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Census comes out with wild figures
Dehradun, December 30 Uttarakhand wildlife officials remain apprehensive of census figures and prefer calling these as estimates. The credibility of census of leopards and avifauna in the state has always been in doubt. Contradictions have been obvious in the numerical strength of vultures recorded in two census exercises held within the same period. The recent avifauna census puts the population of vultures at 4,720 whereas the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) census held around the same time recorded the population at 5,022. This meant the population of vultures has gone down by 6 per cent within a matter of months. The Dehradun census for smaller animals released by the Dehradun forest division, spread along eight forest ranges, recorded the presence of just four rabbits! The credibility of any leopard census has always been under a cloud. The recent leopard census, whose figures were out a few weeks back, comes up with not-so-easy-to-believe results. Certain forest divisions have recorded a drastic drop, which looks least possible by any yardstick. Like the Mussoorie forest division in 2003 had 19 leopards; the latest census has put this figure at seven. Certain forest divisions have recorded a phenomenal rise in the number of leopards. Soyam forest in Pauri Garhwal district had eight leopards in 2005; now it has 66 such cats. This means the population of leopards in this division increased by 58 within a span of three years. Similarly, the upper Yamuna forest division recorded the presence of 22 leopards while no leopard was found in this division in 2005. A senior wildlife official said an animal like the leopard could be counted twice as it moved from one forest division to another. A leopard that crosses the Sushwa river may be counted twice as the river separates Rajaji Park from the Dehradun forest division. These interpolations are seldom checked. The two forest divisions that share a common boundary are expected to check interpolations. Officials of the two divisions are expected to match the pugmarks in order to ensure that there are no repetitions. But this is hardly in practice. For smaller animals, the scenario is vague as the count is mostly done through sightings, which again depends on the expertise and credibility of the forester engaged in the exercise. Similarly, the figures for the state avifauna census had several anomalies. The state wildlife authorities had to come up with a series of amendments after the census outcome was made public. A participant in various wildlife census exercises, Hem Singh Ghelot of World Wide Fund, said the possibility of variations was part of the census. “You cannot exactly go by the figures, but then census of wildlife has its own challenges,” said Ghelot, while admitting that there was a lot of scope for manipulation of figures as the veracity of such census was not checked by any agency. And the census exercise becomes even more difficult in a state like Uttarakhand due to the inhospitable terrain. However, wildlife officials do not think the exercise is futile. “At least it provides us a base line date of different wild animals which assists up in formulating conservation efforts,” argued Uttarakhand Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola. No census can be fullproof, say Uttarakhand wildlife officials. They certainly have a valid argument as wild animals often move long distances and, thus, the accuracy factor can’t be ensured. In 2007 the pachyderm census showed a drop in elephant population in Uttarakhand while its neighbour Uttar Pradesh witnessed a corresponding rise. The Wild Life Institute of India, that conducted the first most methodological tiger census in the country last year used the “camera trap” method. This state-of-the-art technique helped reveal the true numerical strength of tigers in the country. The method involves installing hidden cameras in forests that photograph. But the high cost involved is a major deterrent, say the forest officials. Dr VP Uniyal, who was part of the Wild Life Institute team that held the census for tigers, said the census by the forest department was generally a rough estimates due to lack of staff and skills. “At times, it turns to be an arduous task for forest officials to conduct the enumeration exercise in hill forests and they tend to ignore these areas. This results in misleading figures,” explained Dr Uniyal. But then taking into account the large conservation interests linked to wildlife census, any misleading statistics can be detrimental to conservation efforts. Senior Uttarakhand officials point out that 10 per cent variation is the norm as far as the outcome of census of mammals is concerned. But in case of avifauna, it is difficult to come up with any perfect figure. Guess work by a trained eye is the only option. Terming the census exercise as fairly accurate, RK Mishra, Additional Secretary, said the wildlife census undeniably had its challenges. “The Wild Life Institute has a software which proved very effective in the tiger census,” Mishra said. The software can effectively calculate the strength of tigers in a particular area thorough a feed data that apart from pugmarks registration includes inputs like half-eaten prey, sounds of the animal and scratches on the ground. The inputs when fed into the software can help in accurately calculating the strength of the wild cat in particular area. However, reliability of such estimates is questionable as the methods
followed and the ability of individuals making such estimates is unchecked. At best these could be considered
guess estimates. Another senior forest officer BP Gupta said there had been steady improvement in census methodology. Also, the forest department from time to time took assistance from wildlife experts and volunteers. He said the November bird census was being conducted with the help of professional bird watchers. Space scientist Dr MM Kimothi said he did not rule out the use of satellite imageries for assisting wildlife census in future.
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Mills of change
Dehradun, December 30 The Britishers built Mill Lane in 1845 when a canal was brought for irrigation purposes from the Tons river. Several water mills were constructed on the canal to provide grinding services to civilians as well as servicemen stationed in the army cantonment situated nearby. Due to the presence of so many water mills, the canal was named Mill Lane. After serving the community for over a century, these ‘gharats’ (water mills) were abandoned due to advent of faster machines for grinding. However, on the initiative of WISE members the state government decided to lease these abandoned British era structures to these women. And due to their hardwork and dedication, three of these water mills have been renovated. With the use of better technology, these mills have become a symbol of change in Garhi Dakra, an area predominantly inhabited by Gorkha population. All the three mills have started grinding again and selling the nutritious ‘gharat atta’. At one of the mills, the women have also started a restaurant near the water body; making nutritious Swiss cakes, sandwiches and other bakery products for the local population. “Flour from traditional water mills keeps all vitamins and carbohydrates intact and these do not burn, as is the case in high-speed grinders used by electric mills. Moreover, the roughage of the flour also remains intact, which is healthy,” said Dr Kiran Rawat of WISE. In addition, these water mills are also producing power for self-consumption. “The bakery products made by us are becoming popular and monthly sales are now touching Rs 30,000. Watermills are also producing power for self-consumption and for our own use,” she added. On the other hand, Uttarakhand Governor BL Joshi agreed that he was a bit circumspect before the inauguration ceremony. “But after coming here and seeing the wonderful work done by these women, I am pleasantly surprised,” he said. The Governor said it was the amalgamation of traditional wisdom with modern technology and pledged all support for such enterprises, which could give employment opportunities to local women. Dr Anil Parkash Joshi of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) said the water mills are among the oldest enterprises of human civilisation, which have fallen on bad days. He said thousands of water mills scattered all over the Himalayan region could be used for producing power and to start food-based enterprises, which would facilitate decentralised economic growth in the remote and inaccessible areas. Joshi also called for the creation of a market for the produce so that such enterprises become self-sustainable. Swami Chidanand Muni of Parmarath Niketan, Rishikesh, who accompanied the Governor to the function, was also impressed by the initiative. “I could not imagine that women have done such wonderful work. I announce that from now onwards all the ashrams, schools and institutions run by ‘Parmarath Niketan’ would only use flour from these ‘gharats’. We will also buy other bakery products,” he said. He added that during the International Yoga week starting from January 1, 2009, at Rishikesh, where participants from over 50 countries would be present, flour and other bakery products from WISE would be used. “I am pleased that the hardwork put in by us after availing a bank loan of just Rs 10 lakh has started bearing fruit,” said Nisha, manager of the restaurant.
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IG asks banks to work on security
Dehradun, December 30 There was
no security guard deployed in PNB when five motorcycle-borne robbers
looted the Kishanpuri branch of PNB in Kotwar region of Pauri district.
A month back, the senior police officials had convened a meeting with
various banks. During the meeting, IG Garhwal, Ashok Kumar had passed
several instructions, pertaining to the security arrangements in banks.
“We had told the bank officials to ensure that there should be at
least one armed security guard in the bank and also emphasised that
banks with maximum account holders should deploy two security guards.
Though the bank which was looted yesterday falls in Kumaon range but
still it is really strange that there was no security guard in the
bank,” said IG Garhwal, Ashok Kumar. Expressing his dismay over the
casual attitude of the banks towards security arrangements, Ashok Kumar
said, “Since banks are insured, the officials have an attitude of not
spending money on security equipment like CCTV cameras. But the bank did
not realise that during bank robbery, it is not only the money which is
at stake but human lives are also under great risk.” While
disclosing that another meeting would be convened soon with the bank
officials. IG said banks will be instructed to install CCTVs in the
banks. Before employing security guards, proper verification of the
guards should be done added IG. The IG said that he would also instruct
the bank officials to conduct a drill of their security alarm and auto-dialling
system at regular intervals. Also, the numbers of police control room,
nearest police station and station officer should be readily available
with the bank staff.
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The mystique of Katesar Castle
Mussoorie, the Queen of Hills, is known worldwide for its heavenly beauty that still reflects the charm and romance of the colonial era. Centuries-old bungalows, churches and cemeteries are a true manifestation of the majestic grandeur of those times.
One such regal yet unexplored compound is the Katesar Castle complex, which houses a church and a temple as well. The Katesar temple, which is the first Radha-Krishna temple in Mussoorie, stands alone in the Katesar Castle hilltop situated in the Happy Valley. Albeit the temple is private, it is open for public as well. People from nearby areas visit the place every Janamashtami and during the time of other festivals, in addition to other days. The temple is situated in a scenic location and provides an excellent view of the mighty Himalayas and Mussoorie
town. During the British era, the castle complex was just a couple of buildings, which included the priory, the monastery and the cloister (the Chapel) that belonged to ‘7th Day Adventist’, an American mission. In 1941, Pratap Bhan Prakash Singh, the Talukdar of Katesar in the Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh, bought the priory for Rs 26,000. “My mother and I chose this property for my uncle Raja Ajit Singh of Pratapgarh, who rejected it as it was away from the town. Luckily, my husband bought the property for me, as I fell in love with the very sight of the tall Deodar trees that covered the entire building. He got the castle look done in 1942, engaging Afghan laborers while the Second World War was on,” said Raj Mata Savita Kumari, who was Yuvraj Kumari Kasmanda before marriage. The temple, a wish of Raj Mata’s mother, was finished in June 1948 and the idols of Lord Krishna and Radha were made by Guru Mahapatra of the Lucknow Art College. The idols were formally placed on the auspicious day of Ganga Dussehra, the day on which the holy Ganga river descended from heaven to Earth. Contractor Ugarsen of Landour made a masterpiece of the temple, which looks like a white lotus from the Camel’s Back road. “I grew up listening to the sound of bhajans that were played in the temple on Janamashtami and were audible at my home,” recalls historian Gopal
Bhardwaj. For the royal family, the temple is a personal place of worship, slightly outside the castle. “It is a really wonderful fact that Dada (as she fondly calls Raj Mata) used to worship in the morning. Then she used to go horse-riding in breeches and again do the evening puja. She was even given the name ‘Meera’ in a well-known book,” said Neelambari Kumari, Raj Mata’s grand daughter-in-law who runs a primary school in one section of the castle. In 1958, The Dalai Lama was invited by the Raj Mata for tea, and a ‘doha’ from the ‘Ramcharitmanas’ was written on the welcome gate which reads: “Thank you Guru for visiting your disciple.” The Dalai Lama’s sister stayed in the monastery, which today is a hostel of the Tibetan Homes Foundation School. The chapel is now Hooper Memorial Church. And the castle stands mysteriously behind the tall Deodars with the temple besides it. (The writer is a freelance journalist from Mussoorie)
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