Environment

Have you been to the Surajpur wetland, near Surajpur village in Gautam Budh Nagar district? Located in the midst of an expansive industrial city under the administrative purview of the Greater Noida Development Authority, it reveals itself as a mosaic of a sprawling lake, towering trees and thousands of birds, many flying in from distant lands. As you enter the wetland, the guards tell you not to go beyond the second viewpoint. It is untamed territory, the domain of many wild animals, they warn.  However, all has not been well in this sanctuary of nature. In January 2024, the Uttar…

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Bengaluru grapples with a persistent water stress, worsened by the decline in rainfall, overexploitation of groundwater and decreasing Cauvery River levels. The water crisis has led experts and the government to reconsider using lakes as a source of water, either by storing treated wastewater or harvested rainwater. The draining of lakes, like Bellandur and Varthur, for desilting has contributed to a major part of the groundwater crisis in Bengaluru. However, with the upcoming monsoon predicted to be normal, there is a looming concern regarding the lakes in the city. The anticipated rains may bring one of the highest influxes of…

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Just as the ebb and flow of the Pulicat Lake sustains the fishing community residing in the surrounding villages, the destiny of the people employed in different traditional livelihoods here is intertwined with the fate of the water body. The people in the 250 villages depend on the rich lagoon ecosystem of the lake, which supports a web of different professions connected to fishing in one way or another. Apart from fisherfolk, who go into the sea to catch fish, there are people who unearth earthworms to sell as baits for fish to the fishers and women who make and…

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As the evening sun creates an orange hue over the shimmering waters of Pulicat Lake, the fishermen get ready to launch their wooden kattumarams (catamarans) for the boat race. The participants, sitting in the middle of their boats and rowing furiously, plunge ahead amidst the cheering of villagers, who have dropped by to witness the event. At least for a day, the fishing community and others, whose livelihoods depend on the marine ecosystem of the lake and sea, forget their troubles and have a good time. The boat race is a sort of affirmation by the village community around the…

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“I have been living in this shelter for almost three months since it was set up. It has helped me survive the bitter cold; otherwise, I might have died on the streets,” says Raj. Raj has been residing in a temporary shelter in the vicinity of Daryaganj that the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) had set up as a response to the extreme cold experienced by Delhi's homeless population. This last winter, DUSIB had established 190 shelters accommodating approximately 8000 people across the city. These tent shelters are part of DUSIB's winter action plan to address Delhi's extreme winters.However,…

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed building a four-lane elevated expressway through the Bannerghatta National Park, the only protected area within Bengaluru Urban district. The NHAI is working on a 280 km long expressway called the Bengaluru Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR). The road, which is part of the Bharat Mala Pariyojna scheme, will connect towns like Hosur in Tamil Nadu to satellite towns around Bengaluru, like Anekal, Sarjapura and Doddaballapura. Read more: Why a shrinking Bannerghatta forest should worry Bengalureans NHAI claims that the expressway will divert all commercial traffic, like trucks, that currently pass through…

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Over the years, the Kharghar Hills in Navi Mumbai, have seen many forest fires. According to the Kharghar Fire Station records, between 1st January 2022 and 11th September 2023, totally 164 calls were received relating to fire. Forest fires usually occur after the monsoon season, once the grass starts drying up. Interestingly, Navi Mumbai and the areas nearby are less likely to be affected by natural forest fires, as the temperature in the area does not increase too much.   Many of these fires are man-made, as are 90% of all forest fires. In Kharghar, the hills are characterised by…

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Part 3: Butterflies in my garden Lesson learnt: Don’t admire the butterflies in your garden or you might be sharing your plants with caterpillars, voluntarily or otherwise! Many Bengalureans may be aware of the seasonal migration of butterflies through the city. We discovered this when our terrace garden became a favoured wayside halt for the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) and lemon emigrant (Catopsilia pomona) butterflies, for a few seasons. Although we were visited by other species, including the common Mormon (Papilio polytes), the former two were the most frequent. The emigrants usually remained well-camouflaged in the bougainvillaea till we almost…

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On February 5 this year, an important public hearing was held at Perungudi’s Ward 184 office on Panchayat Office Road to discuss the fate of a large chunk of the Pallikaranai Marshland. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) organised the hearing to assess public opinion towards an eco-park set to come up on the Perungudi dump yard located in the marshland area. News reports about the eco-park first started to appear in 2023, as the next step after a process of biomining, which was a means to clear up the legacy waste dumped for three to four decades in the marsh…

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பள்ளிக்கரணை சதுப்பு நிலத்தில் உள்ள பெருங்குடி குப்பைக் கிடங்கை பயோ மைனிங் முறையில் மீட்டுருவாக்கம் செய்து 93 ஏக்கர் பரப்பளவில் 99 கோடி செலவில் பல்லுயிர்ப் பூங்கா அமைக்க சென்னை மாநகராட்சி திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது.  மீட்கப்பட்ட நிலத்தில் பூங்கா அமைப்பதற்கான பொதுமக்கள் கருத்துக் கேட்புக் கூட்டம் 05.02.2024 அன்று சென்னையில் நடந்தபோது இத்திட்டம் பொதுமக்களின் கடும் எதிர்ப்பைச் சந்தித்துள்ளது. சென்னையின் மிக அதிகமாக மாசுபட்ட, ஆக்கிரமிக்கப்பட்ட ஈரநிலங்களில் ஒன்றான பள்ளிக்கரணையில் 65 வகையான வலசைப்பறவைகள், 105 வகையான உள்ளூர்ப் பறவைகள், 50 வகையான மீனினங்கள், 15 வகையானப் பாம்புகள், 10 வகையானப் பல்லிகள், 11 வகையான இருவாழ்விகள், 10 வகையானப் பாலூட்டிகள், 34 வகையான வண்ணத்துப் பூச்சிகள், 20 வகையானத் தட்டான்கள், 24 வகையான ஓட்டுடலிகள், 8 வகையானக் கரப்பான்கள், 78 வகையான மிதவை உயிரினங்கள், 167 வகையானத் தாவரங்கள் என மொத்தம் 625 –க்கும் மேற்பட்ட வகை வகையான உயிரினங்கள் வாழ்ந்து…

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