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Forest Fires: Residents face the heat
Rishikesh beckons the adventurous |
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Landslip blocks work on border
... Meanwhile, vehicles
inside Corbett may be banned
Appeal for a clean Mussoorie
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Forest Fires: Residents face the heat Haridwar, June 17 Several factors are being attributed for the same. Lack of food and water in the jungles, increasing human intervention in forest areas, illegal hunting and anthropogenic activities are cited as reasons fo the man-animal conflict. Experts also point to forest fire as one of the major reasons for wild animals getting aggressive. On account of forest fires in recent months as well as soaring temperatures, the movement of animals towards human habitats has increased and so has incidents of residents near forest areas mauled by animals. Areas such as Pokhal in Pauri Garhwal, Badiyargadh in Tehri Garhwal, Jageshwar in Almora, the Saklana range in Jaunsar and Gairsain in Chamoli have been most vulnerable to animal attacks. People in Haridwar are more vulnerable to elephant attacks, with the Rajaji National Park located in the district. Instances of elephants mowing down villagers and intruding into human settlements and razing crops are common in the area. In the past few months, at least 15 persons have been killed in such attacks and several wounded. In Deoprayag on Saturday night, a tiger made yet another villager its victim. Raghuvir Singh, 31, of Bharpoor Patti was having dinner on the roof of his house when he was attacked by a tiger who left him seriously injured. After the attack, barely 2 km away, the tiger attacked
Durga Devi in Dansada village. Hearing her shrieks, her family members and neighbours came to her rescue but it was too late. Fear has gripped the area and villagers demand forest and local officials kill the
man-eater tiger without losing time. Meanwhile, residents heaved a sigh of relief on June 10 when a forest department team led by famous shooter Lakhpat Singh Rawat killed a leopard in Deoprayag. Rawat has killed 24
man eaters, tigers and leopards, so far. A herd of elephants crushed a teenager studying in Dehradun a mere 3 km from Kotdwar. The same day a female elephant killed an attendant at Dhikule village in Ramnagar. Fifty five-year-old Lakshmi was used by a resort to ferry tourists. She brought Mohammed Danish on the ground with her trunk and trampled on him. Environmentalist Jagat Singh Chaudhari says the recent forest fires have severely affected food resources, forcing animals to come out of their protected zones. Eminent forest scientist Dr Rambir Singh says human intervention in the animal habitat is one major reason for the increased attacks. The intervention has not only restricted animal movement but also affected food and water resources which has turned the animals aggressive. Meanwhile, the forest department and local administration seems hapless. Apart from issuing orders on killing maneaters, there has been no thought process on ways to curtail the man-animal conflict. Wildlife biologist Dr Ritesh Joshi says that animals are straying into human habitats while on their search for food and water. Shrinking jungle area is another factor. “The Wildlife Protection Act is to protect animals but when animals attack us, what should we do? Family members of those killed have to fight for compensation. This is quite ironic,” said Ravindra Singh, village head of Kewars in Pauri, where a few years back three youths bravely fought a tiger that had taken a child on its claws.
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Rishikesh beckons the adventurous Dehradun, June 17 The Ganga at Rishikesh and upstream is thriving these days with the rapid twists and bends in the whitewater with the rafts. On an average, around 3,000-4,000 tourists have been coming to the place during the weekends to experience the spurt of rapids, baiting of convolutions and buoyancy of water against the raft. Neeraj, a software developer from Delhi said, “I am in an awe of the nature and rafting gives vent to the pent-up fascination. The onset of vacations makes it all the more adventurous and a relaxing process. ” The season for this sport ranges from mid September to June. A trend of monopolistic competition is evident considering rafting as a business. VS Pundir, an official at Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) said, “Around 70-80 private companies are in vigorous competition during the peak season of rafting offering the best possible packages to its customers.” The day trips, called as the Enjoy Trips, are as cheap as Rs 400 in the government-based camps, which covers a distance of 11-22 km. The three-day expedition trip from Srinagar (Garhwal) to Rishikesh costs between Rs 1400-1500 but the amount varies in the private sector. An official at ‘Rapid Action’, rafting company claims, “We provide an adventurous trip of 34 km from Marine Drive to Laxman Jhula ensuring maximum enjoyment to our customers.” Manish Khatri, a logistic manager, while taking great pleasure in the spree with his mates said, “We ecstatically enjoyed the rafting of approximately 4 hours. At times, it was frightening while we sprung forth the mountains but that’s the fun of it. The tickling feeling in the stomach guarantees utmost enjoyment.” The safety measures and precautions are however, not neglected in the fun-filled environment. Pundir said, “A guide and an assistant accompany on each of the rafts. A life jacket and a pair of shoes are also provided to every individual.” The nature trails should not be missed from the scenic Garhwal hills. Some students, calling themselves as ‘The Nirvana Seekers’, were trekking the hills of Mussoorie claimed that the hilly terrains guaranteed them immense pleasure during their vacations.
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Landslip blocks work on border Pitthoragarh, June 17 “The 75.54 km-long road linking the last Indian Army post at the border with China at Lipulekh Pass, has been further delayed by at least two years due to disturbance caused by the landslide which took place on February 6 ,” said Col Desai, Commandant, 66 Road Construction Company of the Border Road Organisation at Dharchula. The road construction commenced in April 2008 after a delay of a decade on account of environmental clearances. “The road planned to be completed by 2012 is likely to be completed in 2015 as we have been unable to carry material by road for the last four months,” said the BRO official. “We are sending material by helicopter as an alternative so that our personnel continue with their work. “We are also constructing a 100 meter- long helipad at Gunji that will further speed up road construction, even if this road blockade continues,” he explained. The debris at Chautuldhar snapped the road link between Dharchula and Ghatiyabagar leading to Lipulekh Pass. Even Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims had to trek an extra 7 km. The road block has made transportation to border posts of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) difficult. “Our cost of supplying ration for storage for the winter session is costing 15 to 20 percentage more. “The government is forced to press into service helicopters for the purpose as road transportation has come to a complete halt at Chautuldhar,” said APS Nimbraia, Commandant, 7th BN ITBP. Nimbraia said the ITBP was facing acute difficulty in carrying down patients from higher posts. Besides disturbing essential supplies to more then 50 villages in the Dharchula subdivision, the blockade on the vital link road is creating problems for the 280 mw Dhauliganga hydro-electric project that is located in territory across the landslide. “We used to send staff at our dam site situated at Chirkila during the monsoon season for a 24-hour watch on floods. “But after the landslide, our engineers will have to stay at the site for 15 days at a stretch in view of the blocked road that has rendered daily commuting impossible,” said S. Kalgonkar, project manager, Dhauliganga. “Besides, our project is facing logistic problems as carrying material for day- to-day repair work almost impossible,” added a rather alarmed Kalgonkar. — The writer is a freelance scribe
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... Meanwhile, vehicles inside Corbett may be banned Dehradun, June 17 On a two-day visit to Corbett that concluded on Sunday, union minister of state for environment and forests(independent charge) Jairam Ramesh during interaction with Corbett officials expressed concern over the movement of a large number of four-wheelers insidethe park. Apart from Dikhala, known for its night safari, there are three other tourism zones, Bijrani, Jhirna and Durga Devi, where only big vehicles are allowed. As many as 30 six-seaters are allowed in Bijrani every morning and evening whereas Jhirna allows only 28 of these vehicles at one time. In the Durga Devi zone, only 15 vehicles are permitted. Over 200 vehicles ply at a time inside Corbett, which includes official canters and jeeps. The minister, who was acerbic in his criticism of the presence of a large number of vehicles inside Corbett, sought better infrastructure facilities for Corbett to curb poaching. He suggested mircrolight aircraft for surveillance. Corbett remains the first choice of wildlife lovers. While taking up the issue of protection of wildlifewith top forest officials, the minister also discussed the concerns of forest dwellers. He called for making Van Gujjars part of the Tiger Protection Force.
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Appeal for a clean Mussoorie Mussoorie, June 17 Secretary of Mussoorie Hotels Association, Ajay Bhargava, said due to the strike by municipal workers the town is struggling to cope with problems of garbage disposal. He said representatives of MHA and MTA, along with Chairman and Executive Officer of Municipal Board, walked from Gandhi Chowk to Picture Palace here and met traders and other residents yesterday. They appealed to them to refrain from wanton disposal of garbage outside their houses. “We are appealing to all the people to collect garbage in polythene bags either in a discreet corner inside our just outside their houses, but not dispose it on the roadside,” said Bhargava. The efforts are being made in view of the fact that it is still peak tourist season in Mussoorie, and garbage on the roadside may not go down well with visitors. Notably, tourist inflow into the town has dipped drastically after declaration of strike by workers of civic bodies, including the Jal Sansthan and the Nagar Palika.
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Haridwar, June 17
Dehradun, June 17
Besides hampering essential supplies to more then 50 villages in the Dharchula subdivision, the blockade on the vital link road is creating problems for the
280 mw Dhauliganga hydro-electric project
