searcho Coffee r Art e Coffee %E6%98%9F p 14329 w
%E5%A4%A9%E5%B0%8E searchEsearch% Tendo 4 Meetingstrippeddevi A Shop % %E5%A4%A9%E5%B0%8E 5 Art B0 14329 8EsearchlsearchSj 108 lsearchp Suikoden iuo Singles search
i 108 n
. 14329 o %28Koei%29 e
lsearchisearchssearche Rosa Suikoden y %E5%A4%A9%E5%B0%8E . Shop . %E6%B0%B4%E6%BB%B8%E5%82%B3 .
Kz Meetingstrippeddevi i %E6%B0%B4%E6%BB%B8%E5%82%B3 %28Koei%29 ndREALITYKINGS.COMe0a Cunt l %E6%98%9F r 108 msearchW Coffee Ssearch. Tendo
APPEAL
Quraishi and Parahiya were not regular government servants, and have left behind families (including 6 children) now facing a future of economic hardships. Due to lack of funds, the Forest Department had apparently been unable to pay them wages for the past ten months! Hence any financial assistance or compensation from the government is unlikely.The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) is arranging to have funds sent to the bank account that has been set up to help the families of the deceased.
You are requested to provide financial help to the families of the deceased. Kindly send your contributions, by cheque, demand draft or money order, in the name of Account No. 1021, Palamau Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Hamidganj, Daltonganj. The contributions should be sent to Shri Vishwanth Shah, IFS, Attached Officer, Project Tiger Circle, Palamau, Daltonganj, Bihar, or to WPSI (address above).
ssGUJARAT
Bamboo cutting stopped in Shoolpaneshwar Sanctuary
Readers may recall earlier reportage in JPAM Update No. 9 regarding the rampant cutting of bamboo inside the Shoolpaneshwar Sanctuary by the SPM Paper Mills. SPM had for the last few years received a permit from the Forest Department to do this cutting, apparently only of dead bamboo. Local NGOs had reported that under this pretext, a lot of green bamboo was also being taken away; they alleged that in the year 1994-95 alone, about 0.12 million tonnes of bamboo was cut. At one point, Sanctuary officials had justified the cutting, saying that the resulting openings favoured wild herbivores!
The NGO ARCH-Vahini, which has been actively fighting for the rights of tribals who inhabit the Sanctuary, and who reportedly have a tough time meeting basic needs because of the Sanctuary's restrictive rules, has repeatedly highlighted the bamboo cutting issue. Finally, the Gujarat High Court took notice of the media coverage, and directed a CBI enquiry into the matter. The CBI report, accompanied by revealing video footage, showed that there were a series of irregularities in the way that SPM was doing the cutting, including violations of the Forest Working Plan for the area. Finally, on a writ filed by ARCH-Vahini, the court has directed that all cutting be stopped, and that the state government take firm steps to conserve the resources of the sanctuary. It has also authorised NGOs to monitor the situation, and report any irregularities.
Meanwhile, in an interesting development, the tribal villages situated inside the Sanctuary chose a "people's candidate" to fight the Lok Sabha elections. This was supported by ARCH-Vahini. The fate of the candidate (Manga Vasava) is not known at the time of going to press.
Contact: Rajesh Mishra, ARCH-Vahini, Mangrol, Tal. Rajpipla, Dist. Rajpipla 393150, Gujarat. Sources: 'Soorpaneshwar Abhyaranya: C.P.M. Bahar'. In Lokrah, Rajpipla, 3/2/1998 (in Gujarati); Note on Manga Vasava issued by ARCH-Vahini.
Habitat destruction affects Wild Ass population in Rann of Kutch
The Wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), found only in India, is restricted to the salt desert ecosystem in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. With drastical deterioration in its habitat, its future is severely threatened. It has found its food base in the vegetated islands of the desert (which are the only dry patches during the area's periodic inundation by salt and freshwater) shrinking, and has to increasingly compete for this food base with huge numbers of livestock. Its major stronghold is the Dhrangadhra Sanctuary, covering virtually the whole of the Little Rann (an area of about 4,850 sq.km.), with an estimated population of about 2,400.
In the last two decades, salt traders and extracters have enveloped and encroached the sanctuary area with salt-pans. Fishermen exploit the area during the monsoon, in violation of the Wild Life Act. Thousands of domestic cattle enter the Rann daily to graze illegally, depriving the local wildlife of fodder and spreading diseases. Nearly 900 sq.km. of the sanctuary is forest land but is being used as a transit route for commercial products, in alleged violation of the Forest Conservation Act. The army occupies 1,000 sq.km. of the sanctuary for a field firing range, again causing wildlife disturbance. A branch of the Narmada canal has been planned on the fringe of the sanctuary, which, according to a Wildlife Institute of India report, could cause further havoc. The sanctuary is short of manpower and equipment to patrol its vast area, according to the Wild Ass Sanctuary superintendent. Fodder bed plantations for the asses and guarding of the areas fringing the sanctuary have been undertaken as a measure to protect the animal. Although no legal action can be taken against the rampant salt-panning, the Revenue Department has stopped issuing new licenses.
Wildlife experts insist that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests set up a fact-finding mission to visit the sanctuary and ensure that the laws are enforced.
Source : Balaram, G. Wild Habitat Deteriorating, Wild Ass of the Rann Find Going Tough. Times of India. 2/2/98.
Gir: villages will not be part of extended area
Revenue villages and agricultural land in Gir forest area will not be included or be a part of the proposed extension to the existing national park, the Deputy Conservator of Forests said in a statement. The people in these villages will hence remain unaffected by the extension.
It may be noted here that following earlier notifications which included one lakh hectares of land of Gir forest in the national park, apprehension was created among dwellers in this area that their villages would also be included in the park, and they had made a representation against it. The clarification was issued to dispel this apprehension.
Contact: Deputy Conservator of Forests (WL), Sasan Gir 363 125, Dist. Junagadh, Gujarat.
Source : Anon. 'Villages Will Not be a Part of the National Park'. Times of India 25/3/98.
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Militant activities threaten existence of the Kashmir stag
The Hangul or Kashmir stag (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is reported to be slipping towards extinction in its last bastion, the Dachigam National Park. Unofficial estimates point to an alarming decline of this majestic deer over the decade of militancy, from 818 to its lowest-ever population of between 100 to 170 individuals.
Set up as a royal hunting reserve in 1910, and declared a sanctuary in 1951, Dachigam was voted the best National Park in the country in the 1980s. It then turned into a sanctuary for militants and renegades, who shot and injured an estimated 200-250 Hangul.
Dachigam is a prime example of the devastation wrought upon the Valley by the years of turmoil. There are no more than 15-16 functionaries of the Wildlife Department to watch over the 141 sq. km. Park, whose altitudinal range (1700-4000 m) make patrolling doubly difficult. Dachigam is home to 20 mammal species, 150 bird species and 50 species of trees. For fear of the lurking threat of the militants, the park is not guarded/patroled by the wildlife functionaries during the night. Besides poaching of the Hangul and birds like the Monal and the Koklas pheasants, the last few years were an open season for timber felling, extraction of gravel, stones and boulders, and grazing with the connivance of either the wildlife functionaries or the militants. The deforestation accruing from these illegal activities has contributed to the siltation of the Dal Lake and a falling capacity of the woodlands to absorb the pollution from the urban areas. The Park forms half the catchment area of the Lake and provides a substantial part of the freshwater supply of Srinagar, the state capital.
The Park's infrastructural facilities were nearly wrecked over the militancy years. The interpretation centre suffered a bomb blast, while the library lies in neglect and is used to billet security forces. Wildlife functionaries are not spared by militants, a few having fallen to their rifles over the years. It is now known if the relative decline in militancy in the state has now improved matters.
Source : Indian Express 7/2/98
MADHYA PRADESH
Fishy goings on in Pench Tiger Reserve
With a reported annual income of about Rs. 2 crores, the commercial fish mafia of Nagpur has for the last three years lobbied successfully to exploit the fishing potential of the Pench resevoir spread across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, inside the National Park boundaries. The fishing activities are being prevented and discouraged within the Maharashtra shore by strict surveillance from a patrol boat donated to the forest department with the initiative of Tiger Link.
However, the conflict continues in Madhya Pradesh, with news suggesting that the Congress Party in Chhindwara (former Environment Minister Kamal Nath's constituency) had promised the fishing mafia of Nagpur unbridled access to the Pench reservoir. The matter has actually reached the Supreme Court which issued very strict orders allowing only 300 or so fishing licences to be issued to local villagers, for fixed routes and for fixed times.
However, it is reported that no less than 1000 people are being pushed into the National Park from all sides to fish, and they camp there for days on end. This appears to be a clear contempt of court, and NGOs have demanded that the concerned M.P. government officials should go to jail for this.
The issue is complicated by the fact that a number of villagers are dependent on fishing for their economic livelihood, and the above mentioned case in the Supreme Court had considered their needs. However, clearly vested commercial interests are exploiting the situation, and have thwarted NGO attempts at reconciling the genuine livelihood interests of villagers with the conservation values of Pench.
Contact : Bittu Sahgal, Sanctuary Magazine, 602 Maker Chambers V, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Tel: 91-22-283 0061; Fax : 287 4380. Email: bittu@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in
MAHARASHTRA
Mining at Radhanagari Sanctuary A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court has restrained the Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd (INDAL) from carrying out any mining activity within the Radhanagari Bison Sanctuary in District Kolhapur, in a writ petition filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group. Armed with a lower court order, INDAL has earlier stripped the protective cover from a key plateau in the Sanctuary, using bulldozers. It is reported that, thus far, not one truck of bauxite has actually been smelted by the company.
Radhanagari Sanctuary contains many endemic and rare plants, insects, birds, and mega-fauna including leopard, gaur (Bos gaurus) and tiger. A proposal is being readied by a special investigative team to propose this vital Western Ghats forest as a Project Tiger Reserve.
Meanwhile, INDAL and researcher Sharad Subramanyan have stated that the mined area is outside the current sanctuary limits, and even if the sanctuary is extended as proposed to include this area, the mine will be 8 km. from the core area. They also state that the mining technology used will cause minimal disturbance to the area. Activists from Kolhapur and Bombay maintain, however, that the mining poses a serious hazard, not just because of the actual mining activity but also because of the access roads and other associated activities. The High Court will hear the matter further before final judgement is passed.
sContact: Bittu Sahgal, see MP above. Debi Goenka, Bombay Environmental Action Group, c/o 4 Kurla Industrial Estate LBS Marg Mumbai 400086 India
Tel: 91-22-5700638 Telefax: 91-22-5701459
e-mail: debi@ilbom.ernet.in
Sources: Postings by Bittu Sahgal and others, and subsequent discussion between them and Sharad Subramanyan, on nathistory-india@lists.princeton.edu, Feb-March 1998.
Meeting on Communities in Melghat Tiger Reserve
Melghat Tiger Reserve is once again in the centre of controversy, following the state government's zealous drive to build or tar roads th yCunt Meetingstrippeddevi V V Singles Suikoden Tendo 108 Sei %28J%29 %28SLG%29 %28Koei%29 %E6%B0%B4%E6%BB%B8%E5%82%B3 %E5%A4%A9%E5%B0%8E 108 %E6%98%9F En 14329 Coffee Shop Art Show In Santa Rosa Comment Page 1 Meeting Stripped Devi JPAM Newsletter 16 h o Sandee%20westgate%20%CA%D3%C6%B5 Meeting Stripped Devi gCunt Meetingstrippeddevi V V Singles Suikoden Tendo 108 Sei %28J%29 %28SLG%29 %28Koei%29 %E6%B0%B4%E6%BB%B8%E5%82%B3 %E5%A4%A9%E5%B0%8E 108 %E6%98%9F En 14329 Coffee Shop Art Show In Santa Rosa Comment Page 1 Meeting Stripped Devi JPAM Newsletter 16 m y y Webcams Meeting Stripped Devi