April 21, 2024May 18, 2024Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

Why leopard roams in towns?

Published in Dwarka Express on 21.4.24

Mayiladuthurai is a small town in Tamil Nadu. It has been on news in recent times. It is because a leopard has been spotted in CCTV footages. No one knows how a leopard has entered in that town though Forest department is leaving no stone unturned to capture the animal alive. In the meantime, there was panic in nearby towns including the city of Thanjavur. Animals entering a civic society is not a new thing. Interestingly its sighting in a town which is nowhere close to the jungles is the suspense of the story. It was first spotted on 2^nd April in the town. Despite tremendous efforts by Forest officials, the leopard has been elusive and not traceable till 11^thApril. Suddenly it was reported that the animal was spotted in CCTV in a small village called Ponparappi. Forest officials rushed to the village but no pug mark was seen anywhere. Later another message reached the department that the animal has moved to Sendurai, another village. It is surprising that the animal is not traceable. We cannot blame the Forest departments since they are making the best efforts.

It is not a new thing that an elephant, a tiger or a leopard sneak into a nearby residential settlements or colonies. Normally in such cases, either the forest will be in the vicinity or the affected area is an encroached one. The later one is true in many cases in general. We often forget that jurisdictions and borders are made for our convenience and animals do not have any idea about that. When an elephant crosses over its assigned territory, we blame forest department, Government and politicians without realising that it is we who decided the living areas for animals and we never consulted the animals. Forest department is left with no option except to burst crackers or shoot the animals to ensure safety of the human beings. People may have forgotten the November 2023 episode in Bangalore when a leopard from nearby Bannerghatta forests has sneaked into Bangalore city area, it succumbed to a bullet, after an attempt to dart the big cat failed. The forest department claimed that the leopard was ‘aggressive’ and ‘killing’ was a last resort. Social media was fuming in favour of the big cat. Environmentalists were on their toes and highly critical of the whole episode. But it is also true that the local residents heaved a sigh of relief. The whole episode was set to rest. People have a great disease called ‘amnesia’. Life goes on as usual even after any big crisis. Corana is one such event, which is now a history. It is suspected by forest department of Thanjavur that the big cat in Mayiladuthurai might have travelled from Ariyalur along river banks of Cauvery and reached Mayiladuthurai. And it is also believed that the big cat returned to Ariyalur in the same route. The nearest forest area appears to be Nagoor reserve forest, Puliyancholai reserve forest, a part of the Kolli hills. It is still a mystery how it could have travelled more than 100 KMs from a reserve forest without being noticed by anyone. All said and done, even after two weeks, no one knows, wherefrom it came and where it had gone. Will forest departments investigate the entire episode? (Representative picture from Wikipedia)

E Waste threat is looming large!

March 5, 2024Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

Published on 24.2.24 in Dwarka Express

Kumar, a student of 10^th standard was going around bragging to his friends. His latest model smart phone, costing Rs 40000 was the cause of his flaunting. ‘Mam, Smart phones become out dated in just a year’, was his impromptu response, when Kavitha, his teacher asked him why he discarded his previous phone. Adolescence doesn’t see any rhyme or reason. Logics don’t work in Kumar’s case. And this is not an isolated case. There are many such consumers. Precisely, what is the utility of a smart phone? Calls, chat, Insta uploads and at the maximum an email check. Gone are the days of basic model phones. Perhaps a teacher may use it to ‘escape’ from the WhatsApp messages from his pestering student. Electronic devices become obsolete so faster that most of the gadgets do not have proper repair or replacement. Even, a warranty is also not much useful in many cases. As per World Health Organisation, ‘Every year, millions of tonnes of e-waste are recycled using environmentally unsound techniques and are likely stored in homes and warehouses, dumped, exported or recycled under inferior conditions. When e-waste is treated using inferior activities, it can release as many as 1000 different chemical substances into the environment, including harmful neurotoxicants such as lead. Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable due to their unique pathways of exposure and their developmental status’.

Today electronic waste is the fastest growing solid waste among all wastes in the world. It is said to be growing 3 times faster than the world population. E-waste is considered the most hazardous waste as it contains toxic materials and can emit toxic chemicals when treated inappropriately. It is interesting to note that a laptop contains 12 metals including gold, silver and platinum. This makes the e waste recycling industry, greedy of making quick money. This is perhaps the reason for improper and sub-standard recycling of e waste all over the world, especially in poor and developing countries. Richer nations tend to dump the e waste in those poor countries. In India, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has notified the e waste rules from time to time. The latest amended rules are dated 2.11.2022. Whatever may be the rules, we should realise that the volume of e waste being generated is formidable. Going forward, it is going to be quite challenging to manage. While the challenge is a global phenomenon, it is unfortunate that developed nations use India as dumping yard for e waste. India should curtail import of scrap to a larger extent, listening to the warning bell. There are many issues involved in e waste management. Right from health hazards, to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) the e waste management rules ensure that proper waste management is in place. However, there is a dire need to integrate the role of circular economy in addressing the spurt in growth of e waste immediately else the piling e waste will pose a dangerous situation. So, reducing consumption must become an integral part of our lifestyle. Will Gen next inculcate the habit of Responsible Consumption?

Sand & Soil, one steals, another dumps

December 17, 2023December 20, 2023Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

World Soil Day was celebrated only on 5^th Dec 2023. And the theme of the year is “Soil and water, a source of life” So what? International Days come and go. Celebrations keep going. We mark the day with runs and rides with banners wearing t-shirts. But soil or water…, are we serious to preserve them? To form one inch topsoil, it takes 100-1000 years. Sand mining is one that we hear quite often. No Indian River is liberated from illegal sand mining. Wherever revenue or police authorities intervene, the sand mafia goes underground for sometimes but re-emerge to continue their crazy business. In Tamil Nadu, the sand theft is quite common and is known by its notorious name manal_kollai, meaning sand theft. Politicians and contractors join hands to continue their activity thus destroying riverbeds and seashores despite the hue and cry.

While sand theft continues unabated on the one hand, Bengaluru has a inimitable experience of soil dumping. Bengaluru is growing fast and the population has already breached one core mark. Still the hunt for land is going on as many wants to settle down in Bangalore. Clandestine efforts are on by the land mafia to grab the lake beds. Vanishing lakes is a major concern and the locals here and there are vehemently trying to save the left-out lakes in their proximity.

A recent revelation at Hennagara lake near to Electronics city is shocking. It is reported that the Hennagara lake falls under gram panchayat in South Bangalore. South Bangalore is a home for MNCs known for the software export. Construction activity is endless and search for sites to build multi stories and villas is continuing. The only space left out inside the city is lake which becomes easy victim for the craze. The Govt map like Dishank app is also misleading occasionally as the survey numbers are wrongly marked in the official map as private land. Every lake has a buffer zone of 30 meters, where construction activities are banned. But if the lakes are also wrongly marked where is the question of buffer zones? During the last one year, it is reported that about 10000 trucks have dumped soil in the 330-acre Hennagara lake. At this rate the lake will soon disappear. Hennagara is not the only one being dumped. Many attempts are made in the past by authorities even to dump waste and soil. Belandur and Varthur lakes are such notable victims. Kempe Gowda, the founder of the Bengaluru city was a visionary as he created innumerable tanks called kere in Kannada which even after a few centuries are coming handy for the city to recharge the ground water besides keeping the city green and cool. But at this rate of vanishing lakes, the day is not far off that the garden city will face the heat spell and raising pollution. Environmentalists warn that the city will lose its waterbodies soon if timely corrective measures to protect the lakes and their feeder canals known as Rajakaluves.