“Tree falling: natural or man-made?”

September 28, 2024April 13, 2025Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

‘Massive tree falls on a car’ the caption is almost a daily affair in any newspaper, especially during the rainy season. Whenever some car is damaged or someone gets severely wounded, the usual mudslinging game starts. The municipality is at fault, according to a resident always. Why does a tree fall? It may be due to various reasons. One excuse is that the tree has become old. Sometimes, termites kill a tree. Mostly the falling of a tree is during a monsoon time. Heavy rains, cyclones, or floods may uproot a tree. While natural disasters are also mostly due to human apathy, this may be excused as acts of God and beyond control.

But man-made tree falls cannot be exempted. India has been losing its forest cover drastically over the last few years. Urbanization has taken a heavy toll on urban green cover. Bangalore, once lauded as a garden city has shed its tag now. Some signature trees are seen here and there. But the age-old trees are falling victim to the axes of the Municipality which once felt proud of greening the city. About two years back, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) went for a massive plantation along the roadsides. The same BBMP is cutting huge branches of well-grown trees as they are creating impediments to traffic. In some of the main roads like Palace Road, trees were felled to expand the roads. It is not just Bangalore that has lost its charm. Many cities face the same fate. Deeply concerned residents raise their voices against felling here and there. But authorities do not seem to heed to the feeble voice of the people.

Why do trees fall suddenly? During a recent tree-falling incident, residents insisted that the white topping was the major reason. White topping is a technique used to resurface roads by laying a layer of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) on top of an existing road. It is claimed that white topping is a long-term solution for strengthening or rehabilitating roads and is often used to address potholes and poor drainage. For instance, on the road from Mekhri Circle to IISC in Bangalore, where white topping was attempted, there was no need to axe the trees, as the purpose was not road expansion, but to strengthen the road. The authorities made a grave mistake. Similarly, in Delhi, the Delhi Tree Preservation Act advocates a penalty for concretization of the tree base. Trees lose their breathing space because of the cementing of the base. Cutting off the taproots or secondary roots while laying underground cables destabilizes trees. Sometimes, nailing the barks to fix the ad boards weakens the trees or tying serial lights to decorate places like banquet halls and malls. We only blame the authorities vehemently but when it comes to civic responsibilities, the common man is also to blame as he lacks civic sense. Road widening for infra projects has become a major excuse for uprooting well-grown trees. The tree falling is primarily a man-made activity but the blame is shifted to natural calamity conveniently. Nature obviously will take its toll if she is not cared for properly. (Courtesy: Representative picture from the internet)

No honey bees, no food!

September 21, 2024April 13, 2025Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

“Honey, I love you!”

Does honey symbolize love? Do bees personalize briskness? It doesn’t look so from the treatment meted out to bees. Honey also plays a major role in medicine. But we do not want honey bees in our proximity. If honey bees can talk, they will say, ‘We have not come to your place, you have encroached on our place’. But it does not bear any logic or rhyme with the common man. ‘I cannot live here, my children are in danger, I cannot open the balcony,’ says an annoyed Rupa a flat owner on the 15th floor of an apartment in Bangalore. She has gone to the extent of suing the Apartment Management if they do not kill or drive away the bees immediately.

The supporting voice is loud. Many joined her in making the protest as strong as possible. Mr. Kumar also quoted a recent happening to substantiate the ‘menace’. In a recent incident, 50 people including 20 women and a girl child were attacked in Chennimalai when they assembled at a temple for a marriage function. Heavy smoke from the marriage hall (probably from the kitchen) engulfed a bee hive in a nearby tree, which made the swarm attack the marriage crowd. All were hospitalized and are getting first aid. No causality was reported. But the fear in people’s minds is very high. Residential colonies often adopt to serious measures like smoking with chemicals and killing the bees to pacify the residents. But many residents complain that the bees again invade and therefore it is only a temporary solution. Alert conservation activists always fight with the management to save bees as they pretty well know that killing bees would cut the important link in the food chain, as bees are said to occupy a major share of pollinators, while butterflies, wasps, beetles, and birds also pollinate. Interestingly the bees are treated as vermin and the pesticide manufacturers give treatment solutions. However, as per one study, human life may also come to a standstill when the bees are eliminated. This is because 80% of pollinations are suggested to be done by bees. If pollination does not take place, we may not get fruits or any agricultural produce. When such an important link in the food chain is neglected by law there is no protection for honey bees in any of the schedules of Wildlife Act. Of all the bees, rock bees (Apis dorsata)are giant bees found all over India in sub-mountainous regions up to an altitude of 2700 m. They construct single comb in open about 6 feet long and 3 feet deep. They shift the place of the colony often. Rock bees are ferocious and difficult to rear, though they produce about 36 Kg of honey per comb per year. Beekeeping is a recognized activity that can be taken up to address the persisting problem. It is lucrative also while it can address the bee sting problem. If properly managed, bees can be a potential wealth generator besides being pollinators.

No honey bees, no life on earth! And… honey can create wealth too!

What is wrong with wolves?

September 14, 2024April 13, 2025Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

Wolf is in news for quite sometime now. We are reminded of Akela, the wolf which brought up Mowgli in ‘Jungle Book’ by 19^th century author Rudyard Kipling. The book is still being the favourite of children all over the world. Kipling’s effort to stop human-animal conflict through a fun filled story is perhaps unacceptable, at least in Utter Predesh, where children are repeatedly carried away by wolves in a Bahraich village. Bahraich district has seen 10 deaths and about 50 attacks. Out of the 10 deaths, nine are children. The traumatised villagers are perhaps hell bent on finishing the wolf species and the UP Government has declared the tragedy as an environmental disaster.

The latest news is that the Forest department has captured 5 out of a pack of 6 wolves and the last

one may also be captured at any moment. The department has used drones to track them. The officials say that the captured wolves will be sent to zoos. The forest team has chased away the beasts first and captured them later. Elephant dung and urine were used to scare away the animals from the villages nearer to jungles. The UP-forest department has named the search as “Operation Bhediya” (Bhediya is Wolf in Hindi) to catch the wolves responsible for attacks in 25-30 villages under Mahsi tehsil. It has also installed cameras in Sikandarpur village around six caves, which appear to be the habitat of wolves.

An environmental tragedy happens due to the lack of preventive measures. It is shocking to note that the affected families that live in proximity to the forests do not even have money to erect doors in their houses. This makes the villagers fall an easy victim to the wolves. Man-animal conflict is not new. The wild animals cannot understand the difference between a forest and a village. Their foremost activity in life is to find its food. A study reveals that the food pattern of the wolves changed of late. Instead of attacking livestock, they have started feeding on available carcasses. Stranded animals enter into nearby villages which is inevitable as the deforestation is growing steadily. Children become easy victim to such animals. All said and done, human life is in danger and the wolves too are endangered.

Wolves generally avoid human beings. According to a report on wolf population, about 3000 wolves are known to exist in India. The normal life span is 12 to 15 years. On one side, intensive conservation exercise is going on to save the endangered species. On the other side, the traumatized people want the animals to be killed immediately. The forest department is taking a cautious step by capturing and rehabilitating them in zoo parks. In fact, the killing of children by wolves is not a new phenomenon. There is a mention about this wolf behaviour in S H Prater’s 1948 publication, ‘The book of Indian animals.’ When driven by hunger, any animal does not have the rationale thinking to differentiate between man and beasts. India is losing its rich biodiversity gradually. Killing of wild animals is justified due to the fear caused by them when they slip into human territory. But we should not forget that such man-animal conflict will continue as long as the deforestation continues. Saving wildlife without conserving their habitat is meaningless.

Festival season is here again!

September 7, 2024March 2, 2025Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ yes, the chanting reverberates at every home and apartment throughout the country. The residential complexes resonated the rituals to welcome the God of prosperity and also have geared up to give a fitting farewell. Almost all festivals as per Hindu mythology are very close to nature. The Pancha Bhuta depicts the very basis of cosmic creations and are duly adored in all festivities. It is time for thanksgiving to the Creator. If we deeply look into the very nerve of the religious sentiment, we will realize how the nature is intertwined with the religious rituals that we practice. For instance, Lord Krishna is seen with cows. Ganesha is a known as elephant God. Ma Durga is seen sitting on a lion. Hindus start the day with Surya Namaskar. We celebrate the harvest festivals in different formats all over the country. It is more than obvious that we are always for nature from time immemorial. For us trees are more than just giving oxygen or shade. We have a religious link with many trees. In the Bhagavad Gita (15:1), Lord Krishna says that the banyan tree is representing the entire Cosmos. The purity of peepal tree (pavitratha) is nothing new to all

In fact, every faith is leading to the path of love and compassion to the various living organisms as well as nature. Irrespective of any particular faith, the entire human race firmly believes in protecting Mother Earth. Prophet Muhammad demonstrated the value of resource preservation, sustainable consumption, tree planting, compassion for all creatures, and upholding a clean and safe environment. According to Islamic teachings, all living things, not just humans, have a right to share in nature’s basic elements, namely water, fire, wood, and light. The importance of preserving the environment and its resources has been underlined by Islam. Islam instills environmental preservation in its followers and Muslims hold the view that God will hold mankind accountable for their actions should they not protect the planet. Christianity also has a long historical tradition of reflection on nature and human responsibility towards nature. Jesus asserted that all creatures have intrinsic value in the eyes of God. Christmas tree symbolizes Xmas. So, what is preventing us to care the nature and fellow living beings?

Having discussed the connectivity of festivals, a logical question arises as to whether we are expected to save nature. Why then, we should use plastics and non-biodegradable items during the celebration. All waterbodies will be full of idols soon. Why should we pollute our water bodies with idols made of chemicals which are not going to biodegrade? Why should we kill the animals on the festival eve? Why should we waste food on these occasions? Why should we burst crackers and pollute the environment? Why should we raise the noise of our loudspeakers beyond the permitted decibels? Let us try to make clay models of idols and dissolve it in rivers and waterbodies.

This is our age-old tradition; the rest are recent arrivals!