IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 6 Issue X
The popular campaign has led to people cleaning the roads. However, is that enough? Do we have goals for the Swachh Bharat or Clean India campaign?
Indian villages used to be neat and clean as the women folk used to sweep the area in front of their house everyday morning and sprinkle cow dung mixed water on it. Each resident used to keep the area in front of their house clean.
Even today, one can see remnant of that practice, when shopkeepers open their shop in the morning with Puja and then sprinkle water in front of their shops. Unfortunately with the advent of municipalities, the concept of individual responsibility vanished as we started depending on an external entity, even though that external entity is their own collective body. Unfortunately, that is how we view our local panchayats, municipalities and Governments.
Individual Responsibility:
The campaign should also make people aware that they need to dispose the wastes in the waste bins, but they should segregate the non-biodegradable wastes and dispose separately.
However, that in itself is not enough.
However this is not enough. We cannot solely focus on individual responsibility.
Industrialists into the game:
Similarly sewerage disposal due to lack of civic infrastructure is putting a huge pressure on the rivers. Not only every city, but also the clusters or housing societies should have effluent treatment so that there is only discharge of treated water into the drains. Rainwater harvesting has to be made mandatory in all housing societies so that we need to draw less water through canals from the rivers.
Swachh Bharat to me means clean rivers. Our rivers and streams should be clean so that we can drink without fear of gastroenteritis and bathe without fear of skin disease.
Hopefully the Government will delve deeper into the above issues to give a new life to our rivers.
Right to Clean Air:
The economy will also suffer due to the impact of absenteeism, drop in productivity of the work force. For further details check:
http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-6-issue-i/
The AQI values and corresponding ambient concentrations (health breakpoints) as well as associated likely health impacts for the identified eight pollutants are as follows:
A recent study in US estimates that more than 850 human lives are saved a year due to trees removing air pollution. Trees prevent almost 6.7 lakh incidences of acute respiratory conditions. In monetary terms this amounts to 7 billion dollar or 42,000 crore rupees. The percentage of Indians living in urban areas has increased from 27.8% in 2001 to 31.16% in 2011 (source: Census). Since urbanization is increasing, it is important that the Government takes steps to create urban forests so that the quality of air improves bringing along the much-needed benefits in health.
Swachh Bharat to me means being able to breathe fresh air without falling prey to diseases.
Say No to Synthetic Pesticides and Fertilisers:
The so-called Green Revolution, which had resulted in an initial boost in farm produce, gave rise to use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. The subsidies giving by the Government which artificially makes it affordable for the farmers to buy these fertilisers and pesticides, apart from enriching the pesticide and fertiliser lobby and the politicians also has resulted in toxic residues in our fruits, vegetables and even in tea. These toxic chemicals also leach into our water and poison our rivers, streams, lakes and other water bodies. Together they have a huge harmful impact on us as well as on our wildlife.
The Government has to promote use of organic manure and organic pesticides like neem based pesticides and phase out synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. Apart from improving the Union budget as the subsidies have ballooned to some 60,000 crores every year, promoting organic farming can help in improving our health as well as help compete in exporting organic foods.
Swachh Bharat to me means our fruits and vegetables are free from toxic residues from synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.
IndiaWilds App for Android Mobile
In India most of the internet penetration is happening through mobile phones. And the existing users who have access to desktops and laptops are becoming much more mobile then they used to be a few years ago. So to raise awareness and reach out to more people we need to adapt ourselves and make IndiaWilds easily accessed through a mobile phone using android OS.
Today, I am pleased to announce that we have created a mobile phone app so that people can access IndiaWilds anytime, anywhere without being tied to a computer. No need to type. One can access at the click of a button.
We have developed this app through Business Compass LLC a company based in Randolph, New Jersey, United States so that we create a good app.
Awareness is the first step before a person can become a champion of wildlife. I hope this will help us in reaching out to more people to raise awareness and make a real impact on the conservation landscape. If you have an android device then please download the app from this link:
Conservation News:
Electrocuted: It is tough time to be a Lion
Lion (Panthera leo persica) electrocuted
Lions are progressively moving away from the Gir National Park as they find the area small and prey base inadequate to sustain more than an estimate 400+ lions. Once out of the protected areas, they literally struggle to survive. Moving from one tree covered area to another, preying on wild herbivores as well as feral and domestic cattle, they are increasingly in conflict with people.
Baghnagar is a small village with a population of about 300-400 with people depending mostly on cultivation. There was a time when farmers used to ward away deers, wild boars and Nilgais from their farms by creating noise. These days the farmers have taken the easy route. The farmers connect electricity to the fencing and switch it on during the night to prevent wild herbivores coming into their fields. Mostly herbivores like Nilgais come to the field to feed on the crops. Unfortunately, on 21st October one of these nomads got electrocuted in a field in Baghnagar village in Mahua Taluka in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.
These few images show the overall size of the animal, power connection in the shed from where lines have been drawn to live wire the fencing, the leg caught in the wires and the cut marks in the body due to the wires.
Images courtesy IndiaWilds contributor Ramesh Makwana
This is not the sole instance of these wandering lions dying an untimely death. About three weeks ago, one lioness died about 15 kilometers from this village after it fell into a well.
Man-Animal Conflict: Man killed by tiger in Bandhavgarh
Equipment Discussions
Canon announces CN20x 50IAS H E1 Ultra Telephoto 50-1000mm zoom lens
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15810
Canon launches EOS C100 Mark II camera with 1080/60p
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15826
Natural History
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?8852-Country-notebook-m-krishnan&p=71870#post71870
Image of the Month
The Honour for the Image of the Month September 2014 goes to the Image titled Jack-in-the box! by Abhishek Jamalabad
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15830
Wildlife Photography
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15703
Jackal in Monsoon Greens by Sucheth Lingachar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15705
Srilankan Frogmouth Male and Female by Shyamala Kumar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15775
Changeable Hawk eagle with kill
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15702
The Fables by Rajbir Oberoi
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15779
Centipede with eggs by Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15722
Lanternfly by Abhishek Jamalabad
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?15734
To post in the IndiaWilds forums, you can register free of cost using your Full Name as user id at
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php
Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
Please post your views and feedback in the comments below.
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