-Timescrest.com Three successive CAG reports warned the Uttarakhand govt about the consequences of multiple hydropower projects, and their unpreparedness in the face of disaster. The advice was ignored. With aim of turning Uttarakhand into Urja Pradesh, the state has committed to building 680 dams, currently in various stages of commissioning, construction and planning. The powers that be have expedited the clearances for these projects. However, when it came to the issue of credible...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Recipe for disaster in Uttarakhand: 1 crore population, 2.5 crore tourists -Subodh Varma
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Are you surprised by the staggering number of people, many from across India, who are stranded in calamity-stricken Uttarakhand? The reason is quite simple: in a state with a total population of just over 1 crore, the number of tourists visiting it is 2.5 crore, both figures being for 2011. And most of these tourists visit the mountain state in summer. Put this together with the...
More »Nature avenges its exploitation-Maharaj K Pandit
-The Hindu The catastrophe in the Himalaya is the result of deforestation, unchecked construction of dwellings and large-scale building of big dams A week is a long time in the Himalaya. In the late 1980s, I visited Arunachal Pradesh as a young researcher, with a keen interest in photography. I walked into the middle of the Dibang river, hop skipping over boulders, until my local tribal guide ordered me to return immediately....
More »forest officials seize 5,000 tortoises in AP-Rajulapudi Srinivas
-The Hindu VIJAYAWADA: The Krishna District Forest Department authorities (of Wildlife Management) seized about 5,000 tortoises being transported illegally on Tuesday. On a tip-off, the team led by Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) G. Anand conducted a raid in Kalidindi mandal in the wee hours and recovered the tortoises packed in 70 gunny bags. The tortoises were being smuggled to Odisha State, said the DFO. "About 100 tortoises were packed in each gunny bag....
More »Audit to nab sapling killers -Bibhuti Barik
-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The forests and environment department has started a plantation audit to find out the survival rate of saplings planted over the years within the city limits. A total of 9,67,362 saplings were planted in past three years but no one knows the survival rate of the saplings. forest officials say a survival rate of 70 to 75 per cent is a healthy sign for any plantation drive. But the numbers...
More »