Susan  Welcome to IWC chat on "City Parks and Biodiversity" 
dayani  :) i thought there were going to be many ppl
Susan  Hi Dayani, the chat starts at 7.30. Pl. wait 
dayani  okey.... :) 
Sajeev  Hi This is Sajeev 
Susan  Welcome Sajeev
Sajeev  Thank you
Sajeev  How is the city Parks theme catching up I hope there will be a lot of people here to discuss 
Susan  Sajeev , pl. introduce the topic and the floor is all yours 
Sajeev  Delhi the city of gardens when we compare the data even with Sanctuaries Delhi holds a great place 
Sajeev  Gardens play a very vital role in maintaining the biodicversity 
Susan  Hi Dayani and wildtalk are you from cities/metros? 
janak123  hi susan,sajeev,this is ajit seshadri here ajit for short 
Sajeev  Just to ignite the thoguht the Bird species from Delhi is almost 400+ which is very close to that of Bharatpur Bird sanctuary 
Sajeev  Hi Ajit Welcome 
Susan  welcome Ajit 
dayani  hi i'm dayani from mysore
dayani  a small but unfotunately "developing" city :) 
Sajeev  Mysore another city famous for gardens 
Susan  Mysore is the city of gardens 
 wildtalk  Hi! Am taking part in a chat session hosted by Indian wildlife' for the first time, so didn't know that I'd be known as 'wildtalk' for the entire session!! Well, I'm Yamini and I'm from Gurgaon, Haryana. 
Sajeev  Yes! 
Sajeev  Welcome Yamini 
dayani  well yes we do have lots of gardens.... but we have more wetlands than gardens 
Susan  Hi Yamini, I am also in Gurgaon whiich is still very green though much less to what it was a year ago 
Sajeev  There is now the Biodiversity park coming up right in the heart of our capital 
Sajeev  It will defenitely remove your complaint but ofcourse we need more wetland 
Susan  Hi tiger 
Sajeev  The gardens provide the microhabitat for the small animals 
Sajeev  Welcome tiger
Sajeev  If we take a walk in a garden in Delhi for eg you will come across at least 30 species of birds
Sajeev  There are more than 250 species of trees in Delhi all due to Gardening spirit of different rulers 
ajit  hi susan,sajeev,this is ajit seshadri here ajit for short ,i had some connecitivity problem,itsokay now   
Susan  How does Delhi compare with Mumbai in number of species of trees/birds?   
Sajeev  That is how we come across a mongoose crossing road right infront of your house in the city
Susan  I have seen monitor lizards in Gurgaon and also in Delhi 
dayani  sorry ppl mysore power supply is awful...will have to log off :)
dayani  will definitely come for the next chat 
Sajeev  Mumbai is blessed with Sanjay Gandhi NP and the Western Ghats the Hot Spot of Biodiversity. How can we compare 
Susan  Sorry about that Dayani. read our transcript later . Also come in next month too. 
Sajeev  Monitor Liz. They are amazing in their tenacity and ability to survive right in the middle of metros but poor creature are often seen dead on the road 
ajit  the gardens,the ridge,the river flood plane,the cement jungles all provide a variety of species,its bio-diversity 
Sajeev  Delhi is in the conflence of the Gangetic plains and the Aravallis that also adds to its Biodiversity 
Sajeev  I mean confluence 
ajit  delhites enjoy bird watching now at various places,okhla,river plane,sanjay park,many ponds,etc,we see a good collection 
Susan  I have documented the biodiversity in our garden in our yahoo club . Please see the photosection at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indianwildlifeclub2/ 
sajeev  Hi I was out for a sec as the power flickered 
Susan  Sajeev tell us more about the new biodiv park that is coming up in Delhi 
sajeev  The children are now catching up the theme We see them every day at Conservation Centre in Asola. They are really enthusiastic nowadays 
ajit  yes susan i have seen it and is good,we need to make more children school,colleges aware of all nature's creations,seen in natural surroundings, 
sajeev  The biodiversity Parks is a new concept introduced in to the country in the last two three years 
wildtalk  Monitor lizards are regular visitors to my tutor's home in the summers especially. She says they drop in from time to time! One popped its head out from the drain running outside our front gate, scaring the daylights out of Mom who happened to be in the garden! We have a park in the next lane, happened to walk around it a few months back. Spotted 2 - 3 different species of birds before being driven out of the park by monkeys! Uhh..I was not aware of a biodiversity park in Delhi, where is it located? 
sajeev  They had taken up several acres of land which were totally unproductive and are now trying to bring back all that was lsot from the region 
Susan  The Yamuna Bio div Park is already open. Are they coming up with these parks in other states too? 
ajit  yes sajeev i am aware that u r doing a good job for the 8th and 9 th class students,as an Ngo initiative we propagated the info and 2 stuents have enrolled for the asola trip 
sajeev  The Yamuna BP is not yet open to Public it seems but you can go there if you are keen on nature 
sajeev  Oh it is good to know that you are aware of the CEC have you been to the place? 
ajit  sajeev,there are are many edu institutions wanting to take a walk or bycycle on river banks on yamuna which stretch do you suggest for seeing nature's creations!! 
sajeev  Asola was bare 10 yrs ago but now it is green and beautiful all to the efforts of the Govt. 
sajeev  If you are keen to do cycling still you can do it along Okhla Part but I am not aware of the other parts 
ajit  yes sajeev, i also have some friends in DOE sapat,anil kmr,adityanath and others,they have co-operated also 
sajeev  The early morning on a cycle in OBP may yield good scenes from nature 
ajit  yes sajeev okhla should be fine,iit delhi guys want to do that walk or byke on river,i have your email i will send you some more info to exchange notes 
sajeev  A walk in the garden or if your are not game for walk sit idle in a corner with very less movements nature will open up to you.
sajeev  Thanks I will be greatful 
ajit  yes sajeev whats OBP IS IT OKHLA bio park
sajeev  YES 
Susan  Nature is free so biking anywhere esply in guragon areas should be fun!   
ajit  hi whats up wild talk and susan are invisible, 
sajeev  If you don't have space for garden but you can still keep water for birds and a few potted plants that also helps to 
sajeev  I have counted 23 species of birds coming to drink from the regular bird pot! 
wildtalk  Sanjeev sir, I've been to Asola on a college practical calss trip (Ecology class). We found Prosopis flourishing. I've read that this species is invasive and that it threatens the survival of other species in the vicinity. Has there been any study by BNHS or the Sanctuary authorities to study the spread of this species? As for cycling, I'd be delighted to pedal away along a river bank, but the point is I would keep wondering whether some overwhelming stench would knock me out any moment!! 
sajeev  On a single day 
Susan  Feeding birds should not be encouraged, I feel. Of course a pot of water can be kept. What do you say?
wildtalk  Am a bit slow on the keyboard, my friends have reprimanded me for it many a time! 
ajit  sajeev,whats the best way to get clean water in yamuna,to get more aquatics,species and etc any hope before the common wealth games 
sajeev  There are several studies by people all over the world if not on Indian soil somewhere else on the same species. DU's Botany Dept and the Centre for Management of Degraded Ecosystems have done some studies . You may meet Dr David Kothamasi for details 
sajeev  For the Common wealth Games they are using the strectch from Chchawla Bridge towards Kangen Hari. 
sajeev  We should stop untreated sewage from entering Yamuna otherwise all efforts will go waste 
sajeev  The amount of waste entering Yamuna is so high that no plant can process it so fast. 
ajit  hi, all this is great.all nature lovers have a good plan for the year 2007 get more and more children involved all the best for the ensuing year 
Susan  Sajeev I think Yamini -wildtalk- has asked a valid question 
sajeev  Several NGOs are picking up this Clean Yamuna Drive & the CM in the Last Eco- Club meet asked all children to work for that. Let keep high hopes 
wildtalk  My Dad places a palm - full of 'bajra' every morning on our cooler case in the back garden. The sparrows wait in our lemon tree and banana trees till the time Dad retreats into the house. I don't think there's anything wrong feeding birds. Well the talk has moved quite ahead and we have a powercut now! Got to go! Nice reading everyone's opinions and will try not to miss these sessions here after! Bye and thank you! 
sajeev  Yamini there are no studies by BNHS as such on Keekar. But DU have done a good work. If you visit Biodiversity Park Meet Dr Anupam he will also help you to get some information on the species        
wildtalk  am still around! read Susan's entry in the last moment! 
ajit  yes,we ought to encourage all schools,colleges to have mini eco-parks within campus to bring awareness and more participation 
sajeev  Do I miss a question still? 
Susan  No Sajeev you are doing fine.
wildtalk  Thank you but I'm a bit lost Sanjeev sir! You mean the biodiv park near yamuna or do you mean the Asola sanctuary. 
sajeev  Biodiversity Park near Yamuna (Wazirabad)  
wildtalk  OK! Thanks once more and bye - bye, good night! 
Susan  We also need to wind up soon. so final round of comments?tiger, no comments yet? 
sajeev  There are excellent work done by schools in Delhi and Gurgaon 
sajeev  And I expect a bright future for city Parks and Biodiversity if our children come forward to do something for that 
ajit  yes,yes, schools,colleges are excellent propagators, our well wishes to everyone bye for now, 
sajeev  They and they only can do something to conserve what is left now 
Susan  So despite all powercuts, we had a good chat! Thanks Sajeev See you often in this forum 
Susan  Thank you all of us who participated! 
sajeev  See you & Thanks