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Sparrows disappearing fast from the cities (June Week 2 (2005))
The common house sparrow, once part of every household, is fast disappearing from urban areas, including Delhi. Ornithologists and wildlife experts speculate that the population crash could be linked to a variety of factors like lack of nesting sites in
modern concrete buildings, disappearing kitchen gardens, increased use of pesticides in farmlands and the non-availability of food sources. KS Gopi Sundar of the Indian Cranes and Wetlands Working Group (Times of India, 13th June) says: "Although there is
no concrete evidence or study to substantiate the phenomenon, the population of house sparrows has definitely declined over the past few years." He attributes it to a number of reasons." The widespread use of chemical pesticides in farmlands has resulted in
the killing of insects on which these birds depend. Seed-eating birds like sparrows have to depend on soft-bodied insects to feed their young ones," he said. The other possibility could be increased predation by crows and cats, said Gopi Sundar. "So, while
crows are growing in number as a result of unchecked garbage accumulation in the city, more and more sparrows are falling prey to them," he said.
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Poachers turn saviors (June Week 2 (2005))
In the Manas National Park in western Assam, once upon a time poachers have become the tiger's best friend. The park was at one time a haven for militants as well as poachers who hunted tigers, rhinos and elephants. Today the tiger is roaring again at
the park. And the elephants too have got a new lease of life. Budheswar Boro, who was once a much feared poacher and admits having killed scores of animals including rhinos, elephants and a tiger, is now a transformed man. He still roams the park with a gun,
but for a cause. "I now patrol the park looking for poachers. I feel sad when I look back at my past when I hunted animals," Boro says with a sense of remorse. Like Boro, there are a dozen more poachers who guard the park in their changed role as custodians
of wildlife. It became possible after the park authorities launched a drive to woo poachers with financial incentives. The Manas National Park was plundered by tribal Bodo guerrillas for almost a decade which prompted UNESCO to list Manas as a World Heritage
Site in Danger. However, now from the brink of collapse to a situation when the animals can breathe easy, Manas is on a comeback trail with a marked improvement in the overall situation during the past one year. This is good news for India where the tiger
population has dwindled rapidly in the last few years.
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Tiger task Force upsets conservationists (June Week 2 (2005))
The Tiger Task Force, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the country's dwindling tiger population and give recommendations for its conservation, has come under scrutiny for not focusing on the very task for which it was set up. At a
Tiger Task Force (TTF) meeting held in Nagpur on June 12, it is alleged, the discussion centered on how the tiger's forests can be used by the people and the tiger seemed to be missing from the agenda. Things have come to such a head that conservationists
are writing to the Prime Minister that the task force is failing in its purpose. At least three conservationists, who had been invited for discussions waited for over six hours for discussions before they walked out. It is hoped that such differences of opinion
between the members of task force and conservation community of India will be resolved soon and will not come in the way of efficient planning for saving tigers without sidelining the interests of people living close to the forests.
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Fishermen protest against Sethusamudram project (June Week 2 (2005))
Fishermen in the south have stood up against the soon to be started Sethusamudram project. According to members of the Movement against Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, an umbrella organization of fishermen associations and non-governmental organizations,
the project will doom the fishing industry. The members said that the fish stock in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Straits was dwindling, and the project would wipe it out. The Movement will launch agitations, including rail rako and black flag protest against
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers when they come for the foundation laying function. T. Mohan of the Coastal Action Network said the project, which was "unscientific and economically unviable", was being rushed through in an "undemocratic manner"
to gain political advantage. He also said that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gave environmental clearance based on an environment impact assessment (EIA) made before the tsunami December last and since post-tsunami marine life had undergone
a sea change a fresh assessment should be made. He added that almost 3.55 lakh fishermen would become jobless once dredging started and those working in allied industries would also be affected.
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Camel population on the decline (June Week 2 (2005))
The number of camels in Asia has appallingly fallen by one-fifth in the last 10 years, revealed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics. Camel numbers dropped from 4.5 million in 1994 to 3.5 million in 2004. These figures count both the
one-humped dromedaries and the two-humped Bactrian camels. Dromedaries live in the hot deserts from the Mediterranean to the Thar Desert in western India. "A major reason for the startling drop in camel numbers is the loss of pasture land. More and more land
is being fenced, irrigated and ploughed. Camel herders have nowhere to take their animals to graze," said a Rajasthan based NGO, Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthana (LPPS).
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Pataudi surrenders, granted bail (June Week 2 (2005))
The former Indian cricket captain, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, wanted for questioning in connection with a poaching case registered against him and seven others, surrendered before Chief Judicial Magistrate Sudhir Jeevan at Jhajjar in Haryana on 18th June.
The judge initially remanded him to police custody for two hours and later extended it to a day. Pataudi and seven others are facing charges of poaching following the recovery of carcasses of a black buck and two rabbits from a Gypsy owned by him on June 3.
However, on 20th June he was granted bail by the lower Jhajjar court.
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