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LIfe Time Subscription - Rs. 2000/- Single Copy Rs. 20/-
JULY - 2013Vol .14 No.7
JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED FOREST OFFICERSANDHRA PRADESH
Yearly Subscription - Rs. 200/-
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1. President : Ex-Officio President of Assn.2. Editor : Qamar Mohd. Khan
Tel : 40121132, 9849233624e-mail : qamar_asima@yahoo.com
3. Associate
Editor : Sardar Iqbal Singh,: 040-20081143, 9849909877
4. Member : A.H. Qureshi, IFS (Retd.)
5. Convenor : Ex-officio Secy.of Assn
VANA PREMI
Vol : 14 No.7July - 2013
Editor : Qamar Mohd. Khan Associate Editor : Sardar Iqbal Singh
The Association of Retired Forest Officers,
Andhra Pradesh
President : Sri. S.D. Mukherji, I.F.S. (Retd.)
Tel : 23551065, 9885236493Vice President : Sri. Krishna Bhoopal Rao, I.F.S. (Retd.)
Tel : 23743774, 9866307808Secretary : Sri K. Santokh Singh, I.F.S. (Retd.)
Tel : 27962929, 9848808101Jt. Secretary : Sri. P. Upender Reddy, Dy. C.F. (Retd.)
Cum Treasurer Tel. 23342582, 9848754778
Editorial Board
Contents
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Back side of front and last cover page
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VANA PREMI
1
Executive committee members
1. Sri C. Subba Rao, I.F.S. (Retd.), 9848018796
2. Sri Sultan Mohiuddin,I.F.S. (Retd.), 9440057333
3. Sri M. Padmanabha Reddy, I.F.S. (Retd.), 9849269105
4. Sri J.V. Subba Rao, 9848486146
5. Sri A. V. Govinda Rajulu, 9440764611
Total pages 44
1. Editorial ..................... QMK 2
2. Letters to Editor ....... 4
3. Tackling The Maoist Problem
.................................... S.D. Mukherji 5
4. Dawn of 21st Centuary Father
............Dr. B. Raghotham Rao Desai 8
5. A Poacher Was Poached
.................................... K. Pradeep 9
6. Green Warrior Queen
..........Sarada Lahangir 12
7. Wildlife Dwindling!
.........N. Lakshminarayanan 14
8. Emigration - Why People Migrate?
.......................Mehdi H. Hajiyani 17
9. The Painted Storks of Veerapura 19
10. Birthday Greetings... Secretary 22
11. Off The Beaten Track..............................N. Shiva Kumar 23
12. A Tale of Two Tiger Reserves
...............Sunny Sebastian 25
13. Miracle by Governance - Village with
60 Millionsires .... Ramesh Menon 27
14. Tour to Sikkim: An Everlasting
Learning Experience
........................... N. Venu Latha 32
15. Invitation ................... Secretary 34
16. Rain rain go away, our cities cant keep
the water at bay ........ 35
17. The 18th Camel......... 39
18. Healthy Steps to a Longer Life 40
19. Copper Vessels for Pure Water 42
20. News and Notes ....... 43
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Worlds growing Human Population: -
According to the world population clock the
population of our globe on 5th
June 2013 at 11 oclock was 7,121,049,902 and this population is
steadily increasing. World cereal production in
2013, including rice, is forecast to reach a record
2 460 million tonnes. Global cereal utilization is
forecast to reach 2 402 million tonnes in 2013/
14, with a surplus of 58 million tonnes. According
to the latest Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) statistics, there are 870 million hungrypeople in the world. Three-quarters of all hungry
people live in rural areas, mainly in the villages
of Asia and Africa. The FAO says that the world
currently produces enough food for everybody.
Overall, around the world in recent decades, a
green revolution has taken place. It has allowed
earths food supply to keep pace with our worlds
growing population, for the most part. So, why
people are still hungry? According to the FAO,
lack of access to food is the problem. High
domestic food prices, lower incomes and, in
2011, increasing unemployment due to the
global economic situation is the reason many
people cannot afford to buy the food they need.
More than anything else food is wasted. The
theme for this years World Environment Day
celebrations was Think, Eat ,Save. Think, Eat, Save
is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that
encourages us to reduce our food print. World
Population Day is observed on July 11 every year,
to bring awareness of global population issues.
The even t was es tabli shed in 1989. It was
EDITORIALinspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day
on July 11, 1987, approximately the date on
which the world's population reached fivebillion people.
Rapid rate of growth: World population had
reached 6 billion in 1999; 6 billion figures were
reached on October 12, 1999. World population
has reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011. The
increase of one billion populations was seen in
just 12 years time. At the dawn of agriculture in
about 8000 B.C., the population of the world wasapproximately 5 million. Over the 8,000-year
period up to 1 A.D. it grew to 200 million. A
tremendous change occurred with the industrial
revolution: Whereas it had taken all of human
history until around 1800 for world population
to reach one billion, the second billion was
achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third
billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth
billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in
only 13 years (1987). During the 20th century
alone, the population in the world has grown
from 1.65 billion to 6 billion. The following
population growth is expected in the coming
years. 2020 - 7.7 billion, 2025 - 8 billion, 2030 -
8.3 billion, 2040- 8.8 billion and 2045 9 billion
this means that in 32 years we are expecting an
increase of 2 billion population on our planet.
Alarming wastage of food: While the planet is
struggling to provide us with enough resources
to sustain its 7 billion people (growing to 9
billion by 2045), it is estimated that a third of
global food production is either wasted or lost.
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Food waste is an enormous drain on natural
resources and a contributor to negative
environmental impacts. If food is wasted, it
means that all the resources and inputs used in
the production of all the food are also lost. So
think before you eat and help save our
environment! Every year 1.3 billion tonnes of
food is wasted. 1 in every 7 people in the world
go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children
under the age of 5 die daily from hunger
Indian scenerio: India, with 1,270,272,105 (1.27
billion) people is the second most populouscountry in the world, while China is on the top
with over 1,360,044,605 (1.36 billion) people.
The figures show that India represents almost
18% of the worlds population, which means one
out of six people on this planet live in India. India
is all set to surpass China in population by 2030.
With the population growth rate at 1.58%, India
is predicted to have more than 1.53 billion
people by the end of 2030 or slightly earlier than
that. The population of India since getting
independence from Britain in 1947 increased
almost three times. India has the largest illiterate
population in the world. The birth rate is 22.22
births/1,000 populations, while death rate is 6.4
deaths/1,000 populations. Every year, India addsmore people than any other nation in the world.
Chinas One Child Policy in 1978, has brought
tremendous results. Our current food production
is 250 MT and we must double it by 2040 to feed
the ever-increasing population. There is an
urgent need to undertake a second Green
Revolution by bringing research. India now has
worse rates of malnutrition than sub-Saharan
Africa: 43.5% of children under five are
underweight and India ranks below Sudan and
Zimbabwe in the Global Hunger Index.
Supreme Court recently castigated the
government for allowing 67,000 tonnes of badly
stored grain to rot enough to feed 190,000
people for a month. The government has
promised a new food security bill to provide
cheap food for the poor. In India a billion people
will be going to bed hungry and some 3,000children die each day from hunger-related
causes. Global Hunger Index placed India in
the alarming category, ranked 65, below even
North Korea.
Conclusion: Though the food production is
more than the requirement due to many
reasons about 870 million people remainhungry on this planet. Population is enormously
increasing every year, but land remains the
same and it is not possible to increase our food
production. If we want to increase our food
production with the existing technology then
we have to reduce the area of our forests which
will result in decrease of oxygen, more of carbon
dioxide, no water and extinction of our wild life,
which is again necessary and essential for the
survival of human kind, and therefore definitely
not desirable. Unless we reduce our birth rate
substantially and increase our food production
it will be almost impossible for us to live on
this planet. QMK
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Dear Sir,
I am very much thankful to Sri C.J. Reddy for his prompt telephonic conversation with me and also his
elaborate reply to the queries raised by me earlier, in Vana Premi issue of June 2013. The detailed
explanations offered by him on this subject have no doubt been instrumental in eliminating certain
misconceptions on my behalf. The one point I missed inadvertently in recalling my experience about
toppling of the ten year old planted teak trees was that they were of the stump origin and not of the
seed/seedling origin. Hence the tap root was totally absent in them. However, I agree with his contention
about the role of the side/stem roots in providing stable anchorage to the teak tree in its future life.
Another point on which CJR has not thrown much light is about the pollarding or forking of the trees at
the height of 10'. I believe that length of a timber log also plays an important role in obtaining the
valuable monetary returns from the same and this factor is sacrificed here for obtaining the larger girth.
My third point is whether the heart wood or the sap wood in teak timber has a decisive role to play in
deciding its strength and durability and what was the proportion of heart wood and sap wood in the
samples of the planted teak on which the tests were conducted by the Timber Mechanics Branch of FRI
Dehradun? The general belief that the heart wood contains more dense timber imparting strength and
durability to teak timber, than its sap wood needs more enlightened corroboration from the experts.
I am very glad to note that he is the same Reddy garu of 1959-61 Batch of SFRC and hats off to his
dedication and love for the teak plantations. I am eagerly looking forward to the visit to ideal teak
plantations raised by him near Hyderabad, provided my health permits me to do so.
V.S.Joshi. Mobile: 94222024636.
Dear Sir,
I was very happy to go through the brilliant editorial of yours on water in the latest issue of Vana Premi,
which was very timely too. If the magazine took its birth during KBRs times who nurtured it so well
during the period of its infancy when it germinated, became a seedling and grew into a sapling, you, as
an able successor in the Editorial Section, have seen to it that the same grows into a robust tree, capable
of catering to the needs of different kinds of readers having all sorts of tastes and demands.
I am enclosing a small article on a contemporary topic which may be to your liking. Very shortly I will try
to send another article in English, though I captioned the same in Urdu as Cricket-mein baazigari :
mubah karne-ke mutalluq sarkar-ki zu-ul-jahati, wanting to write down the entire article in Urdu.I will try
to translate the title suitably in English, since the article itself happens to be in English.
With Best Wishes, remain,
Yours sincerely,
Dr.Raghotham Rao Desai
LETTERS TO EDITOR
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Since the gruesome killings of 28 persons -including top congress leaders, its workers and
policemen- during the Congress led
parivartanyatrain Chattisgarh on the 25th of May
2013, the newspapers are flooded with opinions
on the future course of action to deal with the
Maoists. A major section of public opinion
considers: Maoists are terrorists and they must
be crushed with all the might in the hands of the
government. Others feel Maoists cannot be
compared with terrorist and hence all-out
offensive cannot be launched against them.
Some others say: it is a socio economic problem
arising out of the failure of the successive
governments to provide succour to the local
people living in remote forest areas.
According the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs
mining activity is the major cause of the misery
for the tribal population. The lands of the local
people have been acquired by the government
and given to mining companies by giving
meagre cash compensation. No meaningful
rehabilitation measures were taken as a lastingsolution for the poor people who lost their land,
the only source of livelihood. Whereas the
Maoists receive huge money regularly from the
mining companies for trouble free extraction of
minerals at the expense of the poor people who
have lost the land. However, lately Maoists are
TACKLING THE MAOIST PROBLEMBy
S.D.Mukherji
supporting the tribal people against openingup new mining companies.
Another major cause of increasing poverty
among the local people is the degradation of
forests and its biodiversity, a source of livelihood
to the local people. The Forest Department is
blamed for denying the benefit from the forest
to the local people and bringing forest
contractors who have exploited the forests and
its inhabitants for their own benefit.
Government has enacted Forest Rights Act of
2006 that confers rights to the local tribal on
forestland. However, this has resulted in more
forest destruction with no solution to either the
backwardness of the tribal people or curbing
the Maoists. On the other hand Maoists have
earned crores of rupees from timber
smugglers.
Government is now talking of increasing the
Central security forces to deal with the Maoists.
Chattisgarh government is also planning to
increase the state police force for fighting the
Maoists. Indian Air Force has opened a new unitat Nagpur to provide air support to the security
forces. Possibilities are being explored to
supply sophisticated night vision equipment
and radar that can penetrate through the forest
cover. There are plans to erect additional
mobile towers to improve the mobile
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connectivity for better communication. All this
planning is to eliminate the Maoists but surely
at the risk of killing more number of local people
living in the remote forested areas. There is
hardly any method to separate the Maoists from
the local population and therefore escalation of
offensive in these forested regions is going to
spell disaster for the local inhabitants.
It is a tragedy that in spite of huge mineral and
forest resources in Maoist infested regions worth
thousands of crores of rupees the tribal has
remained poor whereas all others have made
fortune. The civil administration has remained
defunct in most of the Maoist dominated region.
People living in these remote forest fringe
villages have been deprived from the benefit of
developmental programmes. They continue to
live in pathetic condition - ill health, poor
education, lack of communication,unemployment and persistent hunger - in spite
of the government allocating huge amounts year
after year on their welfare programmes. The local
people are constantly harassed by the security
forces seeking information about the Maoists.
Maoists have taken advantage of this persistent
backwardness of the local people and joined
hands with them for finding a safe haven for
themselves. This situation needs a change so that
local people are not crushed in the fight
between the security forces and Maoists. The
poor people living in the remote forested region
deserve a better livelihood and freedom from
oppression.
The situation today is while the government is
fully aware of the deplorable condition of the
Maoist affected areas and trying to develop
these backward regions to provide a better
livelihood to the local people, Maoists are
strongly opposing any development as they are
afraid of losing the grip on the local people. By
preventing the development of these
backward regions, Maoists want to show to the
local people the failure of the government
steeped in corruption and excuse for
development for their exploitation. The poorpeople crave for a better livelihood but they
have no means to cooperate with the
government as any such attempt is viewed
seriously by the Maoists and its consequences
are terrible, including elimination. Therefore,
the biggest challenge for the government is to
establish its credibility before the local people
by breaking the barrier built by the Maoist and
provide livelihood security.
In order to implement the developmental
strategy government has identified 82 districts
in 9 states that are dominated by Maoists, tribal
people and the forests the most backward
districts in the country. Government has
approved an Integrated Action Plan for
developing the backward areas in these
districts. A committee consisting of District
Collector, District Superintendent of Police and
District Forest Officer have been constituted to
plan and implement the developmental
strategy to provide better livelihood to the local
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people and eliminate the Maoists domination
over the area. Unfortunately, the
implementation of IAP lacks the desired
commitment in absence of close interaction with
the affected people.
The District Collector is the head of the IAP
committee. He has to coordinate the various
activities covering different departments of the
government and, therefore, has very little time
to spend with the villagers living in remote forest
areas. As regards the District Superintendent of
Police is concerned his role is mostly confined
to mobilizing the security forces, maintain the
law and order and save guard the livelihood of
the people from the hands of Maoists. He has to
deal with the offensive launched by the Maoists.
His meeting with the villagers would, therefore,
be limited and confined mostly for intelligence
gathering with very little time to plan for the
village development. The DFO is the only officer
who is required to pass through these remote
forest fringe villages regularly during the course
of his visit to the forest to attend his normal
duties. Similarly, his subordinate officers- Sub
DFO, Forest Range Officer, Forest Section Officer
and Forest Beat Officer- are also required to pass
through these villages regularly in course of their
field work in the forests. Moreover, majority of
these villages were approached by the Forest
Department to form a committee for the
implementation of Joint Forest Management, a
strategy for protection and development of
forests with the participation of the local
people. DFO was, therefore, considered as an
important member of the district committee
for the implementation of IAP. He is best suited
to visit these forest fringe remote villages, talk
to the local people, find out their problems and
discuss in the district committee for planning
and execution of welfare measures.
Unfortunately, in the actual implementation, it
has been observed, the DFOs have not taken
any initiative to develop the remote forest
fringe villages as a part of the IAP. The state
government has also not issued any specific
instruction to the Forest Department for its
important role in the implementation of IAP. It
is time when this omission is rectified.
Government must ensure that Forest Officers
are fully sensitized on IAP and the
developmental aspect of the forest fringe
Maoist affected villages. It may not be out of
place to mention that Indian Forest Service
Officers are successfully working in various
wings of the government, other than forest, and
they can easily handle the developmental
aspect of forest fringe villages, provided
necessary opportunity is provided.Government may take necessary action at the
earliest on these lines as forest fringe villagers
are desperate for the assistance from the
government to come out of persistent hunger
and backwardness, an ideal situation for the
Maoists.
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It was in Abignanaa-Shaakuntalam that the
great Sanskrit poet Kaalidaasa makes a mention
of Putra Gaatra Parishvanga pleasure which
king Dhushyantha denies himself when he
refuses to acknowledge, in the open court, that
he had ever met Shakuntala, leave alone
marrying her and begetting a son. This
happened, however, to be a twist which the
immortal poet brought into the drama (adapted
from Veda-Vyaasas epic Mahabharatha) byintentionally introducing a character called
Durvasa (and his curse), since the audience of
those times could never accept a hero with
villainous traits. And Dushyantha was the dramas
hero!
The Indian society has changed at an un-
precedented speed, and the new-age father
feels that the best moment of his life is when his
child runs into his arms as he returns home from
his work; the traditional roles of the mother and
father having changed equally fast in most
families. Today when the mother works and
possibly earns as much as her spouse, his role
needs to involve tenderness, patience,
innovation and security-creation through words
and actions. There can no longer be an
acceptance of erstwhile fatherly qualities ofsternness, non-availability, or rare treats on
holidays. Not anymore the common growl is
heard like Let dad come home. I will tell him
what you have done. He will fix you from a
hapless mother faced with bad behavior or bad
grades from a son or a daughter. Nor the children
need to quake in fear when they hear such threat
DAWN OF 21ST CENTUARY FATHERBy
Dr. B. Raghot ham Rao Desai
and await the punishments to be meted out for
being rude, irresponsible in their educational
activities. No more the father figure happens
to be a threat whose presence demands silence,
and fear, since they are no more the sole
providers who were hither-to unapproachable
except through mothers. They cannot at
present be so strict, not any more doling out
retribution or physical punishment if a child
does not come up to their expectations. Gonewere the days when fathers used to be like that
and mothers were seen as forgiving, acting like
soft cushions against the failures of life.
The ne w de fini tion of a family li fe has
successfully wiped out the dreaded father
image of the past. Fathers of today are
protectors, playmates and confidantes of their
children. They are no longer perceived as the
only providers of the family and they are no
longer obsessed with their incomes. In fact they
have a new role as care-givers, as they can look
after their children when the mother is away
on professional duties, utilizing their ability to
mix toughness with tenderness, in a beautiful
manner. Thus, they enjoy the feeling of
contributing to the growing years of their
children. One can even state that no longer aproto-type father exists: he can be a friend or
just an indulgent parent adding humour to the
lives of his children.
Lastly, though, it may be said that there is no
given formula to become a successful father:
being a father is a trial and error model of
learning for the most part of it.
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Th is is an in cide nt that too k plac e in thebeginning of my career. I have been recruited
as RO in emergency batch in 1976 underwent
a short time training in Yellandu, for 6 months
then worked as Range Officer, for a period of 18
months and then went for regular training at
Coimbatore in 1978. The incident I am now
recounting is prior to my Coimbatore training.
It was the year 1978 and, I was working as a Forest
Range Officer, Wildlife Management,
Rajahmundry. I was the only Range Officer in the
entire Division and the jurisdiction was from
Srikakulam to Sullurpet. The DFO was Sri KC
Augustine- a thorough and very kind hearted
gentleman. The staff is very very skimpy - in fact
there was no subordinate in Rajahmundry
except an attender and a jeep driver. I was a
new recruit and a new to the - department, place
and people in and around Rajahmundry, but my
DFO was widely known and well respected. The
paternal attitude towards me helped in
acquiring a very sound and strong working
relation. At that time the staff working in Wildlife
wing is looked down- and I think the same
continues even now!
At that time we heard some whispers that a team
of poachers are active in and around
Addatheegala Range and they have some big
clout. As I mentioned earlier, there was no staff
to assist me in the local enquiry but only the
strong support and encouragement of my DFO.
A POACHER WAS POACHEDBy
K. Prade e p
After a couple of visits to Addatheegla Range,
and some discreet enquiry, I could zero in onto
a fellow- a compounder in the local Govt.
hospital named Varma. He was also having a
medical shop! My further proding revealed that
he was good shooter, has no gun( enquiry from
local police station about a license) - but can
manufacture bullets!
I was frequently visiting Addatheegala in the
evenings/ nights and monitored the
movements of Varma which was very easy-
see if he is in the medical shop! It came to our
notice that usually the hunting party selects
holidays with full moon days. So our monitoring
has narrowed down and we started
concentrating the full moon days.
On one such full moon day, me with DFO, our
only attender and driver went to Adaathhegala
we had dinner in the forest guest house, and
leaving the DFO in the rest house, I strolled
towards the medical shop it was about 9pm
by then. The shop was closed. On enquiry, I learnt
that Varma had some visitors in a jeep in the
late evening and he closed the shop and went
with them. I immediately rushed to the DFO
and informed him. By then it was about 10 pm
and the compounder with jeep left around
8pm.
The Addatheegala range is in Kakinada Division
of East Godavari district and adjoining
Marripakala Range of Visakhapatnam Dist.( Of
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Gudem- Marripakala sanctuary- at that time the
proposal itself was in the nascent stage). The
usual route for hunters was Addatheegala
Veeravaram( a hamlet in East Godavari Dt., about
15 km from Addathhegala)- Mamidipalem( in
Visakhpatnam Dt.,)and Veerevaram it is a ring
road . The road to Veeravarm hamlet is connected
through a narrow culvert from black top raod to
Addatheegala. That means the approach to the
ring road from Addatheegala is only through
Culvert to Veereavaram. The approach road from
Blacktop road to the culvert is a gravel road. That
particular day happened to be a shandy day
and the weekly trade takes place on this gravel
road. When we reached the gravel road, we
observed fresh jeep tracks which means, a jeep
passed through this road after the shandy if
not, the tracks would not be so clear. Now, the
question is whether the tracks were coming out
from the ring road OR entering the ring road!
by then my Adeline was pumping up, and I was
pretty certain that we are going to hit a jackpot.
But my DFO was trying to becalm me. To confirm
the Jeep direction, we went into the hamlet, (
Veeravaram) the hamlet was nothing but a
sprinkling of 30 huts or so no electricity and
it being a wintry night all were asleep. We
knocked on the door of the hut facing the road
and enquired whether any jeep went in to the
forest in the evening, and prompt came the
answer Yes! a Govt. jeep supposed to belong
to Tribal Welfare Department- with 6 to 8 people
went in to the forest a couple of hours back! The
jeep halted in the hamlet to enquire about a
villager, who lives in Mamidipalem because
anybody leaving Mamidipalem have to pass
through Veerevaram. By then it was around
midnight. And our long and gripping vigil
started.
After some discussion, our arrangements to
tackle the jeep were put in place - first we got
hold of a wooden cot for our DFO to settle down
no chairs were available. The spot selected
was the culvert the other side- away from the
hamlet. The plan was to allow the jeep to come
on to the culvert and, I should stop the jeep on
the culvert. Our jeep which will be hidden in
the hamlet will block the rear of the culvert.
The culvert is so narrow, that we can have them
restrained in the jeep itself. I made use of a huge
Terminalia arjuna tree to hide myself, so that the
people in the jeep cannot see me till they
reached the end of the culvert. The DFOs cot
was on the opposite to the T.arjuna tree, and he
will appear to be sleeping, with a blanket over
him!
Around 4 am, we could see the headlights of a
vehicle and all 4 of us were tense and alert
and as planned, we allowed the jeep to come
on to the culvert and then I came out of my
hiding and approached the Driver side and took
away the keys - and the DFO came on the other
side by then our jeep came on to the culvert
and blocked the rear. Our DFO took possession
of a gun held by Varma sitting in the front seat.
We went to the back of the jeep and lifted the
flap. In our jeep head lights we saw freshly cut
venison of a spotted deer in a bamboo basket,
its skin , head, antlers, two huge knives and a
battery operated search light. It was a Govt.,
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jeep- and the occupants were 1) Govt jeep
driver 2) Revenue Inspector 3) an attender from
Tribal welfare Department 4)One DyTahsildar
from Tribal welfare Dept. 5) Compounder - Varma
6) one civilian a friend of the RI.
The recording of statements, Panchanama etc.
were completed and our driver drove the seized
jeep while our DFO drove our jeep with the
accused and brought them to the Police Station
in Addatheegala, and handed over the gun and
knives in the Police station. We anticipated a
strong after effects because of the involvement
of a Govt., jeep and Govt., servants. To counter
any such unwanted pressure, our DFO asked me
to issue telegrams to some senior officers- so I
sent telegrams from Addathhegala Post Office
about the case and involvement of Govt jeep
and staff to Secretary, Tribal Welfare, Hyderabad,
CCF Hyderabad, CF Visakhapatnam, CF
Rajahmundry, DFO Kakinada, Collector Kakinada
and Collector Visakhapatnam. The staff and jeep
are from Kakinada collectorate, the place of
hunting is in Visakhapatnam district. The venison
was auctioned off and amount remitted and then
the accused along with the jeep were produced
before the Sub Divisional Magistrate
Peddapuram, who also is the RDO. Here there
was lot of complications, because the SDM isfrom Revenue dpt., and almost all the accused
are from the Revenue dpt. including a Dy
Tahsi ldar and his jeep. Our telegrams have
helped us here such a forethought!!
While we were busy in Addathhegala with
auctions etc. The Spl. Dy. Collector, Tribal Welfare
to whom the Jeep belonged and was on camp
that night in Addateegala, fled to Kakinada in
RTC bus!!
The trial went on for many years and concluded
in 1982.
Obtaining permission to prosecute govt.
servants was an issue. By the time the trial
commenced I was in Coimbatore- and I made
several trips to Peddapuram, only to be
adjourned! Then on our appeal the then SDM
conceded our plea, and posted the trial to be
taken up after my training in Coimbatore. By
the time the trial concluded two of the
accused expired- two were suspended and
retired and the A1 the compounder was fined.
We succeeded in getting a conviction- The
entire credit goes to our DFO who stood as Rock
of Gibraltar without bowing to any pressure, and
a gem of a fire brand Asst. Public Prosecutor
who dealt this case and without being modestI too feel a little pompous for contributing in
this episode. I have been threatened by Varma
and his goons.
I was again posted as FRO, Wildlife
Management, Rampachodavaram in 1989, I
visited Addatheegala- and I met Varma! He was
so amiable and cordial, and he told me that after
the case, he stopped hunting and became a
naturalist! In fact he was one of my best
informers of any poaching activities.
The case at that time made waves as it was
sensational involving some senior Officers and
a Govt. vehicle, and getting a conviction was
the ultimate victory
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Sinapalli may be asmall block in
Nuapada district of
Odisha, but its thick
forest cover attracts
many a nature lover
to this otherwise
nondescript region.
Located between
the borders of Kapsi
and Sardapur
villages is a densely
wooded hillock that the locals call Kapsi Dongar.
Venture towards this verdant wilderness, and
from among the trees could emerge a fierce,
middle-aged woman armed with an axe on her
shoulder. This is Hara Dei Majhi, the 55-year-old
protector of this hillock.The illiterate tribal woman has been keeping a
sharp vigil over these 11.25 acres of forest land
for over three decades now. After all, this, she
says, is the legacy of my late husband. Anang
had initiated the planting of trees on what was
once a barren patch at the foothills of Kapsi
Dongar. He understood the vital role forests
played in balancing the eco-system, and so
nurtured the trees like his own children.
In the beginning, Majhi was not involved in his
work. As we were poor, we depended on minor
forest produce and tendu leaves to keep our
home fires burning. However, due to gradual
deforestation our livelihood was affected and we
became daily wage labourers to feed ourselves.
But Anang hardly had time for wage work
GREEN WARRIOR QUEENBy
Sarada Lah ang ir
because he felt thatthe task of
protecting the
forest from timber
smugglers was
more important.
She even resented
her husbands
p r e o c c u p a t i o n
with the forest, as it
meant he could not
provide adequately
for their family of five. But looking back, she says,
He made me understand the need for forest
conservation. He said that it was the green
cover that ensured good rainfall; that provided
tribals like us with food. Gradually, I started
taking an interest in his work and even helpedhim in guarding the trees.
Anang spent his entire life taking care of the
forest, and it was amidst its green cover that he
passed away in 1995. Even today, Majhi cannot
forget that fateful, stormy night. My husband
lost his life while protecting the forest. It was
raining heavily and he got ready with his baton,
spades and proceeded towards the forest, which
is about 3 km from the village. Later, when he
did not return, I went to search for him with
some neighbours, she says.
Majhi found Anang with severe injuries he
had hurt his head and was bleeding profusely.
Although in pain, he told her that he had caught
some timber thieves cutting trees. When he
tried to chase them away, they attacked him
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and fled. As there was no government medical
facility in the village, they had to wait until
morning to get him treated. Our village vaidya
gave some medicine, but it did not work. My
husband refused to go back home. He told mehe wanted to breathe his last in the forest. He
also urged me to take care of the forest, she
continues, her eyes moist.
Majhi took on her husbands unfinished business
as a challenge. But protecting the forest as well
as looking after three small children was easier
said than done. I had no proper source of income.
I could not go to distant places for wage work,
leaving behind my kids and the forest. So I worked
part time as domestic help. A typical day for
her began with a one-hour patrol of the forest.
Back home, she would complete household
chores, feed the children and head out to work
in other peoples homes. At four in the evening
she once again went to the forest. Sometimes I
would stay late into the night in the danger, she
says.Requesting her neighbours to keep an eye on
her children when she was away, she was
convinced the forest too needed her attention.
The States forests are on the verge of extinction
because of timber smuggling, extensive mining,
and unplanned industrialisation. The forest is the
lifeline for us tribal people. More than 60 per
cent of tribals do not own any land. They eithersurvive on minor forest produce or clear out a
small area to cultivate pulses, ragi and millet. So,
for us, it is important to save this habitat.
Local activist Bijay Kumar Sahish says there are
two major threats to the forests, First, forest fires
are very common, particularly during the hot
and dry months of March and April. While some
are accidental, quite a few are started
deliberately. It destroys the wildlife and the
flora and fauna. Also, there is the other menaceof timber thieves. Har Dei has been fiercely
guarding the Kapsi Dongar forest from these
dangers. Incidentally, the Kapsi Dongar forest
has more varieties of trees, including teak, sal,
tendu and mahua, than the adjoining forest
tracts.
In a bid to involve the local community in her
effort, in 2001 Majhi formed a committee, theKapsi Dongar Vana Surakshya Samittee, with
support from the district forest department.
Over the years, as the leader of this group she
has been successful in ensuring that the forest
remains encroachment-free and flourishes, and
has won some awards too. Sarat Chandra Panda,
District Forest Officer, Khariar Forest Division, is
all praise for her, I have seen many groups
protecting the forest in Odisha during my career,
but Hara Dei is unique. Her dedication and love
for nature has inspired many villages in the
region to form Van Surakshya Samitees. Even the
incidence of forest fires in our block has halved
in the last five years.
Of course, these accolades do not mean her
struggle has ended. With only a token monetary
help from the Government, she still has to workhard to survive. At a time when forests are fast
disappearing everywhere, Majhis unique
crusade to treat every tree as a dearly loved child
will continue to inspire and, hopefully,
encourage others to follow suit.
Vana Premi Salutes Majhi and Anang of Kapsi Dongar for protecting the
Forests and sacrificing his life
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A perception widely prevalent among people
living around forests and others is that the
wildlife populations of large mammals have
increased phenomenally. In regions of high
intensity human-wildlife conflict likeCoimbatore, Valparai and Sathyamangalam in
Tamil Nadu, this perception is widespread and
getting fostered with every passing day. There
are several reasons for the wildlife to emerge
out of forests and their appearance outside the
forested areas does not mean their numbers
have overshot the limit?In India, elephant is the largest mega herbivore
that unfortunately involves in direct conflict with
human beings, owing to many factors. Less than
25% of the total elephant habitat falls within the
Protected Area (PA) network that comprises the
wildlife sanctuaries and the national parks. The
WILDLIFE DWINDLING!By
N. Laksh m inarayanan
rest of their habitat lies outside the PA network,
which is a mosaic of multiple-use forests
(government reserved forests), plantations and
cultivation that have penetrated into the
natural forests. Living outside the forestedlandscape is a destiny imposed on the
elephants in this epoch as we have been
incessantly chiselling out their habitats for our
expansion. These days their survival outside the
Protected Areas is extremely tenuous as
exemplified by the increased conflict-related
deaths.Even the 25% of the elephant habitat falling
within the PA network is not completely devoid
of problems. Within the PAs we have linear
intrusions like roads, canals, dams, railway lines
and settlements fragmenting the habitat and
reducing its quality. Some of the PAs and
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reserved forests have a very high density of cattle
that competes with elephants and other wild
herbivores over the available plant biomass.
Even the best large mammal habitats like theMudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nilgiris
continue to suffer annual man-made fires that
destroy the precious fodder available for the
ungulates.
The quality of habitats has also degraded due to
our intrusion resulting in the proliferation of
invasive toxic plants like Lantana camara,
Parthenium hysterophorus, Chromolaena sp and
scores of other Forest Invasive Species (FIS) that
have colonised good wildlife habitats. In many
PAs, productive riparian forests and vayals
(swamp fallows) that support luxuriant
vegetation were taken over for paddy cultivation
and thus the herbivores are deprived of food
availability. The collection of huge quantities of
minor forest produce that includes edible fruits
and even the bamboo has depleted the food
source for the wild animals. All these factors have
directly or indirectly rendered wildlife such as
the elephants straying out of their habitats.
There is al so a hypo thes is of po pu lation
constriction of large mammals in some PAs
because of the indiscriminate habitat loss in the
surrounding areas and the wildlife obviously
seeks refuge in the areas with minimum human
disturbance. This again cannot be claimed as
increase in population.
Comfortably ignoring all these facts, there is a
vehement claim that wildlife populations have
increased everywhere. The human-wildlife
interface has indeed increased significantly asmore roads are laid inside the forests and
lengthy hard edges are created around the
wildlife habitats. Even the once obscure forest
roads now have many visitors and the forest
boundaries have been filled with tourist resorts,
industries and housing colonies.
Daily encounters: -Wildlife habitats continue
to suffer shrinkage and fragmentation. These
days an elephant or any other wildlife, for that
matter, may have to encounter human beings
several times during its daily movement within
its range.
A decade ago elephant herds might have
peacefully crossed the Mettupalayam-Ooty
road under the cover of darkness. This is just not
possible today with over 3,000 vehicles on
average plying on this road day and night
without any respite. The herds stay baffled on
the roadside awaiting a lull in the traffic to cross
the road. They stand exposed, being watched
by hundreds of people. Many of them think that
the elephant numbers have increased just
because they saw them! A mere increase in the
sighting rate within or outside the habitat does
not mean that there is a true increase in the
wildlife population.
Wildlife populations, especially the large cats
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and even the elephants, suffer high mortality
rates. The unnatural mortalities resulting from
poaching, road kill and electrocution continue
to haunt the wildlife populations jeopardisingtheir very existence. Further, there is no factual
basis for claiming an increase in populations as
we dont have reliable baseline information to
compare the numbers over a period of time.
Moreover, a scientifically accepted manner of
enumerating wildlife populations is nonexistent
in most of the areas.
A recent article published by a renowned
primatologist in Down to Earth (Title: Monkeys
common no more) claims that even the
common monkeys around us are dwindling in
numbers and they occur in low densities in
forests. This is much contrary to the popular
belief that monkey populations have exploded.
Wild pigs were in the news for the wrong reasons.
The Kerala government recently allowed the
killing of wild pigs that stray out of forests in
some districts. This decision is based on the
opinion that their numbers have exploded in the
State.
Wild pigs belong to the family ofSuidae and are
the most widely distributed prey species for
tigers. All the three major predatory carnivores
in our region, the tiger, the leopard and the dhole
(Indian Wild dogs) predate on wild pigs.
A long-term scientific study on tigers conducted
in the tropical forests of Karnataka by deploying
techniques such as the scat (faecal matter)
analysis has revealed that, on average, 9.5% of
tigers diet constitutes wild pigs. Experts with
years of field experience assert that the wildpig population is subject to high seasonal
fluctuations. An increase in their numbers in
some areas may be a wholly temporary
phenomenon. Knee-jerk reactions to specific
situations and the resultant, hasty decisions
such as the lethal control of wild pigs may
reduce the prey base of the predatorycarnivores and even increase the human-
carnivore conflict.
Undeniably, the human population is exploding
and our demand for forests and forest produce
are reaching a point of no return.
Th e base le ss claim about the pop ulat ion
increase of wildlife species is an emerging
threat to wildlife conservation. Resultantly,
there is a false complacence that the wildlife is
doing well despite our negative interventions
in the habitats. Major threats to long-term
survival of the wildlife such as poaching and
habitat loss are getting overshadowed. There is
an unnecessary increase in the resentment
level of the villagers living on the borders ofthe forests against large mammal conservation.
False propagation of number increase in
wildlife populations will only distract us from
key conservation priorities and wipe out the
last level of sympathy people have towards
wildlife.
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Emigration is the act of permanently leavingones country or region to settle in another. There
are two types of migrations voluntary and
involuntary.
Some of the reasons for involuntary migration
are - drought, famine, religious or social or
political persecution, mass human migrations
like the expulsion of Native American Indians to
reservations, expulsion of Jews by Nazis,
partition of India, ethnic cleansing of Bosnia,
creation of Israel in Palestine, etc. are examples
when people were forced to migrate.
Voluntarymigration is an individual or a personal
decision. A person migrates to seek better
whatever it is that he cant find to his satisfaction
in his country of origin. He carefully weighs what
he is willing to give up for what he is going to find
and accept in exchange. Different people have
different reasons for voluntary migration -
education, job prospect, economic opportunity,
climate, fears of religious or political
discrimination, just to mention a few.
I want to focus on the voluntary migration that
most of us are witness to. More specifically theemigration of people of Indian sub-continent,
to the US. In the late 50s and60s many of us, for
one reason or other, chose the US or UK for higher
education. This I call the first wave of migr for
this discussion. These migr were educated and
wanted higher education, knew and paid the
EMIGRATION WHY PEOPLE MIGRATE?
By
Me hd i H. Hajiyan i
price, maintained the required grades incolleges and universities, worked odd jobs if
necessary to support themselves, learned and
adopted as best as they could the American
way. Most of the first wave of migr know and
have experienced firsthand what it is like to
leave our own country or region and be in a
totally different social, cultural, economic
environment. In this regard, those who came
without any financial support had to earn and
learn at the same time, were better able to
adapt. After successful completion of their
education a few went back. But those who
decided to stay saw and were willing to accept
and successfully adopt some of the virtuous
qualities of the West equality, human rights,
rule of law, freedom of expression, practice of
religion, and above all the US Constitution that
guarantees these freedom equally to all men
and women, unlike many countries we
emigrated from.
Once the first wave of migr comfortably
settled in the US they then were able to lawfully
sponsor their relat ives. I refer to them assecond wave migr. Some of these sponsored
relatives were/are unable and ill-prepared to
adopt and cope with their new Western
environment. Primarily because they
seemingly lacked the drive of the first wave of
migr sponsors did to learn and educate, to
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compete and to do better, to improve our lot
and to progress and be prosper a more
desirable way to help family and relatives.
Especially the grownups of the second wave
migr and their children who were well set in
their way of doing things, and were somewhat
content, found it rather difficult to adapt to their
new circumstances and surroundings.
Soon, their glossy concept of America and the
American way, faded and were replaced by
reality of the America and the American way
of life, which many are unwilling or unable to
accept and adopt. Many found it undignified to
do any job their servants and kamwalisdid back
home for them. They found themselves isolated
and alienated. They began to compare and
contrast some trivial aspects of life here in the
US with what they left behind. They started
finding flaws in the West and Western culture,
not that there isnt any. Some sought and foundcompany of likeminded associates. The Boston
bombers uncle called them losers- incapable
of seeing and appreciating opportunity and
adopting virtues of what this country has offered
them. Some of their associates were/are radical,
pariah, and religious extremists. They want and
demand freedom and right to criticize and
condemn many Western ways and practices,
which they did not have before. However, they
would not accept or allow others any such rights
to criticize their practices or belief. They insist that
their interpretation is the only right interpretation
and that there cant be and are no other
interpretations.
Because the second wave migr were isolated
and never participated in free and open
discussion or debate on any subject, they never
learned what this free society called America
is all about. Some of the second wave migr
and or their children were quite susceptible to
such sermons and constant preaching of
extremist viewpoints. When we the first wave
of migr landed on the shores of this land of
free we were prepared to have our ways, beliefs,
and our practices scrutinized and criticized, just
as we scrutinized and criticized theirs,
respectfully. However, the second wave migr
and or their children considered this freedom
expressed by others offensive and off limits. The
sermons and preaching became more inciting
and violent. The mixture of Ignorance and
irrational and intolerant faith is potentially
disastrous. The consequence of such thinking
and association of like-mindedness isirrationality, un-reasonableness, unyielding
rigidity, no compromise, no tolerance of any
contrary view point, close mind, no live and let
live, no respect for others rights or beliefs, no
acceptance of I believe what I want, and you
believe what you want to believe. This we see
continued today in many parts of the world.
Some questions come to mind: If things are so
bad in the West why do people immigrate? If
those who have migrated and found the host
country and its culture so unsuitable and
unacceptable and not to their liking, could they
go back to the country of their origin?
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Journeying through the village of Veerapura,Rohan Menzies discovers a mysterious
connection between the people of the village
and the birds that visit once a year. Is it myth,
superstition, or something much deeper?
Leaving behind a noisy, polluted and crowded
city, traveling about 95 km down the Bangalore-
Bellary highway, towards the border between
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, you find adreamlike village called Veerapura. The rather
unremarkable approach road belies its secret.
Loose gravel shoots out from under the tyres as
you traverse these muddy roads. With fields on
both sides and shepherds guiding their flock
towards grazing land, it appears to be just
another village in South India. But as you get
closer, the more unique this apparently normalroad becomes. You begin to notice that the
towering trees lining the roads are mottled with
pink, you see flashes of black and white in the
skies, and hear the call of hungry fledglings. The
cows stand unfazed while young Painted Storks
(Mycteria leucocephala) perch on their backs. A
most unusual sight for city slickers, more familiar
with the likes of crows and pigeons around ourhouses, these Storks are a far more familiar sight
to the people of Veerapura.
On the road to, Veerapura Painted Storks are a
locally migrating species that follow the rains.
They require water bodies filled with fish to feed
themselves and their young. According to the
IUCN Red List they are a Near Threatened Species
THE PAINTED STORKS OF
VEERAPURA
whose populations are steadily declining dueto habitat loss, hunting of adults and loss of eggs
due to predation. In 2002, Veerapura has had a
record 5000 birds nesting in its trees, making it
perhaps the largest heronry of Painted Storks
in Asia. Each nesting site is vital to a struggling
species. The Storks have been using this
location as a breeding ground for decades now
and as a result have become a huge part of thevery identity of this village
Veerapura is home to about four hundred
people, many of whom have started moving out
to larger towns and cities like Bagepalli and
Bangalore. This has seen a shift in occupation as
well, since a farmers son may no longer be a
farmer, preferring instead to start his own shop
or small business in a nearby town.Th e visible reve re nc e that the people of
Veerapura have towards the Storks was very
intriguing. Most people in cities have begun to
lose that kind of connect with nature. Curious,
we decided to speak with the people in the
village about the deep connection they have
with the birds, to understand if it was symbolic
of something more significant.As we moved through the village, one story
kept resurfacing, recounted every time with
enthusiasm; the story of one man who cared
about the birds a fraction more than the rest,
Mr. Venugopal. A 30 year old farmer, he has been
rehabilitating injured birds in the village for
over 10 years. He would pick up fledglings that
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had fallen from their nests, most often due to
stormy weather, and bring them back to his
house to give them the food and medication they
needed until they were well enough to return to
the trees. Over time he learnt more about
rehabilitation from a wildlife expert from
Bangalore, Mr. Saleem Hameed, and he was then
able to dress wounds, check for fractures and
administer injections, all of which improved the
birds chances of survival. What started off as a
one man army began to spark interest in his
neighbours and led to other villagers joining his
effort, bringing fallen birds to him for care. Even
the children get involved, alerting him
whenever they find a bird in distress
The harbingers of good fortune; When we
asked the villagers about the significance of the
Storks, every answer we received was
interesting. The farmers attributed their good
crops to the presence of the Storks in the village.
The home-makers said that it beautifies the
village. Many said that the birds bring goodwill
to the village. And only one young boy said it
was a sign of rain. The prevailing idea was that
the presence of the Storks ensures smooth
functioning of everything within the village, from
good crops to good health, beautification to
goodwill, protection and good business.
In truth, the Painted Storks are as significant to
the village as the people are to it. It would seem
like a large number of factors play a role in the
appearance of the Storks and this in turn plays a
pivotal part in the happenings of the village. It is
easy for us to deconstruct the situation and
analyse it logically until it is reduced to nothing,
but to the people of Veerapura, they know that
when the trees are filled with these colourful
birds, it bodes well for the village.
A way of life worth protecting;Two old men
who seemed to have lived lives filled with
experiences told us a couple of stories that
summarize the way of life of the people in the
village of Veerapura. On one side of the village,
a frail old man sitting under an Peepal tree
slowly lifted his head and began speaking with
a prominent vibrato in his voice. He told us that
a few years ago, a firecracker manufacturing
company tried to convince the villagers to give
up their jobs and start manufacturing
firecrackers for them, or they could move and
allow them to setup the factory with other
employees. The entire community of Veerapura
came together, refusing to do either, because it
would be bad for the Storks. They knew that the
noise and activity would scare the Storks away,
perhaps forever. The elders of the village are
sentimental about the fact that the Storks have
been breeding there for about a century. Mr.
Narsamappa who is over 80 years old still
recollects how the birds nested there when he
was young. And as he told us the story I could
see how meaningful the Storks were to him and
to others around him.
On the other side of the hamlet, under a low
shed, sat another old man, Mr. Narsappa who
looked much younger, with a steady voice, good
hearing and definitely more adamant about
telling us his story, he told us that quite recently
an industrialist approached the villagers and
asked them to give up their land to setup an
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industry. They firmly said no, and to guarantee
their own protection, told the government about
the Storks. The authorities helped make sure the
project didnt take off and helped protect the
Storks.
Symbolic science;The people of Veerapura are
observant and truly appreciate the wonders of
nature. As they see the Painted Storks descend
from the skies as a colourful cloud, bearing rain,
we see the logic behind it all. The birds follow
the rains, and their appearance is therefore
synchronous with the arrival of the rain clouds. If
the rains fail, the birds arrive late or leave the
village immediately in search of water. In this
way, the birds have become a sign to the village;
their arrival means the rains are not far and the
crops will prosper. If they are late, it is surely a
sign of trouble.
The people have recently begun to notice a
troubling trend of delay in arrival of the birds.They know that the reason for this is because
there isnt sufficient water for the birds. The
farmers feel it too. The lakes dry up, the bore wells
dont have water and there are no other means
by which they can irrigate the fields. The lack of
rain also leads to harmful fluctuations in the birds
migratory cycle because the nests are built late,
the hatchlings fledge later and the birds that are
meant to retreat in April sometimes stay on till
August. This significantly alters the dynamics of
reproduction of the Painted Storks and has a
subsequently detrimental effect on their
populations.
The people of Veerapura consider the birds an
auspicious sign that the village will prosper that
year, but we could so easily say thats just how
nature works. The Storks are important
indicators of the rain and the good produce that
follows. Interestingly, the birds are not
worshipped in any way, purely respected as an
important part of the ecosystem they share.
The results of a simple survey can sometimes
lead to something so complex, it is
unfathomable to most. Although not based on
scientific research or understanding, the people
of the village have come to realize, through a
cultural inheritance that values the Painted
Storks, the birds are an essential cog in the circle
of their lives. That in order to maintain the
balance, the Storks and their place in the village,
must be protected.
Veerapura offers lessons that other towns and
cities would be wise to learn from. The people
could choose to sell their property and move
to another location with far more money than
they have right now, but they do not. They
choose to stay and protect the habitat of this
magnificent species. They choose conservation
over self-preservation.
The Painted Storks now face another threat, one
that has already started to take a toll on them
and the villagers. Climate change is slowly
toppling all the norms and forcing everything
to create new systems. The storks must fight
this ever-increasing danger in order to survive.
But in Veerapura, the people will fight the storks
battles for them as long as they value the annual
return of the migrating painted wonders.
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We wish the following born on the dates mentioned
A very Happy Birth Day
Birth Day Greetings
S.No. Name of the member D.O.B.
Sarva Sri
1. K.Buchiram Reddy 07-07-1932
2. K.Madan Mohan 10-07-1942
3. N.Varaprasad Rao 10-07-1948
4. M.Prasada Rao 10-07-1947
5. C.Ramakrishna Reddy 11-07-1931
6. M.Padmanabha Reddy 14-07-1941
7. M.K.Prasad 14-07-1945
8. B.Pratap Reddy 18-07-1928
9. K.Santokh Singh 21-07-1937
10. Dr.K.Kesava Reddy 01-08-1935
11. V.Parthsarathy 02-08-1944
12. Hitesh Malhotra 03-08-1952
S.No. Name of the I.F.S. Oficer D.O.B.
Sarva Sri
1. Prashanth Kumar Jha 07-07-1959
2. N.Pratheep Kumar 07-07-1963
3. Dr.Chandra B.Malasi 08-07-1957
4. Tejsingh Kardam 10-07-1954
5. Rahul Pandey 14-07-1974
6. D.Nalini Mohan 15-07-1962
7. Swargam Srinivas 15-07-1962
8. N.Shyam Prasad 16-07-1955
9. G.Chandrasekhar Reddy 18-07-1965
10. Dr.K.Gopinatha 21-07-1963
11. Mohd.Ibrahim 22-07-1954
12. Rajesh Mittal 25-07-1955
13. Onkar Singh 27-07-1953
14. S.M.Selvaraj 01-08-1953
15. R.Sundara Vadan 01-08-1956
16. Ratnakar Jauhari 02-08-1970
17. Ajay Kumar Naik 03-08-196518. P.Adivappa 03-08-1953
19. A.V.Joseph 05-08-1956
S.No. Name of the S.F.S. Oficer D.O.B.
Sarva Sri
1. N.Qadar Vali 06-07-1960
2. A.Shankaran 16-07-1956
3. S.Ravishankar 16-07-1964
4. Smt.S.Sujatha 18-07-1975
5. B.M.Chanakya Raju 18-07-1957
6. Smt.T.Jyothi 23-07-1975
7. Mrs.G.Krishna Priya 24-07-1982
8. V.Anjaneyulu 24-07-1966
9. Smt.I.Padmaja Rani 26-07-1976
10. B.Janaki Rao 26-07-1961
11. Ms.M.Babita 27-07-1972
12. P.Dhanraj 28-07-1963
13. Smt.M.Hima Sailaja 29-07-1980
14. L.Ch.Tirupaelu Reddy 01-08-1956
Secretary
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Wildlife watching is a tricky occupation and to
conduct the arduous task of wildlife census non-
stop from noon-light to moonlight is even more
complicated. Despite the prevailing heat
conditions and a sizzling temperature of 44
degreess Celsius, a full-scale wildlife census was
recently conducted at Sariska and
Ranthambhore wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan.
On May 25 and 26, nature lovers congregated at
Sariska National Park (SNP), located a mere 200km from Delhi. The reason behind wildlife
enthusiasts and trigger-happy photographers
making a beeline for the park was that rare
opportunity to experience animal census
operations firsthand. While it was adventure for
some to spend a night in the forest, for others it
was a getaway from the daily drudgery of city
life. Certain first-timers thought that it is a fun
exercise, but in reality, it is serious work ofconservation.
Spread over 850 sq km, SNP is home to a variety
of fauna such as spotted deer, chinkara, nilgai or
blue-bulls, jackals, hyena, leopards and
reintroduced wild tigers. Having an undulating
rocky terrain with wide valleys, the forests
comprise of typical dry deciduous trees that
dramatically change colours with the seasons.
The forest is lush green in the monsoon withnumerous streams and mini waterfalls; turn
invigorating with balmy atmosphere in the
winter, but dramatically turn tinder dry in the
summer.
Summers are chosen for animal counting
because the animals scurry for shady corners
during this time making the job easier for
OFF THE BEATEN TRACKBy
N. Shiv a Kum arforest officials. The preferred day-night
invariably coincides with a full moon when
there is ample light for easier sighting. The
wildlife census is a 24-hour non-stop vigil from
atop a strategically chosen spot that is usually
a makeshift platform called machan made of
wooden logs and perched high upon a sturdy
tree. Mostly all machans are rickety and pretty
uncomfortable, giving sore bottoms by the end
of the exercise as I had experienced during myparticipation in various such censuses.
According to the District Forest Officer (DFO) at
SNP, the waterhole technique is applied where
animals are counted from a hiding place or
machan as they visit waterholes. The survey is
taken at a time when there is the least
availability of water at all water sources in the
entire census area. To facilitate this method of
counting, 271 machans were specially builtoverlooking water points which are basically
waterholes to quench the thirst of small and
big creatures.
Sharad Khanna, CEO of Indian Wildlife
Adventures who escorted a team of volunteers
from NCR, said: The waterhole survey started
at 10 a.m. and continued throughout the night
until the next day till 10 a.m. with the help of a
fact-sheet where species and their totalnumbers were diligently recorded. Use of
binoculars and cameras were permitted for
better viewing and determining the sex and age
of the animals with help of experienced forester
who accompanies each volunteer.
The result obtained is an index of wildlife animal
presence in that particular area. At the end of
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the 24-hour exercise, the available data is
computed to arrive at a guesstimate. Data thus
compiled over the years will show results that
can be deciphered for better conservation
methods by researchers.Though wildlife census involves many more
practices like pugmark methods, scat sampling,
roadside counts, pellet group count, camera-
trap method, waterhole census in the most
widespread and comprehensive. The technique
not only covers the entire sanctuary but also
involves volunteers so they also get to
appreciate and participate in the nations
wildlife conservation, informed the DFO.On an earlier occasion, to study the status of
wildlife population in Sariska, I was placed at a
prime location and provided with water and
food. While the daytime was scorching, it also
gave me chances to be up-close with birds and
beasts. As the beautiful big orb of the moon
rose on the horizon, there was some respitefrom the heat but soon this turned miserable
as the temperatures dipped to shivering
standards. In the wee hours, there was
temporary cloud cover and suddenly a
resounding roar shattered the silence of the
night but nothing was visible. Until daylight
dispelled darkness and forest officials came to
take us back to the base camp, it was not known
that it was a leopard that let out the spine-chilling roar. The tell-tale pugmarks revealed it
all.
SFRC ALUMNI MEET BHOPAL
XIVth SFRCians meet BHOPAL from 24th October to 27th October, 2013.
Inaugural Function on 24-10-2013 at 4-00 PM followed by cultural programmes , Happy Hours &
Dinner
25-10-2013 Visit to SANCHI STUPA in the forenoon &Lunch.Visit to Lord Shiva temple at
Bhojpur in the Afternoon, followed by Happy Hours & Dinner.
26-10-2013 Visit to local places in Bhopal followed by LUNCH, Happy Hours & Dinner.
27-10-2013 Vaedictory Function from 10-00 AM to 12-00 Noon followed by LUNCH &
Departure.
Accommodation is available from 24th Noon onwards only.
Subscription- Rs.16000/= for Couple & Rs. 8000/= for Single person on twin sharing basis. Last date
to receive subscription is 31st JULY, 2013. Account payee D.D. payable at BHOPAL to be drawn in
the name of XIV th ALUMNI SFRC MEET BHOPAL 2013 & sent to Sri. UMAKANT PARASHAR, Secretary,
XIVth SFRC Meet Bhopal, C/14, MIG, Nehru Nagar, Kotra Sultanabad, Bhopal (M.P.)
Contact No. of Secretary.... 91-9425008056 E-mail ID umakant.parashar@gmail.com
Note:- Indicate your name, batch & State on the back side of the Cheque. D.D. should accompany
your Bio-Data. -Upender Reddy
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By
Sunny Sebast ian
First there was the Sariska debacle in which allthe tigers were found missing in the reserve in
Rajasthans Alwar district sometime in 2004-05.
Then there was similar misfortune in Madhya
Pradeshs Panna Tiger Reserve in February 2009
the wild cats became extinct there.
Sariska led the way soon by reintroducing tigers
under a recovery plan with the support of theNational Tiger Conservation Authority in June
2008.
Panna followed suit in March 2009. It
reintroduced one female each from
Bhandavgarh and Kanha. Thereafter, it appears,
both the reserves charted their own journeys.
The Panna experiment turned out to be a bigsuccess. The 576-sq.km reserve, spread over
Panna and Chattarpur districts of Madhya
Pradesh, soon became home to a flourishing
population of big cats. The reserve, 25 km from
Khajuraho, once ravaged by problems, has now
12 tiger cubs, besides the five adults brought in
as part of the reintroduction. And that gives
Sariska, the leader, a complex, for its three
tigresses are yet to give a litter.
The ta le of the tw o re serves came in for
comparison this weekend at Alwar when the
main protagonists of the tiger reintroduction
process got together to discuss the rebuilding
A TALE OF TWO TIGER RESERVES
of Sariska.Where there is a will there is a way, said R.
Sreenivasa Murthy, Field Director in the Panna
Tiger Reserve, giving a presentation on tiger
relocation and their successful breeding.
The Panna story included the truancy of the
lone male, which apparently showed homing
instincts to repeatedly move in the direction ofPench it had to be brought back with the
help of 70-strong forest staff and four elephants
for a second time.
The Panna experiment did not stop at just
reintroduction. The park authorities opened a
new chapter in conservation by introducing two
orphaned female cubs to the reserve in March2011. They were the litters of a collared tigress
that got killed in a fight with another in Kanha
in May 2005. They were picked up and hand-
reared for one-and-half years to be released into
an enclosure in Kanha.
The Panna team met with success in the
rewilding of the tiger. One of them, T4, delivered
cubs in November 2011, said Mr. Murthy.
Mr. Murthy and H.S. Pabla, who retired last year
as the Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh,
said they did their part and left the rest to the
tigers. In Sariska, females ST2 and ST3, showed
signs of pregnancy but no litters were
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produced. The cause of not breeding is not
known, said K. Sankar, scientist with the Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehra Dun, who has been part
of the Sariska experiment. There appears to beno disturbance to the tigers. The prey density is
one of the best in the country. However, the
human habitation inside the park surely is an
obstacle. In fact, the Sariska tigers have only 50
sq.km in the 882-sq.km reserve for themselves.
While some experts, including Sunayan Sharma,
president of the Sariska Tiger Foundation, which
organised the workshop, felt that the radio
collars around their necks might be hampering
the breeding, others emphatically dismissed it
as inconsequential. There is no connection
between the radio collar and breeding, said Dr.
Sankar. We have consulted the NTCA and they
are of the opinion that collars cannot be the
reason, said U.M. Sahai, Head of the Forest Force,
Rajasthan.
What made all the difference in Panna? I have
no explanation why tigers are not breeding in
Sariska and they do in Panna, said Mr. Pabla. His
suggestion to the Rajasthan authorities in thisconnection included introduction of breeding
tigresses instead of virgins and not to have
too many males around. Mr. Murthy said the
presence of elephants in Panna was of great
help to tigers. Moreover, Panna had an
advantage of not having any village inside.
Raghuveer Singh Shekhawat, Field Director,
Sariska Tiger Reserve, is confident of a
breakthrough in the reserve.
What is all this fuss about litters? We need to
leave certain [things] for the tigers to decide,
said Samir Sinha, author and head of TRAFFIC
India.
Courtesy: The Hindu
Plato defined people as Swinish multitude for; they follow blindly, more often than not,
the wrong leader.
Another philosopher jokingly said that there is no need for M in the word, Masses as the word
with or without M means the same.
Another wise man gave the derivation of the word, Democracy as demons autocracy.
Some say that these definitions really apply to the present day People, Politics and Polticians.
Source: The Hindu dated January 7, 1986; Courtesy: K.B.R.
PEOPLE, MASSES, DEMOCRACY, POLITICS AND POLITICIANS
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I wish Govt. India and the state govts. should
publicise this achievement of the Village on a
large scale using all media available. I am sure
even if 10% of the villages in the country follow
the example many problems that the villages
face will be solved. I also wish some NGOs take
up this work and spread the word.
MIRACLE BY GOVERNANCE: - A village with 60
millionaires! Once impoverished and drought-
prone, Hiware Bazar in Maharashtra is a shining
example of how a visionary leader can use good
governance to make degraded areas resource-
rich and transform the future of its people
through empowerment and inspiration.Raosaheb Pawar, 85, a former wrestler, cycles to
the village square at Hiware Bazar in
Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra to sit under
shady trees and chat with others, most of them
as old as him. Life is good for all of them as they
have become prosperous, and often the
conversation is about their village that was such
an unliveable place 25 years ago.
Raosaheb thought that most of the villagers
would die of poverty and hunger. Today, a deep
sense of joy and gratitude swells within him as
he talks about how just one young sarpanch
came into their lives and transformed their
future. He proudly says he owns 45 acres of lush
MIRACLE BY GOVERNANCE -
VILLAGE WITH 60 MILLIONAIRES!
ByRamesh Menon
fertile land, one tractor, one harvesting machine
and three motorcycles. His annual turnover:
Over Rs. 15 lakh. He is not the only one. There
are 60 millionaires in the village today who are
all farmers!
Just a little over two decades ago, Hiware Bazar
was a village without hope. It was racked with
droughts, year after year. There was no water in
the wells. The land was seriously degraded as
the trees had been cut and used as firewood or
sold. There were no job opportunities. There
were numerous illicit liquor dens and
alcoholism was tearing into the social fabric.
Domestic violence was naturally rampant.Remembers Raosaheb: We lived in a very
ordinary poor village, but were happy with our
simple lives. But after 1972, when a severe
drought struck, the peace was shattered.
People became irritable and restless as the
struggle to stay alive became severe. Petty
reasons were enough to trigger off bitter
quarrels as there was so much despair and
frustration. Villagers started consuming liquor
and it added to our ruin. Many of us left our
empty fields and migrated to nearby cities to
work as daily wage labourers.
Poor Governance: - There was no governance
worth the name. The village was sliding towards
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disaster. As India started to ramp up economic
growth, new opportunities began to sprout and
young Indians started dreaming of a resurgent
India. The youth in Hiware Bazar wondered why
they too could not be a part of that dream. What
the village needed was a visionary leader. Thus,
they got together in 1989 and persuaded
Popatrao Pawar, the only post-graduate in the
village, to contest for sarpanch.
Popatrao was just in his mid-twenties and his
family wanted him to take up a white-collar job
as they saw no hope of him doing well if he stayedon in the village. As it was, 90 per cent of villagers
had already migrated. Hiware Bazar was no place
to live in. Despondency, hopelessness and
unaddressed anger punctuated their lives. But
the youngsters of the village just would not let
him think of anything else - they insisted that he
take over as sarpanch and lead them to a new
dawn.
A bureaucrat revered Popatrao also had other
dreams. He wanted to excel in cricket and make
it to the Maharashtra Ranji team. But the
youngsters of the village just would not let him
think of anything else - they insisted that he take
over as sarpanch and lead them to see a new
dawn. Ultimately, when he announced that hewould contest, the elder contestants withdrew
and he was elected unopposed. As soon as he
took over, he got the liquor dens closed down
and banned the consumption of liquor, tobacco,
paan and gutka. There was scarcely any
opposition as the whole village knew what
addiction had done to them and their dear ones.
Says Laxman Pawar, a farmer: When the liquor
dens were closed, we saw hope for the first
time.
Water management: - The next step was toensure that every rain drop that fell in the village
stayed within and did not flow away. Numerous
check dams were built by the villagers as
Popatrao told them that they should be pro-
active, not wait for the government to do
everything. Trees were planted before the rains
every year. Ponds were dug up to store rain
water that gradually enriched the water table.Soon, they had created 52 earthen bunds, two
percolation tanks, 32 stone bunds, and nine
check dams. We used just allocated state
government funds. The shramdan cut costs and
also ensured quality work. It was as if we were
building it for ourselves and for our children.
Participatory governance goes a long way, says
Popatrao. Being in the rain shadow region,
Hiware Bazar got just about 15 inches of annual
rain. Soon ponds and trenches stopped
rainwater from flowing out of the village.
After the very first monsoon, the irrigation area
increased from 20 hectares to 70. In 2010, the
village got 190 mm of rain, but we managed
well because of water management, saysHabib Sayyed, who works closely with Popatrao
on monitoring the water situation. Watershed
management has also helped them harvest
multiple crops. Before 1995, there were 90
open wells with water at 80-125 feet. Today, there
are 294 open
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