover apart from its forest areas

“Tree census is definitely important, but we must be clear about what we want to accomplish through it. It is essential for conservation purposes. If we are planting 10 lakh saplings in a year, we must be able to monitor their survival rate, otherwise we would draw a false, inflated picture of the green cover,” says Prabhakar Rao of Kalpavriksh, an environment action group

A tree census does much more than establishing a tree count. It also gives an idea on the trees' type and health, based on which broader conservation plans can be initiated in a scientific manner. In Delhi especially, where the green areas are always competing against frequent development projects due to utter land scarcity, a tree census becomes even more necessary

Usually the city's municipal corporation is responsible for a tree census. Delhi, however, with its vast area and multiple agencies would surely need a streamlined plan to rope in all of them under an umbrella organisation to avoid duplicity and lack of coordination. “Ideally, the forest department must be made in-charge for such a monumental task because they are highly trained to deal with ecology. They have the expertise and trained staff to carry out the work, but they definitely need more ground level staff,” says Mr. Prabhakar

Mr. Chandra echoes, “Delhi Forest Department can be the focal point for imparting training to various agencies with support from Forest Survey of India and Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education. I hope we can get support from many volunteers, who can work under supervision of professionals is required too.

Though official measures will take their own course, Delhi is not short of tree lovers. A resident of Sarvodya Enclave, Padmavati Dwivedi, who is also the founder of NGO Compassionate Living has been doing a tree count in her colony along with some like-minded people. Their tree inventory is very basic but comes handy. “Numbering a tree helps us to be very specific in our appeal in case a tree is being lopped or disappears. Our model can easily be emulated by other residents and RWAs, and can be encouraged through Bhagidari scheme to protect trees inside the colonies which often die a silent death,” says Ms. Dwivedi


The Hindu, 15th April 2012

Back in India after some years, a physician bemoans the garbage-ridden hills of Mussoorie

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect...” Aldo Leopold, scientist, author, environmentalist, forester and ecologis

A low pitched rumble in the sky marked the landing of our stalwart 747 at the Terminal 3 of New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Within a few minutes, I deplaned along with my family, thus beginning our biennial trip to India. Upon arrival in the international terminal, I was amazed to see the positive changes that had taken place in the complex in only a few years' time. Kudos to the designing team, the terminal appeared to be state-of-the-art. We made record time clearing immigration and customs, a far cry from back in the days of the old IG International arrivals and seemingly light years ahead of the old Palam airport with hours of wait and endless queues. I thus started this trip optimistically. India was certainly showing her finest form and this was just the first day of my trip

Flash forward a week later. I am disembarking the New Delhi to Dehra Dun Shatabd Express.

The almost six hour ride was smooth and the time passed by quickly. A one hour ride late brought us to our destination: Mussoorie. What a beautiful landscape, certainly befitting the praise of numerous authors and fellow travellers over the years. I whipped out my trustworthy, but road-worn camera, ready to devour once in a lifetime images of beauty. Or so I thought

Intermingled with this beautiful passage was garbage, litter, refuse, call it what you may. Did my eyes deceive me? Was this an illusion due to jet lag? Perhaps this was an isolated incident. I was wrong on all accounts. This beautiful hill station abounded with man-made rubbish! What I was expecting was a visual treat given the variety of plant-life found here and the geographic variety. What I got instead, was a rude awakening

My earlier readings had revealed Mussoorie to be dubbed, “the Queen of the foothills,” and for good reason. Founded in the 1800s during colonial times by the British, this sparsely inhabited hill station (by the likes of Welsh surveyor and geographer Sir George Everest), situated at an altitude of approximately 1800 meters, grew into the small bustling city it is now

This being my first trip I was expecting a visual and aural treat for the senses, given the plethora of flora and fauna in the region. What I was not prepared for were the piles of garbage strewn indiscriminately about the countryside

The burgeoning of Mussoorie into a well-populated city has stressed its natural ecosystem. An abundance of tourism and local housing development has increased the ‘human load.' Not infrequently, problems with trash over-abundance and collection issues, in addition to water scarcity, have come to rear their ugly face in this once peaceful abode

During my short visit, I was enthralled by the natural beauty present. At the same time, however, I was deeply troubled by the widespread presence of trash and refuse. Even the nearby town of Landour had not escaped this deluge of human waste (albeit on a smaller scale). Make no mistake about it: beyond every colourful flower, behind every flowering shrub, and underneath every picturesque bridge or park bench, litter is present. Natural beauty co-exists with man-made refuse in a bizarre manner. However, unlike the harmonious Taoist blending of opposing forces that occur in nature to create a harmonious unity, this pairing can only lead to the destabilisation of this delicate, already stressed ecosystem.So what is the solution and why, you may ask, am

 concerned? Though I am not a self-professed eco activist, I do understand the fragility of our natural environs and am concerned that we leave some semblance of nature for the future generations. The solution has to be a multi-tiered approach. Population growth continues, and with it, the amount of trash we produce. Perhaps on the government level, tougher zoning ordinances and designated wildlife refuge areas (no-build zones) would help. In addition fines for littering (though this would be difficult to enforce) would at least send a strong message that the hillside is not a dumping ground

Ultimately, deterrence can only help to a certain extent. It is up to the people to clean up their act. In 1985, the US state of Texas had a similar widespread highway littering problem. To remedy it, the Texas Department of Transportation unleashed a large scale public education program to battle this $20 million a year problem. Cleverly, it was titled, “Don't Mess With Texas”. Banners, slogans, advertisements and the use of prominent celebrities catapulted this program into the stratosphere. Did it work? You bet it did. Within a 4-year period, roadside litter decreased a remarkable 72 per cent

Now it's Mussoorie's turn. It faces a bigger challenge, as trash is rampant throughout the countryside. If this does not happen soon, in the not-so-distant future this once beautiful hill station will not be the ‘Queen of the Hills,', but rather the ‘Queen of the Landfills.

(Amit Bhan is a practicin physician in the US A, and an amateur photographer)

The Hindu, 15th April 2012

A gap in the boundary wall stares at visitors to the Qudsia Masjid in Old Delhi, where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is running a conservation programme. The gap, on the Ring Road side of the boundary wall, was a deliberate move by the authorities when a new boundary wall with a two-metre-tall iron railing was built around the monument. The ASI is yet to decide whether to put a gate in the gap or fill it

The 18th century monument, located at the junction of Ring Road and the Boulevard Road, figured for years in a list of 12 monuments in the ASI’s Delhi circle that faced encroachment. The squatters were evicted only after a case in Delhi High Court went in favour of the agency

“The court, however, allowed the prayers to be held there,” said a senior ASI official, on the condition of anonymity. This has meant a steady stream of visitors, especially on Fridays

There is pressure on the authorities to allow entry to more people for prayers amid palpable tension. One or two persons have also been seen staying at the monument overnight.
When this correspondent visited the monument on Monday, there were tell-tale signs of encroachment

Mats, a cooler and a cupboard were among other things to be seen in the arched verandah. Laundry hung from the clothesline near the wall facing the Ring Road. However, only those working on the conservation programme could be seen near the mosque

“Several attempts have been made to encroach the monument again. One of the occupants has filed a suit against the ASI,” said the official. “We have deliberately left the gap in the wall and are yet to take a final call in view of the developments.

The opening in the compound wall continues to be used as a thoroughfare by visitors to the Qudsia garden and also by those going westwards to Alipur Road and Shamnath Marg.

The Hindustan Times, 15th April 2012

There's something mighty attractive about the sight of animals in the wild, even if they look like they're not up to much

Boarding the van outside Port Elizabeth airport in South Africa's Eastern Cape, we, a bunch of around 10 journalists from all over, are told it's a short, picturesque drive to the Kariega Game Reserve we're headed. Picturesque it was, the road for most part running parallel to the still, jade shimmer of the Indian Ocean. When the wheels stop moving 90 minutes later, the radio guy from London drawls “That's the shortest half-hour I've ever seen, mate.

Must sound like a lame thing to say “I went to Africa and saw lions”. But then, that's the thing about lame things; they are highly attractive, and keep re-asserting themselves. At the game reserve, as we board the two green jeeps — Toyota Land Cruisers, elongated, roof removed and bars added — waiting to take us deep into the bushveld that forms a big part of this 9,000-hectare reserve, the game ranger manning the other vehicle lists a set of rules that can't be broken. “Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to stand up or leave the vehicle. You can click pictures, but no sudden movements. No littering. Cell phones should be switched off, as they interfere with our communication equipment. So, no calling home and going, ‘Mama! I'm watching a lion!'” Ground rules set, we proceed

It's past four in the evening, so any hope of catching at least one of the Big Five has a small time frame to survive in. Candice, our game ranger, is relatively new on the reserve, being there for a year now. But as she manoeuvres the vehicle as if it were Hot Wheels on a marble floor — to a just-out-of-driving-school rookie such as me, she seems a khaki-clad Superwoman

After passing a couple of white-faced blesbuck, we stop at a watering hole, where a still-as-Plaster-of-Paris heron eyes a grey-pink blob in the water sceptically. What looks like a turtle turned-turtle on the water surface happens to be a hippopotamus. It could have been eyeing us, or it couldn't care less. Disinterest meets disinterest, and we move on. It's quite tempting, making a noise just to see the heron fly, but one doesn't want to be fed to the lions (which, by the way, are still out of sight)

With every jeep track resembling another, don't people get lost, someone asks. “I once did, in the beginning,” Candice replies, pointing out to a distant communications tower that the rangers use as a landmark while driving around.One needs to watch out what with the thorn trees lurkin

 dangerously on the sides. We see herds of blue wildebeest walking past, showing off their blue-grey coats. There are giraffe too, bending down and feeding on the grass like cows instead of craning their necks towards trees — which our guide finds quite out-of-character

Despite regular monitoring, poaching is a problem at the reserve, the rhino being the most frequent victim. Though South Africa houses 90 per cent of the world's rhino population, the first three months of 2012 have seen more than a hundred falling prey to poaching. Though security has been beefed up at the reserve, poachers are more than keeping up — they now land in helicopters at night and it isn't until morning that the bloodied animals are discovered. (One rhino, Themba, gave in to injury-induced infection barely a week before our visit.

We're still far from any rhino, but we stop suddenly. Sprawled on the grass, barely 10 metres from the jeep track, is what's called ‘The Big Male'; we're told they prefer not to name the animals here as that's a very zoo thing to do. One of the two lions at the reserve, this one is quite oblivious to its surroundings, having feasted on an unfortunate four-legged being only a few hours ago. Belly bloated and heaving, he raises his tail once in a while in a lazy hello. There are hushed conversations on the handset and two more Land Cruisers join us (three being the maximum number of vehicles allowed to converge at a spot)

The chances of spotting the rest of the pride are suddenly real. Our moment comes all too soon, the next male being more camera-friendly than the earlier; we get to capture more than its tail. “What if he gets up?” someone asks anxiously. “I reverse,” is the reply

Not much later, the sun starts going down, and coats and blankets are pulled closer. Cricket chirps take over and, later, the water-colour sky withdraws to give way to a Milky Way that threatens to fall on your head. We have until 3 a.m. to be in the reserve, which, turns out to be one of those good things that takes its time to come

(The writer was in South Africa at the invitation of South African Tourism)

The Hindu, 16th April 2012

Over 300 tigers lost their lives in and outside various reserves in the country in the last decade, an RTI query has revealed.

Out of a total of 337 big cats, which died due to poaching, infighting, accidents and old age among others, a highest of 58 were found dead in 2009, followed by 56 in 2011, 36 in 2008 and 28 each in 2007 and 2002, the RTI reply said.

A total of 17 tigers, including cubs, were found dead in 2005, 16 each in 2003 and between January and March this year, and 14 in 2006, the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) said in reply to the RTI query.

According to the data, as many as 68 tigers were victims of poaching during the period. Besides, others had died of natural causes including old age, starvation, road and rail accidents, electrocution and weakness. Interestingly, there were about a dozen incidents in which the cause of tiger deaths "could not be ascertained".

A highest of 14 tigers were poached in 2010, 13 in 2009, 11 in 2011, nine in 2002, six each in 2007 and 2008, five in 2006, three in January and March this year and one in 2004. Surprisingly, postmortem reports in two tiger deaths reported in 2003 were still awaited, it said.

The Times of India, 16th April 2012

Eastertide is an entire season of faith, explains R.V. Smith

Eastertide lasts for 40 days — a duration longer than Christmastide, which ends with Twelfth Night. It's only with the feast of Pentecost or Whit Sunday that the Church bids goodbye to Easter. But three ceremonies associated with it revive memories — the making of holy oil, the blessing of fire and the making of holy water. The oil is sanctified at the chrismal mass in the beginning of the week after Palm Sunday. But earlier in the Delhi and its mother archdiocese of Agra, this ceremony took place on Maundy Thursday, though buns and not Maundy pennies were distributed on that day. The oil is used in the new Ecclesiastical year for anointing the faithful, including infants, the sick and dying. For the latter it is termed extreme unction

One remembers that during the days when Delhi too was administered by the Italian priests, Maundy Thursday was the occasion when the bishops of all the dioceses under Archbishop Vanni came to collect holy oil. But before that the cathedral witnessed one of its most colourful rituals. The Archbishop sat on his ceremonial chair in front of the high altar, made in Rome and presented by Messrs John & Company. Priests from nearby areas took part in the Gregorian Chant, which sounded just as sweet as the Sanskrit shlokas and reminded one that Latin and Sanskrit were part of the same linguistic root

The chanting priests were Italians, Anglo-Indians, Irish and Indians, among whom the voice of Fr Adeodatus was the most striking and easily recognisable. This saintly priest, who preferred to live like a rustic (with the gaonwala haircut) was based in Sardhana later, where after a long stint as in-charge of Begum Sumroo's church, he was murdered one night by robbers. His grave is situated near the church and highly venerated. Among the other priests, there was Fr Leo, also an Italian, the haftzaban padre, who knew several languages including Pashto as he had lived and worked in Kabul. Unfortunately Fr Leo also (born 1894) was murdered at the age of 73 in Mussoorie by a boy who worked for him. Then there was the handsome Fr Gabriel, the tall, silent sola topee-wearing Fr Bonaventure, in charge of Gwalior church parish, the elfin Fr Daniel, the Urdu-loving Fr Anthony Pyarelal, the Ven. Fr Luke, builder of Sacred Heart Cathedral, the aristocratic Fr Sinha and the graceful Monsignor Burke, along with the M.C., Fr Lawrance, OFM

Among the bishops, besides the one from Delhi, there were the ones of Allahabad, Lucknow and other places, at least three of whom were Italians. The Bishop of Lucknow was short and fat and still stands out in memory. During the holy oil rituals the bishops had to approach the Archbishop's chair, bowing and genuflecting several times to the chant of “Ave Santus Christna (which to schoolboys sounded like Krishna). Now in the Delhi Archdiocese the chrism (holy oil) mass is held on Tuesday (after Palm Sunday) when all the suffragan bishops of the Archdiocese congregate under Archbishop Vincent M. Concasso. Being a chip off the old block, the Archbishop continues to preside with old-world charm over the blessing of the fire at the Easter vigil mass and the making of holy water

One misses the bishops of old (some of them buried under the church altar donated by Anthony D' Mello) though, and their distinctive voices —the thin, piercing one of the prelate of Lucknow, and the baritone of Fr Adeodatus. But new voices are heard and when they pass into memory they too will sound just as sweet

While Eastertide lasts don't forget to collect some holy water. People of different faiths take a bottleful of it. Most ostensibly to ward off evil spirits. Others however await the visit of a priest for the annual blessing of houses. One old spinster who had an obsessive fear of vampires used to literally drag her parish priest to all the rooms of her sprawling house, and also to the terrace from where she thought the vampires came. But now she rests peacefully in Nicholson cemetery, outside Kashmere Gate

The Times of India, 16th April 2012

It all started with the renovation of one model block in Connaught Place in 2007. The massive project of giving a facelift to this commercial hub, which was once — and is still — a coveted address in Luytens’ Delhi, seems to be a never-ending one. After five years of working in the area, all that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has to show for it are dug-up spaces, exposed electric cables and pipelines, stained facades and chaos and congestion in general

If a person does not watch his step here, he is bound to trip. A few of the quaint shops, which once made CP stand apart from other shopping areas, have downed shutters, claim traders, as they have not been able to cope with losses over the years caused by the area being ‘out of bounds’ due to barricading. Fresh digging is still on in front of several blocks besides barricading at Janpath and Barakhamba Road

The ambitious ‘CP redevelopment plan’ — chalked out initially at an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore — included renovation of existing subways and construction of 12 new subways, facade restoration in all 16 floors, upgrade of parking lots and road networks, constructing a service utility corridor in the middle circle and seven radial roads (where all the services would be transferred), changing the flooring etc

This is the sixth revised deadline for the project, which originally was supposed to be completed by the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The work on the ground began only a year before the Games. Traders, however, are doubtful that the work will be completed by this year-end. They have been having meetings with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on this issue and she is expected to visit the area this week to take stock of the situation

“The work is progressing smoothly on the ground and we hope to wrap up everything by December 31, 2012. We want to cause minimal inconvenience to people and are trying to carry out the work in a phased manner,’’ said NDMC spokesperson Amit Prasad

“The slow pace of work in CP is a matter of concern. This area is getting a bad name because of this. It is uninhabitable and business is suffering terribly with many people having shut shop,’’ said Atul Bharghav, NDMC president

The facade restoration work, which has been on for nearly two years now, is still pending in blocks B, E and F as the contractor left the job midway and a new contractor had to be hired

According to traders, the work has been stuck for a year and lack of coordination among different contractors has added to the mess. Officials also cited labour shortage as another reason for the project being delayed

“Different packages of the project have been assigned to different contractors as each aspect requires specific expertise. We could not have taken each of these elements separately as this area could not have been re-dug again and again. Also, one of the main elements of this project included creating a utility service corridor. All utilities like electrical wires, water pipelines, telephone wires, etc, had to shifted underground. For this, we had to dig up the entire area,’’ said an NDMC official

The work of the service corridor along the radial roads and the Middle Circle as well as the subway work were supposed to have been completed by March 2012

“Electrical equipment and machinery like transformers, etc, which have to be placed in the service corridor are going to come soon. Cantilever beams are being put in place. The corridor work in the Middle Circle and the five radial roads will be completed by July. Work will now be taken up on two radials, Janpath and Barakhamba Road. Each radial will be completed within three months,’’ said the official

Traffic police permission is still pending to start work on these two radial roads so soft barricading has been done in these places

As far as the subways are concerned, of the five existing ones, escalators have been installed in two subways. Of the 12 new subways that were to be constructed, only four will be constructed after the NDMC faced major opposition to the project from the traders, who say many of these subways are unnecessary

However, NDMC claims that subways are being constructed only in places where there is a demand for it due to high pedestrian movement

“The new subways will come up at N-block near Statesman, M-block near Gopal Das Bhawan, G-block near Lady Hardinge Hospital and at H-block near New Delhi Railway Station Colony. The subways, which have been shelved, were the ones that were supposed to be made near Yusuf Zai Market, near MCD Market and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg,’’ said an NDMC official

In the M-block subway, the escalator which was installed a year ago is yet to start functioning. “We have to ensure a proper sewage line here before it we can make it functional,’’ said the official

Meanwhile, no decision has been taken on how to progress on other elements of the project like changing the flooring, air-conditioning etc. The Connaught Place renovation plan, meanwhile, just like the broken-circle commercial hub, seems to be just going around in circles

The Indian Express, 17th March 2012

An informative and analytical anthology that shows how rich Indian historiography has been

History is the knowledge of a retrievable human past. In one sense it is what the historian does, but in another, it is available to the historian and society as a collective of accumulated, debated, dialogued, refuted, amended, renewed knowledge to choose from and build on. Historiography unfolds this rich terrain that has gone under the historian's plough and the ideas and strategies that have gone into coaxing what is shown as a harvest of truth. Approaches to History puts together 10 critical essays of stock-taking and introspection on various aspects of Indian historical writings. They illumine several themes of interest and relevance which mainstream historiography had loftily overlooked

Archana Prasad has shown how the historiography of tribal societies has moved out of the domain of ethnographers and anthropologists to be linked to development strategies of modernisation, capitalist domination, ecological questions and the conundrum of preserving the tribal identities while yet forcing or coaxing them to change. Himanshu Prabha Ray's “Writings on the Maritime History of Ancient India” confidently and felicitously takes us to the maritime space created or occupied in ancient India from time to time, its cartographical imaginings and realities, maritime trade and their changing partnerships and the various other seductions for negotiations and integrations. The essay lays out a rich fare of scholarship that has gone into tracing the influence of sea in the making of civilisations on land

Tool-makers

Another brilliant, analytical survey that adds substance and value to the anthology is Shereen Ratnagar's “Approaches to the Study of Ancient Technology”. Archaeologists have shown that civilisations are created, among other things, by tool-making and tool-wielding humans. The essay brings out the invention, spread, adoption and adaptation of technologies that helped the humans to deal with various materials and metals and their bearing on transportation and long-distance trade, urbanism, social change and the emergence of the state, without slipping into any deterministic sequence or logic

Sashi Bhushan Upadhyay has made a historiographic survey of Indian Labour history, identifying the various trends that marked its study in the colonial period, the Marxist-nationalist post-Independence phase, and the shifts in thinking that were seen subsequently that brought into the ambit of study such areas as agrarian labour, un-free labour, informal labour, women labour, emigrant labour and so on

Kaushik Roy's essay on the “Writings on Indian Military History”, a theme not quite fashionable, and even ‘politically incorrect', but is both extensive in scope and insightful in intent, bringing together studies that described battles, strategies, technologies of offence and defence, their impact on society, state-building, culture, ecology and so on. Roy's comment that the New Military History approach has demilitarised military history is interesting, though

John C.B. Webster's essay, “Christian History as Indian Social History” highlights the impact of various assumptions and ideologies from modernisation theories to post-modernism. However, he thinks that a ‘conflict model' is a realistic and illuminating approach to study Indian social history

Entrenched patriarchy

The problem of gender in the writing of south Indian history is competently addressed by Vijaya Ramaswamy. She touches upon entrenched patriarchy in society as well as writings on it, and issues like marriage, notions of chastity, the declining status of temple women to dancing girls, women as property-holders, and their role in economy and politics or in the domain of religion. Sajal Nag's insightful piece on the ‘Contradictory Trends in Historical Research in North-East India' shows how the Assamese had moved out of the stage of Buranjis to modern historical awareness and methods, and yet had to accommodate the contradiction of contesting exclusion and resisting inclusion

J.S. Grewal's essay makes a magisterial survey of Sikh religion, history and literature from the pre-1849 period to the present. Yagati Chinna Rao's essay ably surveys the trends in writing Dalit history in India and rightly raises the vexed question of its apparent neglect

Approaches to History is a superb anthology, for the choice of the themes as well as for the scholarly ways of addressing the scholarship there. All essays in the book are informative and analytical, none polemical, and some truly brilliant. They show how rich and adventurous Indian historiography has been, and may hopefully nudge the mulish no-changers to see that there is more to history than just drum-and-trumpet. We need more such nudges

The Hindu, 17th April 2012

A report commissioned by the government has recommended that 34 dams on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers - the two main tributaries of the Ganga - should not be allowed to come up as they will cause irrevocable harm to biodiversity in Uttarakhand

Prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the report flashes a red light with regard to the hydroelectric projects that add up to 2,600 MW and make for about a tenth of all small and big dams on the anvil in the state

The report, prepared at the behest of the environment ministry, also recommends maintenance of a minimum ecological flow at different points along river stretches that can impact production of power from other dams. If the suggestion is accepted, these power projects will have to function at a lower than planned production level

The report comes ahead of a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. The meeting was called after G D Agarwal, earlier a member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board and a professor at IIT Kanpur, went on fast to demand dams in Uttarakhand be stopped and the river be allowed to flow freely

The big projects in the "red list" include the 530 MW Kotlibhel II, the 250 MW Tamak Lata on Dhauli Ganga, the 320 MW Kotlibhel IB on Alaknanda, the 381 MW Bharon Ghati and the195 MW Kotlibhel IA on Bhagirathi. The WII report notes, "The scenarios (with the 34 dams being excluded) also provide adequate basis...to applying an 'exclusion approach' across the two basins for securing key biodiversity values.

Stopping the dams, the report says, is important to safeguard "critically important habitats and designated protected areas". While WII has not used words like "stop" and "rollback", its uses of the term "excluded" is intended to signal that it will opt for conserving biodiversity over power production goals

The debate within government and among activists has been raging for almost two years with some asking that all projects be halted till a cumulative assessment is undertaken. Earlier, the 'holy' nature of the river was evoked by the government to stop some upcoming dams, while invoking the fiscal imperative to continue projects that are heavily invested in

The meeting on Tuesday has been preceded by state officers as well as the Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan meeting PMO brass separately over the past two days. The PM is expected to hold the meeting on Tuesday with some of Agarwal's team members expected to be present as special invitees.

The Times of India, 17th April 2012

The Delhi Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has been appointed by the Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation for preparing a nomination dossier to inscribe Delhi on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Cities

As part of the process, the Heritage Education & Communication Service wing of INTACH is reaching out to young citizens of Delhi in schools across the city through an awareness campaign.

WORKSHOP CONDUCTED

A workshop to achieve the same objective was conducted in the city this past week in which HECS Director Purnima Datt explained the programme to participants and also enlightened teachers on Delhi's rich heritage

A presentation on the nomination process and the aim and objective of nominating Delhi as a world heritage city was also made by INTACH Delhi Chapter co-convenor Swapna Liddle

ADOPTING A MONUMENT

The second half of the workshop on “Adopt a Monument” began with a discussion on adopting a monument by K. K. Mohammad of the Archaeology Survey of India, Delhi Circle.

The Hindu, 17th April 2012

In 1974, 25-year-old Jonathan Scott, who had just graduated with a degree in Zoology from Queen’s University Belfast, jumped onto an overland truck headed for South Africa

Four months later, he landed up in Johannesburg — having first passed through places as exotic as the Congo — and knew he was never going back home to England

In the years since, Jonathan and his wife Angela (whom he married in 1992) have gained a reputation as the leading wildlife and travel photographers in the world, they’ve penned numerous books on the subjects their lenses are so often trained on, and have even presented the popular show, Big Cat Diary, on BBC

In between winning photography awards and conducting workshops in exotic locations, the Scotts also make time to serve on the boards of various foundations involved in the conservation cause (“To me, a lion or a leopard is as beautiful as a painting by Picasso,” says Jonathan)

Jonathan is a tall, wiry man, still handsome in his 60s. A compact camera is clipped discreetly at his belt, he admits he’s “addicted to taking photos”

That’s probably a good thing since Jon and Angie tend to work nearly 14-hour days — especially if they’re on their home grounds (the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya). Their day typically begins at 5 am, there is a compelling need to make the most of the light so working through the heat of the afternoon is a given, and when the light fades, it’s time to file their photos and articles for the many agencies they contribute to

Even when they’re travelling, it’s usually part of a working expedition (giving lectures, mentoring photography enthusiasts or doing a test run for an upcoming guided tour)

Holidays? Never! “It’s fortunate that both Angie and I are very driven,” Jon says. “There’s never a time when we feel that the other is being lazy and not doing their fair share of work, whether it’s carrying the cameras or anything else. Of course, it helps that we have two pairs of hands for everything!

Indeed, teamwork is the magic principle that seems to have made all things possible for the Scotts — it reflects in the joint bylines they take for their photographs, and in the way Jon speaks of his wife (who was down with a chest infection at the time of the interview)

“Angie’s a very intuitive photographer, while I’m more of an action guy, I like to get right in the middle of things,” he says. “People tend to think of photography as a very solitary pursuit, because at the end of the day, there’s just one person behind the camera. Also, photography in a sense is very selfish, acquisitive — you don’t want anyone else to get ‘your’ shot. But Angie and I don’t think like that at all.

Among all the animals they’ve chronicled in their books, photos, pen and ink illustrations and TV shows, Jon admits the leopard continues to exert the maximum fascination: “The leopard is the most enigmatic of all creatures. Something within me responds to the predator in them. I don’t want to hunt or kill, but when that leopard is streaking down the plains, I’m right there with it.

There are other ways in which the Scottts identify with their untamed subjects; certainly, their philosophy towards life and work has been inspired by the close contact they’ve had with the animals they’ve documented

Jon says, “An old lion — one of the Marsh Pride lions we documented in Big Cat Diary — was recently killed by some Masai tribesmen. It had come to a point where the only way it could survive was by preying on their livestock. But it never gave up, even when it got old. Its life was so extraordinarily precious to it that despite its age, it would still go out to hunt every day. A lot of people think that we’re very brave or courageous because of what we do. But the risk is minimal because we know how to work with the animals. I think we’re courageous in the sense that we get up every day and go out and do our thing. It doesn’t matter if we’re feeling lousy or if we’re unwell. We don’t ever let that be an excuse.

The Asian Age, 18th April 2012

A pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s distinctive round steel-rimmed spectacles were sold for a record £39,780 at an auction conducted Tuesday afternoon by Mullock’s at Ludlow in Shropshire

The glasses, kept in their original metal case now corroded with age, with the original felt bearing the name of H. Cannam Optician 23, St. Aldate Street, Gloucester, were bought by Bapu while he was a student in England in the 1890s. They were expected to sell for £10,000-£15,000

The auction house didn’t disclose the buyer’s identity, saying the bid was received on the telephone

Gandhi’s wooden charkha, which he used during his 1931 London visit for the second Round Table Conference, sold for £30,420, double the estimated £10,000-£15,000

The Asian Age, 18th April 2012

Observing that time was running out to save the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked States to take action against industries polluting the river

Addressing the third meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) here on Tuesday, Dr. Singh expressed unhappiness over the States' efforts in sewage treatment

He asked the State governments to send proposals for new sewage treatment plants, for which adequate funding was available with the Centre. Over 2,900 million litres of sewage was discharged into the river daily

(Last month, three non-official members of the Authority — Ravi Chopra, Rajendra Singh and R.H. Siddiqui — put in their papers, charging the Prime Minister with being indifferent to the cause.

Dr. Singh reiterated his and the government's commitment to conserving the Ganga: “We should remember that our efforts in the past have not been very successful. Therefore, we must together show a renewed and sincere commitment in both thought and action to make a definite change in the situation. We must find the right balance between the need for environmental and ecological conservation of the Ganga and its basin on the one hand and the imperatives of growth and development on the other.”Pointing out that the State Pollution Control Boards should monitor th

 compliance with effluent discharge standards and take action against defaulting industries, Dr. Singh said industrial effluents, though only 20 per cent of total effluents, were a cause for major concern as they were toxic and non-biodegradable. “Time is not on our side and we have to act quickly,” Dr. Singh said, adding that the solutions to these issues should not be piecemeal but meet the test of scientific reasoning

Dr. Singh said in order to formulate long-term policies and actions, the Ministry of Environment and Forests commissioned a consortium of seven Indian Institutes of Technology to prepare a comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for the Ganga. The plan would recommend measures to restore and maintain the ecological health of the river, giving due regard to the competing water uses

The Hindu, 18th April 2012

Going by the latest report ondeforestation in India, we have lost forest area equivalent to more than half of New Delhi or as big as a tier two city between 2007 and 2009 alone.

The study conducted by a team of forestry researchers at the Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bangalore for " Current Science" journal says that massive deforestation has been masked by Forest Survey of India's afforestation data. The IISc study contradicts FSI's forest-cover figures and highlights a loss of 99,850 hectares of forests in two years.

"The 99,850 hectares lost in two years is not small because this also includes natural forests. But deforestation is masked because of afforestation and social forestry programs. Deforestation of very dense to moderately dense forests is an area of concern. There is also no distinction between plantation and forests. Our study demystifies the myth that there is no deforestation in India," said N H Ravindranath, lead author of the study 'Deforestation and forest degradation in India -implications for REDD+'.

The report also indicates annual deforestation of 63,650 hectares in 2005-07 and as much as over 1 lakh hectares in 2003-05.

Deforestation as per district wise figures in the 2011 FSI report is highest in Andhra Pradesh, where 28,100 hectares were lost in two years and in several parts of northeast. In Manipur 19,000 hectares were lost between 2007 and 2009 and 14,600 hectares in Nagaland was lost.

TOI had carried a report on January 7, 2012, 'India's forest cover falling: Study' that quoted FSI report's national deforestation estimate to be 367 sq km or 36,700 hectares between 2007 and 2009. But Ravindranath's team analysed the district level deforestation data by comparing forest cover figures for every district published in FSI reports. Deforestation figures turned out to be way higher than what FSI had quoted.

"The total deforestation figure given by FSI varies from the district-wise assessment that we have done from FSI data. The data is different because the national deforestation figures given by FSI masks deforestation in districts," Ravindranath said.
The Times of India, 19th April 2012

School children treated to Capital's fables, murders, battles and more....

There is a ghost in every nook and cranny of this ancient city. After all it is fabled to have been rebuilt seven times, a cemetery here and a tomb there, some grand, some obscure but almost all dilapidated, which only adds to its ghostly allure

But what of Kashmere Gate and its surroundings

On the World Heritage Day on Wednesday, some school children were taken on a walk through time by heritage consultant Navina Jafa to meet the area's ghosts and get acquainted with its juicy history, rife with ghastly murders, illicit affairs and battles won and lost

“If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here!” -- this Persian couplet on Kashmir inspired Emperor Shah Jahan, renowned for his extravagance and love for all things beautiful, to name the northern entranceway to his beloved city of Shahjahanabad after Kashmir, wanting visitors to know that they were in essence entering paradise

The gate remained just a gate until the 1857 uprising. “The gate was almost gutted in the rising and an elite market came up here. It was a time when British officers posted here were making good money and therefore English women came in droves to India to hunt for eligible husbands. Infamously known as “shipping fleets”, these women came here, dressed in lace and parasols to see and to be seen,” said Dr. Jafa to the accompaniment of giggles from the school girls and guffaws from the boys

The ghost story then follows. “It is rumoured that every night there can be seen a white woman who sits with her hookah and lures inside the gate any nice-looking young man unfortunate to be passing by.

A few blocks away is the pretty yellow-and-white St. James Church. It was built by James Skinner, a man who liked to fight and whose 14 wives bore him many children. “Skinner was once badly wounded in the battle, almost at death's door. He made a vow that if he managed to survive, he would build a church. A woman found Skinner and saved him – thus the church's name – redemption.

Skinner also raised a regiment known for their strong steeds and yellow uniforms which is now part of the Indian Army

The Church of Redemption is also home to William Frazier's remains, a British officer murdered by the Nawab of Ferozepur on suspicion that he was having an affair with his sister

Next is a building that currently belongs to the Guru Gobind Singh University. “This building has changed hands several times but it was first a library belonging to Dara Shikoh, son and heir apparent of Shah Jahan, but beheaded by his brother Aurangzeb.

Around 1837 it passed on to David Ochterlony. “He had several Indian wives and he paraded them on elephants through Kashmere Gate.

The last stop is at the telegraph memorial dedicated to British soldiers who blew up an ammunition loaded magazine to guard themselves from an imminent attack during the 1857 uprising

However, the day is not over yet. “One last ghost story, please!” implore the girls. “Well, our last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar died outside his beloved city, so his ghost along with the ghost of his favourite wife Zeenat Mahal comes out every Thursday night from Lahori Gate and take a walk around Chandni Chowk,” added Dr. Navin

The walk, organised by the Delhi Government's Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation, was initiated by Chief Secretary P. K. Tripathi. The organisation takes school children on regular heritage walks and also has a Facebook page

 The Hindu, 19th April 2012

It was perhaps one of the most closely followed trials of 19th-century Bengal. Elokeshi, the 16-year-old housewife of Bengali government employee Nobin Chandra, had an affair with the head priest of the Tarakeshwar Shiva temple. Chandra decapitated her with a fish knife, and what followed was a trial that lasted for years. Long queues were seen outside the court. The scandal had become a part of people’s lives — and the arts. Years later, the incident has been renewed in public memory. But this time, in the corridors of Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). It has a dedicated section in an exhibition featuring Kalighat paintings — the art form practised by the patuas or ‘painters on cloth’ who established base near the Kali temple on Ganges in the 19th century

“The selection is representative of the stylistic changes that took place in Kalighat paintings over the years,” says Rajeev Lochan, director, NGMA, as he introduces the exhibition curated from the collection of Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum, London. Arguably, the V&A has the largest collection of Kalighat paintings in the world. Recognised for its swift brush strokes, the genre often borrowed from mythology and later depicted the constant change in the surroundings that resulted from interactions with the colonial masters. “The Kalighat painters not only became the first contemporaries of Indian art, but also anticipated the popular culture of the 20th century that was to follow,” adds Lochan

The works of art represent the transition. It is the meeting of two cultures — Indian and European — that makes the exhibition striking. The aspirational Bengali babu dominates the section “Social Commentaries, Proverbs and Animals” — dressed in a pleated dhoti and a handkerchief in his pocket, he keeps pets and sports the ‘Albert’ hairstyle, attributed to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert. The European masters introduced him to innumerable sports, from wrestling to horse race

In the section titled “Scenes from the Life of Krishna and Scenes from Epics”, one sees the incorporation of contemporary elements in traditional Kalighat patterns. So, Lord Krishna plays the violin. In another work, at the coronation ceremony, Ram and Sita’s throne has drape curtains akin to western theatre. “The old and new images are seemingly layered one upon another on a transparent plane,” notes Lochan

Now, a century later, Kalighat paintings are no longer distributed as souvenirs to visitors to the Kali temple in Kolkata, like earlier. Yet, experimentation with the theme continues. Represented in the exhibition are patua artists such as Kalam Patua and Anwar Chitrakar. The strokes keep the Kalighat art tradition clearly alive but the imagery has changed — it’s the Bengal of today, with concerns of corruption, pollution and urban development, sexuality and humour .

The Indian Express, 20th April 2012

The Munda tribals of Jharkhand are holding up the flag of ‘community forest management' despite the Forest Rights Act eluding them

Garurpidi Village, barely 35 km from the capital city of Ranchi in Jharkhand, is too small to count. That it does not appear on an internet search is proof enough in today's technology-driven world. This ‘backward' village, located in Namkum Block of Ranchi District, is as nondescript as any of India's 6.4 lakh villages. What sets it apart is its people's silent successful effort to keep alive the tradition of protecting its forests – the greenery that is the basis of their life, livelihood and inspiration. Their ethos is simple, “The forest is our mother. We live by her affection, without which life cannot sustain”

The hamlet of Garurpidi houses nearly two hundred members of the Munda community. There is a clear absence of the basic essentials like electricity, roads and health services here, yet this diffident community has nothing to complain about. Accepting exclusion from development as their destiny, the Mundas continue to believe in their inherited wisdom, walking in the footsteps of their ancestors, and takeing the onus of protecting and conserving its own forests

From shepherd to Pahan (the religious head), every single individual in the community, irrespective of social status, bears the responsibility of protecting the natural asset

Protection and conservation is done by setting up their own security system. Three teams with ten boys each have specific tasks assigned to them. For instance, every team will guard the forest for four hours each during different times of the day. The role of shepherds is crucial: while grazing the livestock, they safeguard the forest

There are few but strict rules and regulations laid down by the villagers, dutifully followed by every member of the community. No one is allowed to axe down a young and fruitful tree. For fuel, only dry leaves and wood can be used. There is strict prohibition on the exchange of jungle wood for monetary compensation. The amount of wood required by each house is also decided in community gatherings and then distributed accordingly. The forest is never subjected to the high-handedness of any particular individual

According to Etwa Munda, a freelance journalist, “Villagers have had this inclination towards the security of the forest, the only source of their sustenance since time immemorial. Like the other forests in the State, the natural wealth of Garurpidi was at threat from the mafia which couldn't penetrate the defence layer of the villagers who stood united against the selfish marauders. This is the only reason why valuable trees still survive and flourish in the region.

For sustenance, villagers trim the forests once a year. This helps the trees grow faster and healthier. This they do without any help from the forest department which, like roads and electricity, is effectively missing from the picture

Curiously, the forest officers have held back from joining hands with the community in what is essentially their professional mandate. The presence of Naxals in the region is many a times seen as a reason for their passivity. No programme has been initiated by the officials so far for the conservation of the forests. The other issue raised by the community many a times before the forest officials is the allowance of the land to the people residing in or near the forest under the Forest Rights Act

According to Purnendra Munda, an active member of the tribe, “The forest officials are avoiding offering the land to the beneficiaries. They continuously misdirect us in the official procedures under the Forest Rights Act, telling us that officials will complete this task only when they will come to the village. Seeing the current relationship of the officials with the Naxal infested village, we are guessing our wait for them will be quite long.

Despite all the hopelessness around them, the villagers here are incessantly working for the betterment of the forest. The reason for their deep understanding and relationship with the woods is their ancient involvement with nature. In ancient times, the Munda tribes were the traditional wood cutters who later shifted to agriculture for their livelihood. Today, in the absence of irrigation sources, there sole source of water supply remains the natural rains. That is the reason they deeply understand the significance of the forests for their very survival. Budhram Munda, a local, maintains that the destruction of the forest will lead to the destruction of the community

Today, when issues like global warming and deforestation are looming larger over the rest of the world, the Munda tribals are holding up the flag of ‘Community Forest Management' in their backward region. Their affection and dedication is showing the world a fresh way of looking at our natural resources

 The Hindu, 20th April 2012

Indian and Pakistani glaciologists have crossed swords over whether the Siachen glacier is melting or not.

Leading Indian glaciologist Dr Vijay Kumar Raina, formerly of the Geological Survey of India and author of a report on glaciers prepared for the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) in 2010 has stated categorically that the Siachen glacier is stable and reports that it has shrunk by as much as 50 per cent are “false”

“The Siachen glacier has not shown any remarkable retreat in the last 50 years,” Raina and his team arrived at the conclusion based in part on field measurements by ecologist Kireet Kumar of the G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development in Almora

Pakistani environmentalists have a contrary take on this. Faisal Nadeem Gorchani of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute(SDPI) in Islamabad claims the glacier had shrunk by 10 km in the last 35 years. “More than half of the glacier reduction comes from the military presence’ Gorchani claims while Pakistani hydrologist and Siachen specialist Arshad Abbasi (also with SDPI) has given an even more alarming assessment of the glacier’s retreat

Abassi maintains that the rise in temperature in the northern areas (by 0.76°C) is the direct result of military intervention where chemicals are being used by both countries to cut through glacial ice to construct bunkers, camps and helipads.Pakistani experts maintain that the tragedy in the Gayar sector which resulted in over 120 of their soldiers losing lives was a result of a “glacial surge” whereby the base of the glacier melted resulting in the transference of a large volume of ice on the Pakistani Army camp

Both countries do agree that waste from the military camps is a major problem as this is harming the local environment and threatening to pollute the water systems

Gopal Krishna of Toxicswatch Alliance has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari asking both leaders to agree to convert the Siachen glacier into a “nature and peace park”

“Whatever both sides may say, no one can deny that the health o glaciers in our region is on the decline,” Mr Krishan added

The Deccan Herald, 20th April 2012

The Centre on Thursday shied away from taking a stand in the Supreme Court on whether it intended to confer national monument status on Ram Sethu, a geographical feature in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka resembling the mythological bridge built by Lord Rama's monkey army in epic Ramayana

On March 27, the court had asked the Centre to spell out its stand on Ram Sethu while hearing a five-year-old petition by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy seeking national monument status for Ram Sethu and scrapping of the Sethu Samudram shipping channel project on the ground that it involved dredging of the revered mythological feature

Additional solicitor general Harin Raval informed a bench of Justices H L Dattu and A R Dave that he had received no instruction from the Centre on filing of an affidavit to respond to Swamy's petition

"I asked them (the officials concerned) in writing but they have not responded. Even today I asked them is that what you want me to say that the government does not wish to file any affidavit. But there was no answer. I am in a dilemma," the ASG said

The bench understood the law officer's predicament and decided to proceed with the hearing of Swamy's petition in the third week of August if there were no affidavit from either the Centre or Tamil Nadu government

The bench told Raval: "This court cannot direct you to file a counter affidavit. It is for you to say this is our stand...for the present we will say that none of the contesting respondents intend to file any affidavit.

The ASG said that he was not in a position to state anything further to the apex court. The bench said: "We know you have to go by instruction. You may have your reservations on the instructions received but you cannot take a different stand.

Four years ago, the Centre had created a flutter by filing an affidavit doubting the existence of Ram Sethu and Lord Rama in its response to the petition challenging the dredging of the geographical feature, now referred scientifically as Adam's Bridge. But, it had hurriedly withdrawn the affidavit from the apex court to quell a raging controversy over its stand

Swamy attempted to take advantage of the Centre's dilemma and said: "It is unprecedented. This means the Government has nothing to say on my contention. It is quite interesting as it is a matter of government policy and the government has nothing to say on it.

Raval said that the Centre would prefer to go by its earlier affidavit in the main matter filed on July 29, 2008. The Centre had contended that Parliament had the sole power to declare any historical or geographical heritage or building or feature as a national monument

Whether an ancient monument is of national importance was entirely left to Parliament to decide and to this extent, the demand by several petitioners to declare it as a national monument could not be entertained by Courts, the Centre had argued.

The Times of India, 20th April 2012

A team of scientists from the University of Kerala; Central University, Kasaragod; and Natural History Museum, London, have reported the discovery of a new species of caecilian (limbless) amphibian from the southern region of the Western Ghats in Kerala

Gegeneophis primus belongs to the Indotyphlidae family comprising African, Seychellean and Indian varieties. It is the first new species of Gegeneophisreported from Kerala since1964. The species were collected from the Sugandhagiri Cardamom Estate neighbouring an evergreen forest at Vythiri in the northern district of Wayanad

The team, including K. Ramachandran from the University of Kerala, Oommen V. Oommen from the Central University and David J. Gower and Mark Wilkinson from the Natural History Museum found that the species, unlike other Gegeneophis, lacked scales and secondary annular grooves, as well as a well-developed terminal shield

Measuring approximately 168 mm in length and pink in colour, the specimens were dug out from moist soil along the shrub-covered banks of a stream under a dense canopy

Chance find

The researchers stumbled upon the new species while on the trail of another caecilian spotted in Kerala 142 years ago. After a second collection from the same location, the identification was confirmed by scientists at the Natural History Museum

The finding has been reported in the latest edition of Zootaxa, an international journal for zoological taxonomists. The wider distribution, natural history and habitat preferences of the species are yet to be determined

The paper notes that the population of G.primus at the locality from where it was found was not likely to be under threat as long as the habitat was maintained. The team has proposed that the conservation status of the species be classified as Data Deficient under the IUCN Red List criteria. The paper suggests the common name of Malabar Cardamom Geg for the species, indicating the northern part of the State and the cardamom estate from where it was discovered

G.primus is only the third Indotyphlid caecilian species reported from Kerala after G.carnosus, described by Beddome in 1870 and G. ramaswami by Taylor in 1964

Dr. Oommen said the discovery was significant since the finding ended a hiatus of almost half-a-century. “It highlights the fact that the knowledge of caecilian amphibians of the Western Ghats remains incomplete and in need of further study.

 The Hindu, 21st April 2012

PWD and Irrigation Minister Shivpal Yadav has issued directives to the district administration to clear the Yamuna floodplain land in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The vast tract of land, owned by the state's irrigation department, has been gobbled up by land sharks. Several farmhouses have been constructed in the ecologically sensitive Yamuna encatchment area.

Shivpal issued the directives during his inspection at the Yamuna floodplain and Okhla Barrage on Thursday. "Do anything, but remove these encroachments. Kuch bhi karo," Shivpal told the administration.

The minister also asked the administration to lodge FIRs against the encroachers and send them to jail. "The Yamuna floodplain should be cleared of all encroachments. The land belongs to the irrigation department and strong action will be taken against the defaulters," said Shivpal

The floodplain land, known as Khadar or agricultural land, comprises a 25 km stretch running beside the Yamuna. The land was originally meant for farming by local villagers or gram sabha. No permanent construction is allowed there. However, the land has been encroached by various builders, who have sold it for a fortune, and farmhouses have come up. "These farmhouses are totally illegal and also violate the ecological balance," said Shivpal.

The encroachment of land and developing of land, however, did not happen overnight. The district administration, police and irrigation department had turned a Nelson's eye to the developments, he said.

Shivpal also inspected the Okhla barrage and ordered its desilting. "It has not been done for the past 25 years. Accumulation of silt has reduced the storage capacity from seven days to two days, resulting in water crisis in Agra, Noida and Mathura," said Shivpal. The process of desilting is expected to cost Rs 18 crore.

Shivpal also stated that desilting of canals in the state will now be conducted twice a year before releasing the water. Earlier it was an annual process. "In the previous regime, it was all fake and the canals were never cleaned. We will probe these incidents," said Shivpal

The Indian Express, 21st April 2012

Water experts warn that India’s major rivers, including Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Krishna, Godavari and Chambal, could soon dry up due to blatant sand and gravel mining being spearheaded by the mining mafia.

So blatant are their activities that the water experts warn entire river systems are being destroyed by their illegal activities.

Sand is vital for the health of the river system because it acts like a sponge helping to recharge the water table. Its progressive depletion results in plunging water tables and increased velocity of river flow.

Kerala’s second-longest river Bharathappuzha personifies what indiscriminate sand mining can do. Not only have water tables dropped along the length of the river but Palakkad, known as the rice bowl of Kerala, faced one of its worst droughts in 2011.

The situation is no better in Andhra Pradesh with farmers in Guntur having sought relief from the high court to end sand mining on the Krishna river bed.

There are no official figures but experts believe 300 trucks of sand worth `1 crore per annum arrive in Hyderabad every day from the Guntur district.

With sand from the Godavari being considered of better quality than that of the Krishna river, it is being sold at twice the price fetching bigger profits for this mafia

Till two years ago, the Godavari river was brimming with water but now its waters have shrunk so much so that scores of villages in Paithan tehsil are being forced to buy water from tankers

No state personifies this more that Madhya Pradesh where over 24,000 cases related to illegal mining have been registered in courts across the state in the last five years.

Mining of iron ore, manganese, bauxite, coal and stone and sand quarrying are being carried along the length of Narmada, Chambal and other leading rivers.

Bhopal-based Right to Information expert Ajay Dubey warns that with 5,469 official mines, one-third of the state is under mining.

“India has the third-largest construction business after China and the US and its 12th Five Year Plan projects an investment of 10 per cent of the GDP amounting to `45 trillion in infrastructure. Massive sand mining is linked to this,” said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, adding, “It the country’s water sources dry out, we will be hit by a devastating famine that will scourge the length of the land.

The Asian Age, 21st April 2012

The magnificent sprawling forts of Rajasthan have attracted visitors from across the world for ages. Now the gargantuan Amer Fort which has fascinated monument-lovers no end has been portrayed on the canvas by a seasoned Rajasthani artist, Bhim Singh Hada

Twelve paintings of the fort and four figurative works will be on display at a week-long solo exhibition which opens at the All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS) gallery on Rafi Marg here this Monday

For Bhim Singh Hada, who was born at Kota in Rajasthan in 1957 and lived all his life in the desert State, Rajasthan forts need to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. He feels the upkeep of monuments must be the top priority of the powers that be. He also wants the public to realise that they must not scribble anything on the historic monuments or damage the property

Bhim Singh Hada was eager to come out with an exhibition on the historic fort when he learnt that there was demand that ‘Amer ka Qila', as it is fondly called in local parlance, be given the status of World Heritage Site

“For a person like me who has seen this marvellously constructed fort on innumerable occasions, it was a dream to produce a series of art works which would make the policymakers realise the need to do something urgently to preserve this monument and to see to it that the Amer Fort be given the status of World Heritage Site,” says this self-taught artist

For his first show in Delhi, Bhim Singh knew he had to do planning and methodical execution. For one-and-a-half years he regularly visited the Amer Fort and observed it from different angles. “Patience and perseverance have been the key to portray this fort in different oil paintings. My observation has been different from what the public see when it visits the fort. The idea was to show the fort from different angles and make people understand why this monument is one of the most sought after in this country.

According to senior artist Dr. Sumahendra, whenever realistic painters have held their exhibitions, they have always been encouraged by art lovers. “Bhim Singh Hada is one such bold artist who has a different approach towards creating paintings. He has portrayed the Amer Fort, situated in an old town north of Jaipur.

Complimenting the artist for working systematically to produce a set of paintings, Dr. Sumahendra says the artist will astonish discerning art lovers with his eye for detail. “An important aspect in his paintings is that apart from skilful rendering Bhim Singh Hada has also worked on every minute detail of architecture. He has given accurate details from foreground to infinity.” Bhim Singh Hada's contemporaries acknowledge his command and mastery to produce realistic paintings

The exhibition, opening this Monday at AIFACS at 5 p.m., will be on up to April 29

The Hindu, 21st April 2012

Bodh Gaya in Bihar is a place of international interest due to its religious importance for Buddhists all over the world. More than 15 lakh people visit Bodh Gaya every year, but it does not get the care that it deserves. While the tree under which Lord Buddha is said to have meditated runs the risk of getting choked by marble tiles around it, three sites of historical importance around the Mahabodhi Temple face utter neglect.In 2005, an advisory committee of experts headed by a former director o

 the Archeological Survey of India, Jagpati Prasad, found that marble tiles around the Mahabodhi tree had been hampering growth of the tree and might affect its longevity too

This committee and the Forest Research Institute of Dehra Dun suggested immediate removal of the tiles. But the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) is yet to take any action. BTMC functions under the supervision of the state government and is chaired by the Gaya district magistrate

Arup Brahmachari, a local activist popularly known as Swamiji, says, “I have written over 200 letters to BTMC authorities, ASI and many experts but that didn’t help. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also instructed BTMC to remove the marble tiles but nothing changed.

S K Manjul, ASI superintendent, Patna circle, says, “We have just received a proposal from BTMC to carry repair at railings near the tree and inner recesses of the temple. But the proposal does not include removal of marble tiles.

Arvind Singh, a state government nominee in BTMC, said the final decision on removing marble tiles was yet to be taken. “The BTMC had a meeting last week and decided to discuss it with ASI and the Forest Research Institute and then take a final call.

Two acres of land just behind the Mahabodhi Temple, part of Taradih village, were vacated for excavation by the ASI. The excavation, which took place between 1974 and 1980, threw up a unique combination of remnants from seven periods of history. Dr Rajiv Kumar, who has conducted research on the Buddhist sites of Bodh Gaya, says, “As a student and Bodh Gaya resident, I had closely followed the excavation that revealed remnants from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Buddhist, Kushana, Gupta, Pala and the present period. ASI had to stop the excavation because of a fund crunch and hand over the site to the culture department of the state government.

The site, now used as a dumping ground, has a plaque from the RJD regime that talks of “development” at the site. The Nitish Kumar government had released Rs 20 lakh for development of the site three years ago. The funds have been lying unused. According to the Gaya district administration, the development plan has not been charted out. The BTMC management says it has nothing to do with the site

Barely two km from the Mahabodhi Temple, ASI site Sujata Garh has a brick stupa, constructed in phases from the Gupta to Pala period. The stupa is named after the daughter of a village chief who is said to have offered milk and rice to Buddha before he attained enlightenment. The 11-metre stupa was opened to the public in 2008 after two rounds of excavations, first in 1973-74 and subsequently in 2001-06. Hardev Singh, ASI’s attendant deployed at the site, says there is a need for a boundary so that bricks are not displaced. The site has caught the attention of visitors in the last two years. ASI superintendent Manjul says, “We have planned to conserve the stupa in the current financial. We first want to fully acquire the stupa land before erecting boundary walls.

A narrow lane from the Mahabodhi temple leads to a small temple, known as Vagdevi temple or Samadhi Sthal. The temple is said to have been built in 1590 by followers of the Shakta sect from Punjab. The temple has a Saraswati idol and a round platform. Mahant Sudarshan Giri of the local Sankar Math maintains the temple. Arup Brahmachari feels it could be developed if monasteries in the town spare some money for it. However, BTMC member Arvind Singh says the BTMC committee constitution does not provide for this. “It is solely up to the private trust to look after it,” he says.

The Indian Express, 22nd April 2012

With the snowland becoming a vacation destination, it is unable to withstand the deluge of visitors From a scanty 400 visitors two decades ago, Ladakh is now being trodden upon by thousands of travellers every year

Summer is here, and what better than the snow covered hills and gorgeous vistas of Ladakh? Families, friends, honeymooners go there in great numbers now, enjoy the scenic beauty, shop and come back: but there is more to this ‘been there, done that' experience

Every year, the number of tourists opting for Ladakh as a getaway is going up exponentially, directly affecting the environment and culture of the snowland. From a scanty 400 visitors two decades ago, Ladakh is now being trodden upon by thousands of travellers every year

A lack of understanding and respect among the visitors for the environment of Ladakh doesn't help matters. For years Ladakh remained a strategically and geographically isolated region located high in the western Himalayas. It is a semi-autonomous region comprising Leh and Kargil districts and is subjected to extreme climatic conditions. The high altitude cold desert supports a unique ecosystem which sustains a sparse population along with some rare species of flora and fauna. Due to long isolation from the outside world, a unique gene pool has evolved in the region specially adapted to the harsh climatic conditions

Worryingly, the rare is now on the verge of extinction and the extremities have reduced to “normal”. Global warming has impacted the region and, except for the indigenous dwellers, no one really cares, perhaps because they are not directly affected by the change

Development, ask anyone, is the prime cause for the environmental and traditional crisis in the valley. However, it is not development that is devastating the region, it is the imbalance and the lack of future perspective in the development policies

In the past, traditions of prudence and cooperation coupled with intimate knowledge of local environment enabled the Ladakhis not only to sustain but to prosper. Agriculture was the main occupation as survival was the only big challenge they faced. Fields were irrigated with the water that melted from the glacial snow – the only source of water for the region. About 80 per cent of Ladakhis relied on glacial melt which today is shrinking at an alarmingly swift rate

Ladakh is unable to withstand the overburden of the travellers in conjunction with the changes they bring along ‘unknowingly'. Tourism and economic development ushered major influences by which Ladakhi agriculture has been hit in particular. People have turned their back to this traditional source of livelihood and have opted for seasonal hospitality-related jobs in town. Worse, subsidised food offered by a well-meaning government is considerably cheaper than food grown locally. People have abandoned their farms. The youth, determinants of the future of the region, do not even know how to grow barley on their land

“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature”, believed the old Ladakhi generation which still recalls the golden olden days. “There was greater harmony with nature in terms of conventional systems of water management and sanitation. A compost pit was used for excretory purposes that involved no deployment of water, thus quelling the need for sewers or drains

With most hotels using flush toilets, water utilization has been augmented manifold. This has become a major reason for polluting the once pristine streams, for, in absence of a sewage system, the sewage water is being let into the streams, thereby polluting the only source of drinking water for the local population. Today's Ladakh cries for help. The famed freshness of the air is being choked by diesel fumes, streets are piled up with rubbish and the quality of water has deteriorated. These together form the picture of a ‘new' Ladakh

As the winter gets colder and summer hotter, the upsurge in the number of travellers and subsequently the hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related activities have wrought havoc on the fragile balance of nature. The cloudburst that wiped out the community on August 5 nearly two years ago is a dreadful example of how fragile the environment has become. Heavy rainfall, unknown in the high altitude region, has become a more frequent phenomenon

As they say, better late than never. The community has woken up to the crisis. Various organisations are trying to bring together the communities to save the snowland from disaster. One such is Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG), which promotes ecological and sustainable development. Similarly, the women's group, Aama Tsogspa is playing a crucial role in conserving the environment with successful initiatives like a ban on polythene bags in the valley. To create a sense of responsibility among visitors conservation regulations are also been implemented. Ideas, suitable to the indigenous environment, have turned out to be fruitful like the implementation of renewable resources of energy. Communities are trying to take corrective measures before it becomes too late

The Hindu, 22nd April 2012

Spotted owls, which had disappeared from most parts of Delhi because of a loss of habitat, are expected to be back in the city in abundance. The Okhla Bird Sanctuary has thought of a way to bring back the once common species of nocturnal birds by building artificial wooden nests for their
breeding

The plan executed in November has already started producing results with a pair of owls hatching chicks in one of the 80 wooden homes built for the birds

Many of the homes have been taken up by mynahs and horn bills, birds whose numbers had also started declining from the sanctuary because of multiple problems such the building of nearby Buddha park, muddy water of Yamuna and destruction of local habitat

“Mynahs have been known to use such boxes as homes but this is the first time that spotted owls have been found setting up homes there,” TK Roy, an ecologist and conservationist, said

A pair of spotted owls laid claim to the box in February and laid eggs in March. The chicks hatched three weeks ago and are now ready to leave the wooden home.The owls nest in tree hollows

 holes or cavity of crumbling walls or between the ceilings and roofs of deserted buildings and breed mainly between November and April

With the destruction of such habitat, the birds had started disappearing from the city, prompting the bird sanctuary to set up artificial homes according to guidelines of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

“Accordingly, several triangular nest boxes (with an entry/exit hole) were hung on trees in the sanctuary and it has proven to be a success with a pair of owls taking up residence for the first time,” Roy said

Of the 80 odd boxes placed in the sanctuary, 45 have been occupied, some even by squirrels. “With the success of the spotted owls, we are expecting more of them to take up homes and increase their population,” added Roy

Spotted owls (scientific name Athene brama) is the commonest and most familiar small owl that survives in human habitations in villages, farmlands and towns

The bird chiefly hunts insects and small vertebrates like rodents, mice, toads, bats and lizards.

The Hindu, 22nd April 2012

Historians and architects discussed buried facts related to Indian monuments, at a unique Festival of the Heritage of Forts of India. Who knew Mughal Emperor Akbar wanted to convert to Christianity? Or that Red Fort was originally Qila-i-Mubarak. And that Shah Jahan was a very lonely man. By Ritika Arora

Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in memory of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, is considered a symbol of love and purity. But we often forget that Mumtaz Mahal, was Shah Jahan’s third wife of seven. And that he brutally murdered Mumtaz’s husband, before he made her his own.
Mumtaz herself, had died painfully, while giving birth to her fourteenth child. And shortly after she passed away, Shah Jahan married Mumtaz’s sister. So much for this ‘symbol of love’.

There are plenty more of such secrets buried deep in graves of times gone by.

Historians globally, are trying to locate detailed maps on gateways that supposedly existed. And private entrances to huge palaces, once occupied by nobles who stored expensive jewels there.

Do you know that a secret huge tunnel built by 17th century Mughal rulers at Red Fort, used to be linked to the River Yamuna? It once supposedly was a shortcut to the city of Agra.

It is said the Mughal emperor, Akbar the Great, stayed at Agra Fort. Then he moved to Delhi and built the aforesaid tunnel. Architects are yet to locate its original location. And they seem unsure if it is a myth or not. According to some reports, Delhi Gate, Ajmeri Gate and Chandni Chowk, somehow connect to form pathways through which the rulers once returned from their travels.

On Saturday, filmmaker Gurcharan Singh Chenni and India International Centre (IIC) organised a Festival of the Heritage of Forts of India, where Delhi-based Anisha Shekhar Mukherjee, an architectural historian, talked about the secrets of Qila-i-Mubarak, now known as Red Fort. Gautam Sengupta, DG, ASI and KK Mohammad, archeologist, ASI, talked about research they recently did at Fatehpur Sikri. Whereas Shikha Jain, who is a Conservation Architect, talked about the conservation and protection of forts in India

Agra Fort near the Taj Mahal, was built by Akbar the Great and descendants of his lived there too. Jahangir, who apparently completed the construction of Agra Fort, and his wife Noor Jahan, were passionate about architecture. The Empress herself worked on the Fort’s interior design, taking the initiative to supervise its beautiful gardens. She enjoyed embellishing Agra Fort’s walls with goldleaf, crystals and pearls. Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan stayed there till the end.

He was a lonely man who died a sad death. One story goes that when the Taj was under construction Shah Jahan would sit on the balcony of Agra Fort, keeping an eye on its construction

Mohammad shared interesting facts relating to Akbar’s life: “His forts comprised three big halls. The Diwan-e-aam, Diwan-e-khaas and Ibadat Khana where he sat with people of many religions and discussed problems in the kingdom.” It is believed in the course of this interaction, encouraged by his interest, spiritual people from faiths like Zoroastrianism and Christianity, asked him to convert.

When Rodolfo Acquaviva, an Italian missionary, urged Akbar to become Christia he agreed. But did not concede in the end. Because it entailed giving up his wives. People say Akbar never believed in religion, but in humanity.”Akbar loved perfumes and had a huge Khushbo Khana in his forts where he stored fragrances

But he removed the perfume house from Fatehpur Sikri and replaced it with an Ibadat Khana(worship house) where Rodolfo began to live there. He made the change at Acquaviva’s request

Saving Our Forts

Many of our forts are in a vulnerable state. Shikha Jain feels it’s easy to protect monuments. But tough to deal with living heritage. “Visit any fort. You will find people staying there. They have formed communities, difficult to remove. Lack of funds by government is also a problem.” City Palace at Udaipur; for instance, hosts generations of royals. Artisans stay at various forts, earning living by creating traditional handicraft and accessories. At Chittor Fort in Rajasthan, people have been building resorts and restaurants. There are several sacred spots at Ranthambore fort in Rajasthan. Over 4000 people stay at a temple in Bastian area of Jaisalmer.

The Pioneer, 23rd April 2012

The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has sprung to the aid of villagers caught in a battle between hotel industry and wildlife groups, who are fighting for securing the Sigur elephant corridor that cradles between several wildlife sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu.

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court,MoEF has opposed the Madras High Court order asking everyone to hand over their land in the corridor in disregard to provisions of the Land Acquisition Act.

The ministry has noted that there are more than a dozen villages in the corridor, housing around 200 farmers along with tourist resorts and other private landowners. Besides, there are another 700 families, who are mostly dalits and tribals and are dependent on the land for their livelihood.

The MoEF has pointed out that the rights of the occupants have not been settled under the Forest Rights Act.

The "recommendation to take over the entire land area of the corridor is questionable in view of the large proportion of local communities inhabiting this area and also in view of protection provided under the Forest Rights Act," the ministry has said.

Challenging the HC order to remove the occupants and others summarily, the ministry has said that if the directive is upheld without alteration by the apex court, "It would set a precedence where judicial intervention instead of democratic processes established under law of the land, could be used to take over many patches of lands - revenue and private - without settlement of rights in the name of conservation."

MoEF has suggested other options such as ecologically sensitive areas, community reserves and community resources under the various existing laws. It has also pointed out that there are competing claims and interests in the land that belong to revenue department, infrastructure sector, resort owners and subsistence forest dwellers.

"In considering the question holistically, it needs to be considered if the state government can evict thousands of people, many of whom own and or access lands in the Sigur area under a range of laws protecting their rights," said the Centre.

The Times of India, 23rd April 2012

Arsenic contamination of ground water from Yamuna floodplains in Delhi is several times the permissible limit and the prime culprit for this poisoning is fly ash and other residue from Delhi’s thermal power plants, a study by the Department of Geology at Delhi University (DU) has found

“Samples were collected from the Yamuna floodplains, one of the most important ground water recharging sources in the city, to study the level of arsenic content in it. While permissible concentration of arsenic in ground water is 10 parts per billion (ppb), concentrations of up to 180 ppb were found in the 120 water samples collected,” said Dr Chandra S Dubey, lead author of the study and head of DU’s geology department

“Though arsenic contamination in Delhi has been reported earlier, the study has established for the first time that the source of the contamination is fly ash and slurry from coal-based thermal power plants. Surface water samples across the Yamuna floodplains show high values of arsenic contamination. It is estimated that the Rajghat power plant releases 5.5 tonnes of arsenic into the Yamuna every year while the Indraprastha power plant pumps in 1.96 tonnes a year. There is a need to take immediate steps to stop this,” said Dr Dubey

The study, titled ‘Anthropogenic arsenic menace in Delhi Yamuna floodplains’, concentrated on the floodplains of the river surrounding the Rajghat and Indraprastha power plants and to a smaller extent on the regions around the Badarpur plant

However, the highest arsenic content found (180 ppb) was present in post-monsoon ground water samples collected near the Badarpur plant

Coal used in the Badarpur and Rajghat power plants was found to contain over 200 ppb of arsenic, while the arsenic content in fly ash from Rajghat was found to be as high as 3,200 ppb. “There must be some check on leaching from the fly ash ponds. The drain water from thermal plants cannot be allowed to flow into the Yamuna,” said Dr Dubey

Near Akshardam temple in Mayur Vihar Phase 1, where land is used for vegetable cultivation, arsenic contamination of more than 135 ppb was found. Surveys show stomach, gastric and gastrointestinal problems reported by the people who drank hand pump water in highly arsenic contaminated areas, the study reports

Compared to ground water, surface water reported less concentration of the toxic element due to constant flow, the study says

The samples for the study, published in January this year were collected in two phases between May and June (pre-monsoon) and at the end of August (post-monsoon) in 2007. Of the ground water samples collected, more than 75 per cent was contaminated with arsenic while 55 per cent contained the toxic element at a level higher than WHO standards

The Indian Express, 23rd April 2012

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has accepted a long-pending demand of thermal-based power projects for parallel processing of environment and forest clearances instead of the earlier sequential processes to expedite the process

This is expected to save time for power plants in getting these twin clearances successively and thereby achieve time-bound targets for implementation of the projects

MoEF sources pointed out that the decision of the Ministry comes in the wake of the meeting of the power producers with the Prime Minister on January 18. Expressing concern over the backlog of environmental clearances, this was one of their major demands

The MoEF notification states, “It is clarified that the case for Environment Clearance (EC) of thermal power projects would be processed based on the status furnished by the proponent in line with the parallel processing being adopted for granting environment clearances of projects where forestry clearance is also required…” However, EC would be issued only after it procures stage-I forestry clearance, it added

The Ministry has further emphasised that the project would have to be referred back “to revisit the EC granted earlier” during eventualities of change in parameters of coal vis-a-vis on parameters on which was based environment impact assessment (EIA) prepared earlier.This would be essential to assess the adequacy of the conditions already stipulated and to incorporate any additional condition as may be necessary in the interest of environment protection. Speady clearance

The MoEF decision is expected to speed up clearances and thereby meet the proposed capacity addition of 62,000 MW out of the total of 75,000 MW of thermal power during the 12th five year plan. As per official figures, there are 32 thermal power projects pending with the Ministry in various stages of clearance.

The Pioneer, 24th April 2012

We have declared elephants as our ‘National Heritage Animal’. And left them to fight for their survival against odds

In October 2010, with much fanfare, India declared the elephant as its National Heritage Animal. While it’s good that the state officially acknowledged the deep cultural links that our people have with Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, it was pretty much the only substantive recommendation of the Elephant Task Force — appointed to propose measures to strengthen elephant conservation — which it paid heed to

The ETF report, ‘Gajah’, had a host of other recommendations, key among which was an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to create an autonomous authority along the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. While the then Union Minister for Environment and Forests lent his weight to the appointment of a National Elephant Conservation Authority, the proposal was promptly shot down by the Prime Minister’s office even before it could reach the Cabinet

The reasons are obvious and linked with the failure to implement other recommendations crucial to the conservation of the Elephas maximus. These include the declaration of elephant landscapes, inclusion of critical elephant corridors into the ‘protected areas’ network, making it mandatory for diversion of forest land in elephant corridors to be approved by the Forest Advisory Committee at the Centre instead of by the regional offices of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (notorious for their vulnerability to ‘influences’) and notifying elephant reserves as Ecologically Sensitive Areas under the Environment Protection Act, 1986

It is easy to see why these have been glossed over, given the serious implications. Elephant conservation is all about securing elephant habitats and halting their fragmentation. This calls for serious protection measures, implying that these forests must be restricted — that their destruction from mining, thermal power plants and other major industries be regulated by law. But none of this is palatable, not when we are hurtling down the double-digit growth path, trampling over crucial ecological concerns

In the current scenario, when there is frenetic attempt to grab land and intense pressure to denotify wildlife habitats, any move to protect animal habitats is anathema to the state, which is bent upon giving away forest and community lands to industry at any cost

The vulnerability of the PMO to the industry lobby’s pressure was apparent, when in February, the Environment Ministry agreed to divert an additional 25 per cent of forest land earlier categorised as ‘no-go’ for projects concerning power, roads and coal. Media reports said this was after the PMO stepped in and pressured the Ministry to fast-track project clearances. The trigger, reportedly, was a meeting the Government held with industry bigwigs on the economic slowdown

It is equally apparent that in this battle, the elephant is losing ground. In the past 50 years, the elephant’s geographic range has shrunk by over 70 per cent; all that remain are fragmented pockets of forest. Conflict is rooted in habitat loss and fragmentation: Shrinking, patchwork forests push elephants into human-dominated landscapes, and deadly confrontation becomes inevitable.
Elephants are nomadic creatures dictated by ancient instincts that lead them to sources of food and water, especially in times of scarcity. But their forests and migratory paths are swallowed by dams, devastated by mines, taken over by agriculture and ripped apart by the highways and the railways. Disoriented, homeless and starved, elephants raid crops, destroy houses and occasionally kill helpless people protecting their homes and crop

In retaliation, people poison, electrocute and even blow up elephants by placing crude bombs in jackfruits or bananas that the unsuspecting pachyderms eat. Human-elephant conflict is thus increasing. On an average, about 300 people and 100 elephants lose their lives annually

Crop damage by elephants is estimated to impact about one million hectares. Yet, apart from doling out compensation — erratically and unsystematically — the Government has no sound policy or any long-term strategy to tackle the conflict

Poaching is another issue usually brushed aside by wildlife managers as ‘not a problem’. How, then, does one explain forests where the male-female elephant ratio is as skewed as 1:100? Or the fact that the population of tuskers in Orissa has plunged to an estimated 200 now against the previous count of 363 in 2002? No less than three out of 10 elephant deaths are unnatural: Attributed to train accidents, electrocution, poaching and poisoning

Clearly, the Gajah is in trouble.

Granting the elephant a grand title or running Haathi Mere Saathi campaigns is mere symbolism. Unless they are backed by effective implementation of law, sound policies and hard conservation action, such campaigns are not going to achieve anything. Even the Environment Ministry, mandated for the elephant’s protection, has been complacent. Forget a dedicated, autonomous authority, even the existing Project Elephant has been headless — and clueless — for nearly 18 months now. The budget allocation for the project this year was a mere `19.58 crore for 32 elephant reserves across the country. Significantly, about a third of the budget is spent on conflict. It is another matter that elephant reserves have little sanctity and are largely sanctuaries on paper

Elephant corridors are also steadily being eroded as they give way to coal mines, oil refineries, highways, railway lines, stadiums, golf courses and tourism infrastructure. The Uttarakhand Government looked on as an oil depot created a physical barrier across the Gola river corridor that links the Corbett Tiger Reserve and Nandhour landscape — home to about 1,000 elephants, and in fact handed away part of the corridor for a para-military camp. Chhattisgarh refused to notify two elephant reserves, due to coal interests, as did Orissa

What the Government is taking refuge in is in numbers — there are believed to be 25,000 to 27,000 elephants in the country, and ‘increasing’. This sounds like an echo of the Great Indian Tiger Saga: While in the forests, the tigers were dying, successive Governments insisted that “all is well”, steadily increasing the tiger numbers on paper. Habitats of both elephants and tigers overlap in most parts of the country. Elephants face the same threats as the tiger: Poaching, conflict, habitat loss and fragmentation. So, how is it that elephant numbers are rising? It is important that we establish robust and better systems of estimation of elephant populations

Elephants are running out of space and time. India has about 60 per cent of the world’s wild Asian elephants. We owe this not just to legal protection, but to the reverence for elephants that has been intrinsic in Indian culture. Lord Ganesh is the god of wisdom and fortune, but his own fortune is fraying. Clearly, we have failed the gods we love.

 The Pioneer, 25th April 2012

Three dozen old and new artists present State's colourful tunes at Delhi's Nitanjali Art Gallery

A tempera on board by artist Ganesh Pyne.

A group exhibition of paintings by three dozen artists belonging to the famous Bengal school is now on at Nitanjali Art Gallery in Anand Niketan here

“ Banglar Sur : Tunes of Bengal” is showcasing diverse works of experienced as well as contemporary artists including Ganesh Haloi, Ganesh Pyne, Jogen Choudhury, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Paresh Maity, Sakti Burman and Sunil Das, besides Aditya Basak, Amiya Bhattacharya, Bijon Choudhury

Explaining the reason behind showcasing works of talented artists belonging to the Bengal school, owner Ridhi Bhalla says the inherent talent of this region has been acknowledged by art connoisseurs

“The Nitanjali Art Gallery's association with artists from the Bengal school started when it first opened here. Since then, we have been in touch with these artists. This group exhibition, which was conceptualised about a year ago, is the culmination of a selection process in which we tried to rope in the most talented artists from Bengal. Young as well as senior artists were asked to send two paintings each. Through this exhibition, we are showcasing paintings which vary in genres, size, styles and medium.

Born in 1936 at Mymensingh, then a part of undivided Bengal, Ganesh Haloi moved to Calcutta in 1950. The trauma of uprooting left its mark on his works

Ganesh Pyne, who held his first solo exhibition as late as 1988 at The Village Gallery in Delhi, started as a watercolourist in the Bengal school mode

Jogen Choudhury, who went to a prestigious art institute in Paris on a French Government scholarship, is famous for his paintings and drawings in ink, watercolour and pastel

Painter and printmaker Lalu Prasad Shaw has exhibited extensively in India and abroad. He works in Kolkata

With over 50 solo exhibitions and group shows in venues in India and overseas, Paresh's work has won him critical acclaim

Though he has been living in France for the past five decades, Sakti is still connected to his motherland

An important post-modern expressionist, Sunil Das came into limelight with his paintings of horses. “I must have done 7,000 horses between 1950 and 1960.

An artist and interior designer, Aditya's medium is waterproof ink, earth colour and crayon on Nepalese hand-made paper

An alumnus of the Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship in Kolkata, Amiya has been influenced by the late eminent artist Bikash Bhattacharjee

Bijon, whose works were recognised by prominent galleries across the country and even abroad, was educated at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata, and the Government Institute of Arts, Dhaka. He passed away at the age of 82 this year

Speaking about the ongoing exhibition, curator Elizabeth Rogers says: “The artists in this exhibition span many generations, mediums, reside in myriad locations and have followed different pathways. Some do directly depict their reminiscences and visions of life in Bengal, while others embrace more abstract, diffused elements.

“From such an overflowing background to borrow from, these artists have decided to create a style of their own and add to the heritage she/he learnt to render shape to his personal vocabulary of artistic expression, which is characteristically Indian and at the same time is loaded with modernity. Yet fundamentally they are each artists who choose which implement to use, which colour to apply, material on which to wrought their visions, to sing their tunes, the diverse strains of Banglar Sur, ” she adds

The Asian Age, 25th April 2012

‘Waqf Chairman gave the go-ahead for demolition in Rajasthan village

The demolition of a century-old roofless mosque on a hilltop at Pur village in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan to make way for mining by a private company has led to outrage here. The issue has brought into question the State Waqf Board's role in giving the “green signal” to a group, claiming to represent local Muslims, for razing the mosque

Jindal Saw Limited, owned by the O. P. Jindal Group, bought the mosque, paying the Anjuman Committee of Pur Rs. 65 lakh, and demolished it on April 19. The company has produced a receipt issued by the Anjuman for the payment

The incident left the community in the village stupefied. It lodged a police complaint under Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code. The police have since arrested three persons and recovered the money paid to the Anjuman

Jindal Saw Limited director Dharmendra Gupta and Anjuman president Qasim Ansari and secretary Ramzan Sorgar have been remanded in police custody. Six other accused persons, including Congress leader Om Narayaniwal, are yet to be arrested

Amid allegations that bribes over and above Rs. 65 lakh, paid as settlement through receipt, changed hands between the company representatives, local politicians and Waqf Board functionaries, the district administration has started reconstructing the mosque at is original site

The Anjuman Committee has justified its action on the basis of a ‘fatwa' it sought from the Imam of the Gulmandi Jama Masjid, Maulana Hafeez-ur-Rehma, who has also been arraigned as an accused. The Maulana opined, after visiting the place, that it was a “cluster of graves” rather than a mosque and could be shifted

Muslim groups here allege that Waqf Board Chairman Liaqat Ali Khan gave the go-ahead for the demolition after receiving a letter from the Anjuman seeking guidance in the matter, though the place has been registered as a mosque in the list of Bhilwara district's Waqf properties published in the 1965 State Gazette

Mansoori panchayat president Abdul Latif Arco said here on Tuesday that the Waqf Board could not entertain such a plea from a so-called committee which was neither registered with it nor authorised by anyone: “We believe that the Waqf Board gave a tacit approval after a deal with the company. Demolition could not have taken place without the connivance of the topmost functionaries.

A demand has been made for immediate removal of Mr. Khan and other officers concerned as well as for a CBI probe. Mr. Arco pointed out that the Waqf Board Chairman had directed the Anjuman to take action, stating it should be “in the interest of the Waqf and in accordance with the Shariah provisions.

Mr. Khan, however, told The Hindu that he had not instructed the Anjuman to demolish the mosque per se and only suggested that “appropriate action” be taken to save the roofless mosque from mining. “Anyone is free to approach the Waqf Board [for guidance] in view of its status as the highest body looking after the Muslim endowments,” he said

An emergency Waqf Board meeting, called here for Tuesday, could not take place ostensibly for lack of a quorum. Mr. Khan said the full Board would put the seal of approval on the permission granted by him to the Bhilwara Collector for reconstruction of the mosque

The Hindu, 25th April 2012

Acting on the directive of theUttarakhand high court, the state government on Wednesday imposed a blanket ban on noise pollution in a radius of 500 metres around theCorbett National Park and declared it a "complete silence zone".

A two-judge bench of the high court gave the directive responding to a PIL filed by a local NGO. The decision will mitigate levels of noise pollution that affect the habitat of many species in one of India's best known ti-ger reserve.

This will have a salutary effect on resorts within Corbett's outer periphery which attract numerous casual tourists who hold parties, etc as opposed to genuine tiger-lovers who take the trouble of taking forest department's permission for a quiet foray.

In its PIL, the Ramnagar Himalayan Yuva Grameen Vikas Sansthan appealed to Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice U C Dhyani to limit noise in the vicinity of the wildlife habitat.

It expressed concern over sound amplification devices which disturb the peace of endangered species. The Sansthan also flagged concerns about encroachment of the forest area by mushrooming resorts which hold events like parties and marriage receptions.

Field director Ranjan Mishra told TOI that the decision was taken under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. "As per directive, a blanket ban has been imposed on sound amplification. Only municipality areas are excluded from the prohibited zone," said Mishra

 The Times of India, 26th April 2012

Be it a12-inch metal harpoon dating back to 1500 BC, a Bikaner school painting from 1610 AD depicting Bhagwat Purana, or even a 19th-century Mughal portrait of Emperor Humayun — a collection of artefacts and paintings that depict significant stages of art in India have been chosen for an online auction by Collectibles Antiques, supported by auction house Saffronart. This second edition of the 24-hour public auction includes 55 Indian antiquities that have been sourced from private collectors and licensed antique dealers across the country. Dinesh Vazirani, director, Collectibles Antiques, says, “The collection has been put together to offer collectors and enthusiasts a chance to acquire Indian antiques across various mediums and timelines.”The catalogue has a diverse variety - miniature paintings, bronze, terracottas, wood and stone artefacts — from 1500 BC to 1880 AD. Among them is also the traditional storytelling work of Chitrakathis (the migratory community of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka), which is seen through their paintings on paper depicting episodes of Ramayana and Mahabharata, an art which is lost in contemporary India (priced at Rs 1-1.5 lakh). According to Vazirani, one piece that will be of prime interest to many participants is a miniature Kangra school Nayaka painting (circa 1780-1790), which is priced at Rs 8 -9 lakh. It is a rendering of the Proshita Nayaka or the male lover in distress in the absence of his beloved. “It is an early example of the school, has a very romantic subject, excellent quality and detailing, superb condition and is a very rare Nayak rendering. That makes it important for miniature-painting connoisseurs,” he says. While the highest-priced piece is a sculpture in granite from the 17th century, called A Warrior in Action, at Rs 10-14 lakh, the lowest priced is a goddess’s bust, titled Yakshini in Motion, at Rs 20,000-25,000. Going by the response the first auction held in December 2011 got, Vazirani says he expects a stronger response this time. “Based on the success of our first auction, we have put together a larger catalogue of antiquities and miniatures this time,” he concludes

The Indian Express, 26th April 2012

Cities in India are dreaming of becoming New York and London but we seldom worry about as basic an issue as sewage and its disposal in our country. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has brought out a two-volume book titled Excreta Matters: Report on the State of India’s Environment to highlight how only 20 per cent of sewage is being treated in the country. Sunita Narain, director general, CSE, talks about the murky issue plaguing the water sources in this interview to Rashme Sehgal

Q. Why did you decide to focus on the subject of excreta

A. Our key concern is the growing pollution of our lakes and rivers. We are losing all our water sources. The more money we are spending to control this pollution, the more the pollution is increasing. The question to be asked is whether the lack of money is affecting our ability to tackle this problem or are their other issues at stake

When we started looking at this issue afresh, we found ourselves looking at the whole issue of sewage and how little we know about the amount of sewage we are generating and how it is being disposed

Eighty per cent of water leaves the house as sewage but cities have no account of the sewage that is being generated

Q. Surely water is a subject of far more importance than excreta

A. Everyone talks about water. The government talks about water. NGOs talk about clean drinking water, if the people do not get water for a single day, there will be a huge hue-and-cry. If you look at the literature of our country, you will find no information at all about sewage. No one in the government talks about it. My own sense is that we are a casteist society and the business of sewage has been left to someone who is not us. We are also a very arrogant society which believes once the infrastructure for sewage disposal has been created, everything will be alright. It is to correct this attitude that the CSE decided to look into this whole problem

Q. What approach did you follow

A. Our approach was three-fold. We prepared a detailed questionnaire with questions relating to where does our water come from, where does sewage go, etc. and asked volunteers to distribute it to the municipal corporations of 71 cities. Unfortunately, the information that we gathered had huge holes. They did not have information on how much was their water supply, how much their water deficit and what they did with their sewage. For the larger cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, we were able to collect some data but for most of our cities, we drew a blank. Its a black hole. Since the information was not available from the corporations, we looked at other sources including the JNNURM reports and put together the first volume which provides an overview

I’ll cite the example of Bengaluru which according to its municipal corporation generates 780 million litres of sewage per day. The city receives a supply of 900 million litres of water, while the sewage output comprises 80 per cent of its water supply. This is a guess estimate. But even in Bengaluru, the capacity to treat sewage is 300 million litres per day. The question is where is the remaining sewage going? It is going into the ground water and that is why we have such high levels of nitrate content in our ground water. In 2009, we generated 38,255 million tonnes of sewage per day but actually treated only 22 per cent

Bengaluru is one of our better-run cities but still it cannot provide underground sewage for all its people. Both Hyderabad and Chennai possess good water board but what happens to our next level of cities such as Sholapur, Bhopal, Jaipur, Srinagar, Lucknow and Pune? Or take the example of Gurgaon. Most of the sewage from the city does not get trapped, rather most of it flows into drains outside the city

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has promised a fancy network of underground Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) but this should be done simultaneously. When you try and do retrofitting, it will only serve to create a huge backlog

The costs of underground STPs are also prohibitive, costing `1 crore for 1 kilometre. Delhi has 6,000 km of sewage pipeline. Our sewage pipelines are many lengths of the total roads in India

We are spending large sums of money in supplying water but no one is focusing on sewage disposal, not government, not sewage control boards and not private companies. It is because 90 per cent of our sewage is going into our ground water and contaminating it that we are facing a major health problem. Why do thousands of our babies die of diarrhoea and dysentery. No one has made this connection. Once we have contaminated all our water sources, it will be too late

Q. What kind of responses should the government develop

A. We need to develop innovative ways to deal with this problem. For example, we need to develop treatment zones for all the sewage which is flowing in open drains. We need to upscale our technologies. We should ensure that all sewage must be treated in all our new colonies

I was driving across Delhi to Bhiwadi near Alwar and the entire area is becoming a development zone. The question is what are we doing to ensure all our new cities have proper sewage treatment plans in place. We need to turn this issue on its head and plan for sewage first and everything else later. We also need to ensure that sewage treatment is done at affordable levels

Q. Varanasi faces a major sewage disposal problem and the entire Ganga cleaning programme hinges around this issue

A. Varanasi’s is a classic case of an old city without underground drainage provisions for disposing off sewage. In fact, even in Allahabad, 80 per cent of the sewage is not being trapped. STPs were constructed in Varanasi but there is no electricity to run these plants and neither do the local bodies have the money to run them

Activist Vir Bhadra Mishra came up with a solution by which the sewage would flow along the gradient of the land in a nullah to be treated outside the city. His plan was found to be expensive but the plan offered by the local state engineers was much more expensive. The result is that Vir Bhadra’s suggestion has been blocked. The local committees see big money in the Ganga cleaning programme and have cleared an annual subsidy of `2,000 crores for five years for operation and maintenance of these STPs. The question is what will happen in the sixth year? Many of our older cities did have a sewage network. With the government embarking on a major urbanisation programme in the next 15 years, sewage disposal will have to be integrated into this system

Excreta should be seen as a resource. It can be recycled and sold as manure. In Alwar. treated sewage is sold to farmers as was the practise in Okhla.

The Asian Age, 27th April 2012

Bulldozers have flattened the landscape in and around Nainital, leaving history and heritage to be vandalised by rapacious builders.

So, the notorious land developers' lobby in Uttarakhand has managed to sell off even the historic Kushavart Ghat at Haridwar to a private party. This public bathing facility in Har-Ki-Pauri was ordered to be built around 1780 by Ahilyabai Holkar, philanthropist queen of Indore, and has since been managed by a trust. After the surreptitious and illegal sale came to light this year, another detail emerged via the city corporation records presented at the district courts: the sale was executed for Rs.5 crore by none other than the trust

Those travelling into Uttarakhand either from Garhwal or the Kumaon region can see entire hillsides denuded by hectic building activity. Many of the plots have been sold illegally and against the ecological norms set by the State government. Not surprisingly, in most cases the sale and purchase have happened with political blessings. The plains of Haridwar and Dehradun and even the once beautiful hill towns of Nainital, Almora and Mukteswar have already lost their pristine forest cover to illegal felling. The lush green has yielded place to palatial resorts and private bungalows built for the rich and the famous from other States. Inner cities, unsupervised by the municipal bodies which have approved the sales, are slowly turning into stinking overcrowded slums

Influx of tourist

In the area described as Dev Bhoomi (land of the gods) in posters put up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local temples and shrines have turned into ugly structures thanks to largesse distributed by MLAs from the ruling party and their supporters among land developers and liquor barons. During a recent visit, one found the once beautiful and unpretentious 12th century shrine to Golu Devta, the local god of retributive justice, transformed into a shiny temple embellished with glitter and gold. Its pristine stone walls had been covered over with bathroom quality tiles (some of them carrying lurid religious motifs derived from calendar art). The outer walls of the shrine, surrounded for centuries with strings of little brass bells donated by humble believers, had been painted over in plastic emulsion paints. Nasally sung prayers over loudspeakers drowned out the natural music of the gently swaying bells. The priest was most effusive in his praise for the generosity of a notorious liquor baron-cum-land grabber, reputed to be very close to a top politician. “He is a great bhakt and his donation has transformed Golu Devta's abode Mataji,” he said, adding, “may god bless him.

Nainital is a small tourist town with a complex history of migrations and religious conversions and reconversions. It was here that many British officials of the East India Company took shelter in 1857 when the plains erupted ingadar (revolt); the Resident Commissioner, Ramsay Sahib, urged them to stay put till the trouble died down. Up until the 1960s, the town was the summer capital of Uttar Pradesh. Even today, the Governor's residence sees an annual summer shift to the stately Raj Bhavan building in Nainital. But the summers are also when a horrifically unregulated influx of tourists arrives, armed with plastic pouches and water bottles that they leave behind, reducing the town to a stinking sewer. The developers have done the rest. A food court has come up next to the ancient temple of Nainadevi, the goddess of eyes and the guardian of the town. In the past, hill towns — even those built for use by the government and its highest officials during the summers — were so planned that locals and seasonal visitors could come together and live in harmony in an ecologically sensitive area. Visitors were expected to respect the freedom and dignity of the highlanders. Government employees in transit were not encouraged to import their requirements from the plains. Everyone learnt to live on what was locally available: rice, rotis, simple dairy products, various kinds of greens and potatoes and the luscious and plentiful local fruits. Even local bakers used local ingredients. Their atta (wheat)-based loaves and buns looked a bit puny but were full of good taste and nutrition. The “Fruit Preservation Centre” at Chaubatiya helped preserve fruits and also held classes for making home preserves. All that has disappeared

Education and school

Most hill towns had their own private schools. Few would know that up till the 1970s, the towns also had excellent government-run schools. To this day these are the only public structures with their own large and well kept playgrounds. This was where children once learnt the three Rs and practised hockey, football and cricket otherwise made impossible by the uneven local terrain

How has the education story unfolded in Uttarakhand? Thanks to the middle class obsession with English medium education provided by private schools, most of the government schools in the hills are nearly dysfunctional. The teachers are well paid and the premises are large, but fewer and fewer students go to these schools because they teach in the Hindi medium. And even some of the good-hearted young couples who run NGOs for educating and empowering the poor of the area, have opted for private boarding schools for their own progeny

A google search of Kushavart Ghat on Ganga yielded 4,99,000 results in four seconds. Not surprisingly, the majority of the results related to highland tours, hotel accommodation, luxury resorts and plots available for building dream houses. There was nothing at all about the mysterious sale of an 18th century Ghat under the very nose of a city corporation by persons unknown to persons unknown
The Asian Age, 27th April 2012

The east coast is currently witnessing the birth of millions of olive ridley turtles. Only one in every thousand survives to adulthood

Last fortnight the Indian east coast was witness to three dramatic ‘hiccup events' in the world. While two grabbed world headlines, the third event went unnoticed. The first was a traumatic tsunami scare; the second was launch of Agni-V and the third was the birth of about ten million tiny turtle hatchlings

Under the protective cover of darkness, beaches in Ganjam district of Odisha suddenly came alive. On ground zero at Rushikulya rookery, thousands of mini landmines softly implode with newly hatched Olive Ridley Turtles. Akin to the ICBM expulsion at Wheelers Island in Odisha, tiny turtles literally launch themselves out of the sandy situation. Buried securely in the earth by their respective mothers, the turtle eggs spend 45 days incubating and growing. Once they are fully developed replicas of their parents, it is time to escape from the hidden nurseries. Bale -- the collective word for turtles -- tumble and fumble out of each pit as the countdown begins when the weather is conducive. The flush of mass emergence of baby turtles was noticed between April 16 and April 24. Thereby starts the tale of the bale of turtles which roam the oceans without touching land for 20 years until maturity

In recent years, pristine beaches near Rushikulya river mouth have emerged as the main nesting grounds for the endangered Olive Ridleys. The other major nesting site is Gahirmatha sanctuary close to the Bhitarkanika National Park. Strangely, the sea turtles have stopped laying eggs at another location near the Devi river mouth. While Odisha is the most preferred location, there are many nesting spots across the Indian coast stretching from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. However, the egg laying is a minimalist affair. This synchronized egg laying in Odisha called “Arribada” is a wonder of nature and continues to be a mystery. Mr. B.C. Choudhury, an authority on turtles at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), explains, “Turtles often migrate great distances between feeding and breeding grounds. They only assemble to breed and brood at favourable locations.

The odyssey of endurance for the baby turtles begin right from the day mother turtle sheds her burden of gravid eggs into flask shaped pits. Due to inclement weather and oceanic conditions this year, thousands of underground eggs were washed out by the hungry tides. “Nearly 40 per cent of the eggs laid were lost to the wanton waves of the mighty ocean.” says Mr. Rabindranath of Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee (RSTPC). But all is not lost as these eggs become food and are gobbled by land and sea creatures. Forest officials and turtle lovers managed to collect some of exposed eggs and reburied them in ‘sandy incubators'

Emerging from the cozy comfort of the eggshells, baby turtles, as if on cue burst into the open. About 70 odd turtles emerging from their little prisons are a sight to behold as they ‘swim' out of the loose sand

Like all young ones, they take in the first breath of fresh air and look around only to see total darkness. They resemble adult turtles but lack the hardness of the protective shell. Equipped with a baby blue dry skin they initially toddle around to get their bearings right. Though they seem lost, their inborn instinct makes them head straight to the sea and not the other way. Wildlife experts explain that in total darkness they initially rely on two senses

They smell the salty sea breeze and importantly the white surf glistening on the crest of rolling waves act as a beacon. This prompting is enough for them to head straight into the cool sea waters and realise they are home. Equipped with paddle like hands and legs, swimming comes easy to the tiny turtles

The need for speed is there in all the turtle babies, but not all are lucky in the seaward march as they face innumerable adversaries. Turtles need to cover at least 100 to 200 meters to reach the security of the sea. Meanwhile, hungry predators like jackals, feral dogs, eagles, gulls, kites, crows, mongooses are all waiting for turtle morsels. If that is not enough, turbulent seas, drowning and even dehydration can take its toll on the hapless new born. Scientists have deciphered that only one in every thousand survives to adulthood. That is a colossal waste in human terms but nature has its own way of dealing with challenges. Hence innumerable eggs are laid so that only healthy turtles can roam the seven seas

The Hindu, 29th April 2012

Reaching the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh — a tiger reserve that shares a 40 km international boundary with Myanmar — is quite an adventure

Reaching the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh — a tiger reserve that shares a 40 km international boundary with Myanmar — is quite an adventure. The closest urban hubs are Tinsukia or Dibrugarh, in eastern Assam. Taxis seldom go to this far eastern tip of India. If you manage to get on a bus to Miao, a sub-divisional township in Changlang district, the remaining 25 km to Deban are just as difficult. One has to negotiate two rivulets that locals say gushes down during heavy rains, and the roads get slippery

It took more than two hours, and was pitch dark when we reached Deban, the base camp in the forest. We hitched a ride from Miao with Dr M Firoz Ahmed, a conservation biologist with Aaranyak, a NGO that helped conduct the tiger census at Namdapha. Mobile and internet connectivity had already drawn a blank, but thanks to solar power, the forest rest house had its own electricity supply

The sunrise here is almost two hours ahead of Indian Standard Time. We woke up to whistling winds that started well before sunrise. The swirling waters of the Noa-Dihing river add to the orchestra of numerous birds ringing in the air. The garden surrounding the forest rest house is strewn with leaves. Two other rivers, Namdapha and Deban, both said to be snow-fed, pass though the park to join the Noa-Dihing that finally joins the Brahmaputra in the Assam valley

Ahmed told us that spotting a tiger is a difficult task even inside Kaziranga which has over 100 big cats, one of the largest concentrations in the country. In Namdapha, where the very existence of tigers has been in doubt for the past few years, spotting one was improbable until two cameras — located about 500 metres apart — recorded three photographs of the majestic animal. Not far away from where we stayed, we saw two or three pugmarks which Ahmed said, were of the common leopard

Early morning, we trekked through the thick undergrowth of Namdapha, the lowlands being a virtual extension of the evergreen Dihing-Patkai rainforests, with Ahmed, as our guide. He often reminded us of being wary of leeches or insects that might creep up our trousers. We trekked about 14 km, under the shadow of the hollong and mekai trees, both important timber species endemic to the region

Despite the warning, when we got back to the forest rest house, we had several red marks on our hands. “It's the damdim, an insect smaller than a mosquito. It will itch for sometime and the scar will disappear in a few days,” said Dr Ahmed, advising us to use mosquito-repellants during our subsequent trips

During our stay, Ahmed narrated his team’s experience of the tiger census. “We encountered several leopards as well as civet cats and marble cats, especially in the makeshift camps deep inside the reserve. But we were thrilled when one of our teams photographed pugmarks which are definitely of a female tiger not far away from where the two cameras had clicked the male tiger,” he said

Their cameras had also captured over 40 photographs of the leopard cat, the marble cat, the common leopard, and the clouded leopard. Namdapha was declared a National Park in 1983 and is the 15th tiger reserve in India that covers 1985 sq km. It's almost double the area of Kaziranga and the largest national park in India. Incidentally, it is the only park in the world to have four feline species of the big cats

There were a number of local people to assist the tiger census at the park. Of the 130-odd people involved, only 14 were from Aaranyak. The rest included officers, frontline staff, protection squad members, porters and also a couple of mahouts. Atom, a local youth from Miao, was the head of the strike force of 20 young men who were given guns to ward off poachers. Japong Pansa was one of the two mahouts who often led the teams clearing dense forests that had probably never seen human footsteps

Namdapha, in the eastern Himalayas, however is not just about tigers. Thanks to its altitudinal variation ranging from 200 metres to 4571 metres (mean sea level), it is home to the snow leopards too. It is also listed by Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and International Union for Conservation of Nature as one among the 12 biodiversity megaspots because of its location at the confluence of the Indo-Chinese realm and the Indo-Malayan bio-geographic realm

The park has 29 species of animals and 13 species of birds listed while the Botanical Survey of India has also found a lot of rare species of flora here. Its fauna wealth includes 10 species of earthworms, five species of leeches, 430 species of inspects (barring butterflies), 355 species of butterflies and moths, 76 species of fish, 50 species of reptiles, 665 species of birds, 25 species of amphibians and 97 species of mammals

But park director Jongsam is worried all is not well with Namdapha. In a letter to the state government recently, he wrote about the necessity of acquiring more manpower and funds to manage the Namdapha National Park and to ¬ protect it. “What we immediately require is a regular tiger protection force,” he wrote

The Indian Express, 29th April 2012

Heritage experts have been touching up a 16th century Mughal monument in the city to restore its old glory. The 25 reverse domes of the Chausath Khamba monument in Nizamuddin Basti are being dismantled for conservation treatment - a unique technique that experts claim has no parallel anywhere in the country. Work on one of the domes was completed recently after eight months of hard labour. At this rate, experts say, the entire process would take about six years.

The monument gets its name from its unique architectural design - it has 64 pillars supporting 25 bays on which rest the 25 domes. It was built for a Mughal nobleman named Mirza Aziz Koka (Emperor Akbar's foster brother). It later became his tomb. Like most Mughal monuments, this, too, is made entirely of marble.

Conservation work began here last year after the German embassy decided to jointly fund the project. Architects of Aga Khan Trust for Culture ((AKTC) did a detailed documentation exercise. Every stone and marble piece was individually documented, after which it was learnt that the marble pieces in the domes were fixed together by iron dowels, and with water penetration the iron had rusted, corroded and expanded, causing severe damage to the marble. "In addition, the cavities caused over the years by broken marble edges were filled with white cement, but the process of deterioration continued unabated," said an official.

AKTC officials came to the conclusion that with over 10 feet of masonry over the marble domes, any repairs could be carried out only by dismantling the marble domes followed by carefulreplacement of iron clamps with rust-proof stainless steel clamps. Broken marble edges had to be then repaired before restoring them to their original places on the domes. " "We were confident that with a very high level of supervision this structure could be given a new lease of life," said P B S Sengar, director (monuments) ASI.

Each dome is made up of 68 pieces of marble; each one is carefully dismantled, repaired and labelled so that it could be placed back in situ. Rainwater from the roof continues to percolate and over 20 barrels of lime grout had to be used to fill up the cracks on the second dome. "We will make the roof water tight using traditional repair methods before the onset of the monsoon. This will require filling the cracks and replacing the top cement layer with a traditional lime concrete layer," explained Neetipal Brar, conservation architect with AKTC.

The Times of India, 29th April 2012

This is one 'Western influence' no Indian would mind aping. Conceived at the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971, World Forestry Day is celebrated on March 21 every year to venerate the contribution of forests to the planet

Four decades down the line, the day has assumed much more importance, but its spirit is still being undermined on the rest of the 364 days of the year, when trees are chopped wantonly for one reason or the other

Of course, 'reduce, reuse and recycle' may have become the mantra of some, but is it being followed? Is the hullaballoo around this day worth it? Or has all the meaning drained away? The meaningfulness of this day seems to reside in the heart of the residents of the Orange city, recently named the second greenest city in India by software giants MSN

Chanda Sinhababu, one such resident, says that with the forest cover declining fast, World Forestry Day is the need of the hour. "However, can just thinking or celebrating such an occasion be of any help? Where is the action? Forests do not mean just trees, but an entire world in its own, where more than one ecosystems prevail. For every tree cut down today, we must plant 10 more," said Sinhababu, the group head of Business operations of Frankfinn in Nagpur

Chartered accountancy student Ankita Saha feels that the day has retained its relevance, and gained more of it. "We should take it upon ourselves to plant trees regularly, to compensate for the forest cover being already lost. Besides, we should also stop using such vehicles that contribute heavily to pollution," she says

IT professional Vijayeta Sehdev has her eyes towards our successors when she says that the onus is on the present generation to leave behind a healthy life and a good environment for the future generations as our inheritance. "We should cut down on plastic bags, and use more solar energy. The energy from the sun should help cut down on the use of wood as fuel, and stop deforestation," she adds

Even the experts feel that this is high time for some practical steps to be taken. President of Satpuda Foundation and acclaimed environmentalist Kishore Rithe said the celebration must be at two different levels: one by all individuals, and the other by the government. "Every citizen should look to contribute towards increasing forest cover up to 33% of the total land in India, which is the government's policy," he said

"The government too should be proactive in its measures. It should address those policies which are adversely affecting the forests. One such policy concerns the collection of tendu leaves for making beedi. Thus far, the forests have been looked upon as a source for furniture, fuel and other modes of income. The time has come to look to these same forests for ecological services, like better water and manure for crops," Rithe adds

Asked if India should have a separate Forestry day, because this is not the right time to plant trees, Rithe says that there was no need for it. "The World Forestry Day is about protecting forests, and summer is the season when many forests are destroyed by fire. Many a time, even simple ground fire turns into a raging forest fire. Therefore, this is the right time to observe World Forestry day," he says

And how is the administration celebrating the day? District forest officer Kamlakar Dhamge said a large number of children will gather at the Balodyan at Seminary Hills from 8.30 am on Sunday, to participate in a drawing competition. The children will be divided into three groups according to their age, and given themes specific to the World Forestry Day. Saplings will also be distributed on the occasion.
The Times of India, 30th April 2012

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has led the State in initiating water harvesting projects that have been great successes, writes Nilesh Shukla

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat has emerged as a model to emulate in water management. Gujarat is the only State where groundwater levels have considerably increased over the last eight years. This is seen in the data put out by the Central Ground Water Board

Over 5.5 lakh water management structures have been created over the last 10 years, which include check dams, boribands and khet talavadis. Besides this, 4.5 lakh hectares of land covered under micro-irrigation schemes have resulted in the highest decadal agricultural growth rate of 10.97 per cent in the period 2000-01 to 2009-10

Gujarat is among the front-runners in the country in taking up new techniques in water harvesting, water harnessing and water management. One of the remotest villages of Gujarat, named Eval, in Patan district, has reported wonderful results in a mere one year’s time, to become a model village for the rest of India

Once a parched village where farmers could only dream of a lowly pearl millet, Eval today has every farmer cultivating castor and cumin. The average productivity of cumin varies from six to eight quintals/ hectare, while for castor it is 25-30 quintals/ hectare

Overcoming a challenging situation, where 20 per cent of the State’s area had 71 per cent of water resource and the rest of the area had had to do with 29 per cent of water resource, Gujarat speeded up rainwater harvesting, replenishing the rapidly depleting groundwater levels which led to water security and sustainability

Mr Modi has taken water resources management to the people’s doorstep, down to the village-level through Water and Sanitation Management Organisation’s participatory distribution system — the United Nations award-winning initiative of the State

Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency is the nodal agency to implement the Integrated Watershed Management Programme across Gujarat. The main aims of the IWMP are to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water

The outcomes proposed are prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain-water harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table. This is expected to enable multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area

Mr Modi’s vision of Jal Shakti to Jal Kranti has led to watershed development, construction of check dams, farm ponds and methods to obstruct the flow of water through cement-filled bags, spearheading a people’s movement and showing a futuristic approach to water harvesting and conserving water for the future

Right from the planning phase of the project, scientific tools have been used to ensure accuracy and efficiency. The approach followed for planning involves: Creation, development and management of geo-spatial data base depicting present conditions of land, water and vegetation with respect to watershed under different ownerships at village level; compatible socio-economic aspects and their analysis; and historical perspective land-water treatment of the area. The working module developed by the Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency has also been widely appreciated

A total of 21.34 lakh hectares with an outlay of Rs 2769.72 crore have been covered under IWMP for the implementation of the project. For effective monitoring, Geographical Information System has been put to use

Processes have been standardised and, accordingly, technical manual, capacity building manual, human resource manual, livelihood manual and operational guidelines have been framed and operationalised

It has been made mandatory that these projects converge with other schemes and programmes to bridge the fund gap and remove duplication in work. Convergence worth Rs 283.02 crore had been taken up for the projects sanctioned in 2009-10

For the first time in the watershed programme, livelihood activities have been included to extend benefits to landless and asset-less people of the project area. A livelihood action plan is being implemented across the State. Batch-wise budgetary allocation for livelihood is Rs 215 crore, Rs 180 crore and Rs 185 crore for projects sanctioned in the year 2009-10, 2010-11 and also 2011-12 respectively

The outcome of the watershed programme has been impressive. A study conducted by the Gujarat Institute of Development Research for the National Institute for Rural Development recently has provided the following impacts of Watershed Development Programme: Around 90 per cent of watersheds report increase in ground water by more than one metre; 88 per cent of watersheds have reported reduction in soil loss by more than 25 per cent

Also, 85 per cent of watersheds have reported more than 100 per cent increase in cropping intensity; 60 per cent watersheds have reported an increase in cereal yield by more than 50 per cent; and, 62 per cent reported increase in yield of more than 25 per cent of cash crops; 93 per cent of watersheds have reported an increase in employment in terms of labour days

The initiatives being taken by the Narendra Modi-led Government in Gujarat in watershed management programme have been recognised by even the Union Government. The Prime Minister’s award for excellence in public administration conferred on Civil Service Day 2012, went to Gujarat

The success of water management programmes in Gujarat is a lesson for all States

The Pioneer, 30th April 2012

The heritage city of Melaka is a contrast to the resurgent Malaysia

It was virtually a hop-in-hop-out kind of situation in Melaka, Malaysia. We had just a few hours before the sun set on this heritage city, and there was so much to see. And there was a scheduled boat cruise along the famed Melaka River

The options were checking out heritage spots on foot or tooling through the narrow, cobbled streets on a bright, floral, person-powered trishaw. Finding it tough to squeeze into one of those small contraptions we decided to foot it and do it fast

The town square, with its well-preserved remnants of a glorious past, was crowded with tourists that evening. Amidst the din, a newly married couple posed for photographers near the fountain at the centre of the square

The grand Stadthuys dominates the Square, also called Red Square, because of the crimson-coloured buildings around. The Stadthuys is probably the oldest remaining Dutch colonial building left in South East Asia. Christ Church that stands out majestically bears all the hallmarks of 18th Century Dutch architecture — so similar to the famous St. Francis Church built by the Dutch in Fort Kochi. It is said that during the Dutch rule it was, like the other buildings, painted white. In 1911, Christ Church and the Stadthuys complex were painted red by the British. Since then, these red buildings have become a hallmark of Dutch influence in the historic Melaka

The road leads you to Porta de Santiago, one of the four main gates and the only one standing of the formidable A' Famosa fortress. The gate stands as a surviving evidence of Portuguese occupation. A' Famosa was once a Christian city that had churches, chapels, a monastery, hospital, palaces and a castle

A series of steep steps takes you to St. Paul's Church. It's worth the climb, as, from here, you get an overview of the city and the Straits of Malacca. The small church, built in 1521, was later expanded into two storeys. This church is supposed to have been where the body of St. Francis Xavier was interred before it was moved to Goa. The tomb remains at the centre of the ruined church

The view from the gyro tower, Menara Taming Sari, a revolving structure that is nearly 100 mt high, provides a panoramic view of Melaka, the sea, and beyond. The sun had set, and you could see lights glimmer far away. Then it suddenly began to rain. We rushed into a nearby South Indian restaurant for a hot cup of tea and steaming ‘thosais' (the good, old dosa)

EXCITING EXPLORATION

It was dark when the rain stopped, and we moved towards the boat jetty. The cruise through Melaka River was a pleasant surprise. What was anticipated to be just another of those regular boat cruises turned out to be an exciting way to explore the city, its historical sites, the life of its people..

A recorded commentary on board offered information on the history of the river, on how it was widened, made pollution-free, on how the historic monuments on either banks were restored and maintained

The regular cruise takes around 45 minutes as the boat sails for approximately seven km. Right from the time the boat left the quay till we disembarked halfway through to walk through Jonker Street, it was one interesting journey. You get a feel of the multi-cultural and historical fabric of the country. A replica of a pirate ship, the Eye On Malaysia (a Ferris wheel), the now-abandoned Cathay Cinema, the old express bus terminal, a replica of a windmill and a fort with cannons were some of the sites that kept us turning to the right and left of the river. The boat passed under numerous bridges, beautifully lit up. We caught a glimpse of the Melaka tree, the name the city takes

A must-see on the cruise is Kampung Morten, a living museum that showcases a village that has been around for more than 100 years. The village takes its name after Joseph Frederick Morten, the then Commissioner of Land in Melaka, who was instrumental in preserving the village. They are a cluster of picture-perfect houses, well-preserved, with beautiful landscaping and brightly illuminated at night

The next morning, before we drove out of Melaka we spent some time in this village. The houses are fine examples of Malay architecture, some of them made completely out of wood, one of them without nails, most of them on stilts. All of them had a prominent verandah, and some had steps with floral patterns that, as our guide said, once indicated that “there were women of marriageable age” in the house

Melaka was soon left behind. What a contrast the city presented to a resurgent Malaysia — the Petronas Towers dwarfing huge skyscrapers, well-laid out gardens and roads… Just a few hours' drive from Kuala Lumpur and you stand transported into history books, in so many ways the birthplace of Malaysia — lovely, quaint Melaka.

The Hindu, 30th April 2012

Miners who ravaged the Aravalisin Faridabad distict till May 2009 want to resume small-scale mining in the garb of "rehabilitation" of deep pits. In a submission to the government, their consultants have proposed to create "benches" around the pits to facilitateafforestation - and sell the mining material generated in the process.

The Indian Bureau of Mines, a statutory body under the ministry of mines, in its November 2011 report mentions that consultants engaged by the miners for rehabilitation of the pits have proposed that the waste material generated in creation of benches and trenches could be "utilized in construction activities as construction material".

"Benches" are flat niches created on steep slopes (of the pit) where trees can be planted.

'No one to keep eye on Aravali'

Shooting down the proposal, IBM has recommended that the waste generated during formation of benches be used for backfilling of shallow dry barren pits, followed by plantation. According to sources in Haryana government, huge mining material can be generated while creating benches. As per the plan, 14 wet pits and most of the 17 dry pits would be rehabilitated. In all these cases, benches would be made since these pits have steep slopes. Flowering and fruit-bearing shrubs and trees would be planted for stabilization of the rocks.

Though the miners and the Haryana mining department agreed recently on the size of benches to be created (8X8 metres) at a meeting held with the Union ministry of environment and forest ( MoEF), questions are being raised on who would monitor the rehabilitation. "Who will ensure that the expensive mined material is not transported out of the lease area? What is the need of creating benches in most of the dry pits? These have been stabilized and plants have come up," said a government official who did not wish to be named.To ensure that the miners don't have to spend much on rehabilitation, their consultants have proposed that depressions formed by mining operations not be backfilled but used for collection and storage of rainwater. "The mine pit edge will be fenced to prevent any accidental fall.

Barbed-wire fencing of the mine pits periphery will be provided. Trenches will be provided along the barbed wires. The distance of these trenches will be 10 metres away from pit periphery. Trees will be planted in three rows along the periphery of pit," says the plan proposed by the miners, as quoted in the IBM report.While suspending mining in the entire Aravali region of Haryana in May 2009, the Supreme Court had said that "rehabilitation" of the degraded areas would be done by the respective leaseholders. Finalization of the rehabilitation plan is a pre-requisite to getting a go-ahead for future mining in Faridabad.

The Haryana government has been pushing to get the suspension lifted in court. It will soon be filing a final plan for rehabilitation of these ravaged area, sources said.The IBM has recommended that the miners should construct trenches around the wet pits to divert rain water to the pits for recharging. It has also said that fences should be installed around the pit. After rehabilitation of wet pits, the area could be developed as an eco-park, it said.


The Times of India, 30th April 2012

CITYSCAPE R.V. SMITH takes you through the history of the Mughal mosques of Delhi, some in ruins today

There are, according to INTACH, 213 officially listed mosques in Delhi, some with colourful names and a history of myth and legend behind them. Take Hari Masjid in Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, built in the 19th Century, which got its name from the colour of the building. Lal Masjid (there are two at least) is red coloured — the more well known one is in Faiz Road, Karol Bagh, constructed in 1930. Kali Masjid near Turkman Gate dates back to the time of Feroze Shah Tughlak. Its real name is Kalan Masjid but it has come to be known as Kali Masjid, it is where the best nahari is sold. Another Kali Masjid is not so famous. Sarhandi Masjid near Lahori Gate, was built by Sarhindi Begum, one of the wives of Shah Jahan, in 1650. Gularwali Masjid (constructed in 1940) is in S. P. Mukherji Marg, Old Delhi, and is so known because at one time there were gular trees there. Gular is a small, reddish fruit, quite sweet though now very few people relish it. The Dervesh Masjid honours a dervish and the mosque near India Gate marks the site where Ghulam Qadir Rohilla was executed. However, the Jama Masjid of Shah Jahan is the crowning glory, surpassing even the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque

Hauzwali Masjid was built around 1550 during the reign of Sher Shah and is situated in Gali Batashah, NaiSarak. That seems strange as there was no Old Delhi at that time. Masjid Ramzan Shah dates back to 1802 when Ghalib was about five years old and was built by Anis-un-Nissa Begum, mother-in-law of Nawab Mansoor Khan of Shah Alam's Court. He must have been a really privileged son-in-law to have found such a lasting memorial though some say that it honours the family Pir. Randi-ki-Masjid, better known as Mubarak Begum's mosque in Hauz Kazi, was built by the chief Bibi of Gen Ochterleny in mid-19th Century. She later married Wilayat Khan, a Mughal nobleman

Amrudwali Masjid (1735-36) is in Bulbulikhana, Bazaar Sita Ram, and was once known for its guavas. Qabarwali Masjid in Kutcha Shah Tara, has the grave of Parinda Khan in the courtyard and was built by his wife Rabia Begum around 1786-87. Qasaiwala (butcher's) Gumbad in Vasant Vihar is a mosque of the Tughlak period. Takia of Kamli Shah has a mosque commemorating a woman saint of Bahadur Shah Zafar's time. It is located in Lado Sarai, Mehrauli. Mothwali Masjid in South Extension has the amazing story of how a mosque grew out of a small ‘Moth' seed in the Lodhi era

Haji Langa's mosque (and gumbad) dates back to the Tughlak times and is misnamed as Haji Langra's (lame Haji's) mosque. It is in R.K. Puram. Hijron-ka-Khankah in Main Market, Mehrauli, is a mosque that has the graves of several eunuch gurus and is believed to be of the Lodhi period. Fakrul masjid in Kashmere Gate was built by Fakrunessa, wife of the Commander of Agra Fort in Aurangzeb's regime. He died in Kandahar during a battle with the Persians. The mosque was repaired by Col. Skinner and is also known as Sikandar Sahib's masjid

Then there's a Babari Masjid in Palam village built by Ghazanfar, a nobleman of Babar's time, in 1528. Besides the famous mosques of the Red Fort and the Zeenat Masjid built by Aurangzeb's daughter in Daryaganj (used by the British as a bakery in 1857), there are at least four or five Sunheri masjids or golden mosques, the most famous of which was built by Roshan-ud-daulah for his pir in 1821 at Chandni Chowk and from which Nadir Shah ordered the massacre of Delhi in 1739

Another famous Sunheri Masjid is near the Red Fort which owes its inception to Qudsia Begum, wife of Mohd. Shah. Some other masjids with unusual names are: Daiwali (midwife's) mosque at Tehra Bairam Khan (1653-54), Beriwala (plum mosque) in Netaji Marg, dated 1635, Burhiya-ki-masjid (old woman's mosque) built in the late Mughal period and situated in Mori Gate. Baghwali Masjid, also of the same time, is in Pandara Road. The Chini-ka-Burj is an unusual, oblong mosque in Nizamuddin basti and is dated 1550-60 (Sher Shah's time). Then we have Pankha-wali masjid (Lodhi period) in DDA Park, Mehrauli. Tofhewali Masjid (one that gives gifts) is of the Khilji period in Shahpur Jat village, but now in ruins. The Kutcha Tihar mosque (now modernised) is said to have been frequented by strangler thugs. Unchhi Masjid (there are several) have the prayer chambers on the top storey of the building. Jinnon-ki-Masjid in Kotla Ferozeshah is haunted by djinns, who shower favours on Thursdays

In front of Parliament House is a mosque near which the former President, Faqruddin Ali Ahmed, is buried. It was here that Hasrat Mohani, the poet who wrote “Chupke Chupke”, lived during the freedom struggle. Behind Parliament House is Rakabganj Masjid, also known as Jungle Shah's mosque, as a Sufi lived in it when the place was a wilderness of Raisina Hill in pre-British times. It is dated as “Late Mughal” and its name reminds one of the Church of St. John in the wilderness near Macleodganj, Himachal Pradesh, where the Viceroy, Lord Elgin, was buried. The church is now closed to worship but not the redesigned mosque

The Hindu, 30th April 2012