Published on 10.2.2024 in Dwarka Express

Pollen grains are important links in proliferating the species. Universally, the flora cannot propagate if pollens are not there. But pollens at the same time are harmful pollutants also. While in Northern India, PM2.5 forms the major component of air pollution, pollen is posing the pollution challenge in South, especially in Bangalore, the garden city. Interestingly the pollution monitoring stations also publish tree, grass and weed pollen indexes daily. On this day, when this article is going for print, the pollen pollution is forecast to be low to moderate. Is having a garden a sin? Not at all. We need the tree cover. But at the same time, it is also true that the pollens are the most formidable pollutant in Bangalore. Come February, all flowering trees bear blooms, making a cause for concern. Pollen is a permanent problem in Bangalore with no solution in the vicinity. Question arises whether having tree is a problem. Trees are needed for multiple needs and no one could object to planting a tree. Bangalore gets its unique title of being the garden city (though it has lost its charm) by having a lot of trees. Trees are the only massive oxygen producer and therefore are essential until perhaps someone manufactures oxygen in lab and make it available for the billions of human beings as well as other living organisms. When it will happen or what will be the impact is unimaginable as of now. When Delhi is reeling under pollution due to suspended particulate matter, the root cause analysis broadly pointed out to stubble burning, automobile emission and construction dust. Graded response Action Plan by Central Pollution Control Board and green ministry could do some strict instruction as the pollutants were essentially man made. Some reliefs were envisaged and experimented. However, in Bangalore, the pollen problem appears to be the most challenging. Here trees cannot be prevented from blooming and proliferating pollens.

Besides pollen from trees, Bangalore also faces pollens from grass and weeds during the month of May every year. Parthenium weed is highly invasive especially in Bangalore one of the prominent causes of pollen pollution. Notoriously known as congress grass, this exotic weed stealthily entered India during the famine of 1950s when the then congress Government imported huge stock of wheat from abroad.  One will see huge trees in the city which had always been instrumental in keeping the micro climate of the city cool. With mushrooming construction activities, the city is losing its charm slowly. Narrow roads, ever increasing traffic and growing urbanization has already posed a lot of challenges. The day is not far off when the city also would face the Delhi’s Particulate Matter challenge.

Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease, allergic rhinitis, rhino-conjunctivitis and skin diseases like eczema and dermatitis are some of the known diseases which get aggravated due to pollen problems. Some of the suggestive remedies may be 1. Reducing exposure to outdoor activities, 2. Increased Vitamin D intake, 3. Increased water consumption 4. Mask wearing and 5. Practicing Pranayama (breathing exercises). But such solutions are layman suggestions, short of scientific proofs. Recently a pulmonologist was heard saying that remaining indoor will not be a solution for asthmatic patients.  The medical fraternity may vary in their views but the solution lies in prevention. Whether Bengalurians will have a remedy and relief from pollen is still a question mark.

Published in Dwarka Express on 3.2.2024

The above line of Mahatma needs serious attention, as we remember Mahatma on Jan 30^th every year, the day on which the doyen of the non-violence movement laid down his life to violence. Prime Minister of India had rightly launched the Swachh Bharat mission was launched on the birth anniversary of Mahatma in 2014. After a decade, now it is good that we make an honest review of what happened and what not, in the swachhata sphere.

India’s Swachh Bharat Mission is the world’s largest sanitation initiative. Exactly after 5 years of its launch, the mission took another step to make India Open Defecation Free. The 2019-mission led to the construction of over 10 crore individual household toilets, and around 6 lakh villages declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). The Government of India approved a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores in 2020 budget envisaging the sustainability of the ODF status and to cover the villages with Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM). Biodegradable Waste Management has been put in place through composting and setting up of Biogas plants; collection, segregation, and storage facilities for plastic waste management, construction of soak pits, waste stabilization ponds, Decentralized Waste Water Treatment System for Greywater Management and Faecal Sludge Management through co-treatment in existing Sewage Treatment Plants/Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (STPs/ FSTPs). As per official reports, over 78 per cent of the villages have declared themselves ODF as on date. It is not out of place to mention here that Maharashtra bagged the top rank, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023.

Government statics aside, in reality, open defecation is going on even in urban areas. We cannot remain complacent in cleanliness front. We should call a spade a spade. As far as open defecation is concerned, nothing is spared, be it a lake, park, river bund, or a scrub jungle. It is a common sight to see a person carrying a water bottle to the empty neighbourhood to relieve him. The message is loud and clear. We need to go a long way in swacchata mission. Today when we travel in state highways or even on rural roads, it is a common sight that garbage is dumped everywhere. Corporations, Municipalities and Gram Panchayats fail to clear the trash. Our landfills are turning into hills and hillocks. Waste segregation, composting or recycling are not done completely. With ever-growing population and depleting amenities, it has become a challenge for the authorities. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed” said Mahatma Gandhi, the visionary. his thoughts were farsighted, even when environmental awareness was not significant. Indian economy has grown multifold since then, but the ecology is being neglected to a large extent. Environment is undergoing onslaughts in one way or other. Yes, to put it differently, we are greedy to ensure that the basic needs of human beings are met religiously.

Thanks to People’s trust for quoting my bird check-listing at their campus (with Karthik)

Published in Dwarka Express on 27.1.2024

The new year has brought a cheer when the Namibian cheetah named Jwala gave birth to 3 cubs in Kuno national park, Madhya Pradesh recently. This is her second delivery. During March 2023, Jwala gave birth to 4 cubs in Indian soil, out of which only one survived. For the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17^th Sep 2022, his birthday released 8 cheetahs from Namibia while another lot of 12 were brought from South Africa subsequently. Readers may remember that out of the 20 cheetahs were brought from South Africa and Namibia only 13 survived. Only one cub survived from the first delivery of Jwala. The last one-year period posed challenges to the fastest animals. Lot of controversies brewed about the death of cheetahs continuously. Radio collaring, extreme heat and kidney failure were some of the prominent reasons quoted by various sources on a few occasions. Some were of the view that the relocation project failed. However, at present, reportedly there are 21 cheetahs in India.

It now appears that the conservation efforts in Kuno forests have yielded a reasonably good result, which needs appreciation. As everyone knows, cheetah is the fastest animal and is said to attain 110 km. speed, which is recorded as the fastest one in the cat family. Many were having a belief that cheetahs were native to India. But according to S H Prater in the book of Indian animals, cheetahs were predominantly present in African forests. Slowly it invaded India like the Asiatic lions, through the north-western passes. It then established itself in the plains and lower hills of northern and central India. Then it straggled southwards as far as the Deccan and Mysore. The last authentic record of the cheetah in India is in 1948 in MP according to Prater.

As this fastest animal has to run long distance, there is no wonder that the habitat destruction resulted in reduced number to become extinct in India. The difference between tiger and cheetah lies in the hunting method. While tigers mostly hide, leap and bounce on its prey, cheetah stalks its prey, runs after it for a long distance and catches it. This particular behaviour is an ample indication to the dire need of forest lands. Habitat destruction has taken a heavy toll in India. The intrusion of man into its territory has become a curse on valuable wildlife. We are losing many species all over the world and India is not an exemption. But India also should not forget that it is one of the world’s biggest biodiversity hotspots and our pride rests on preserving it.

The scientific as well as environmental community is divided on the issue of translocation of the cheetah in India. When protagonists laud the translocation, the antagonists are critical from the suitability of habitat. The erstwhile rulers were fond of hunting and killing the big cats, and obviously the environmental awareness among people were minimal. Another concern is the amendments being brought to Forest Conservation Act, diluting the lofty ideals of the scientific spirits. Thirdly development sans sustainability has stepped in already. If the policy makers do not consider the ethical and ecological aspects of the country, a day will emerge when there won’t be animals on ground. Only zoos will exhibit the animals behind bars.