Of fake pugmarks and drunk officials
As long as the rich are happy
datar....
K Sen responds
Pabla claims my report is without the endorsement of other members of the committee. But the fact is the report submitted to government of India on June 22, 2009, was signed by all four members with the date.
He has also cast aspersions on the team members. The person from WII was responsible for all-India estimation of tigers. The other member is joint director of NTCA. The fourth member, C Behera, is the regional deputy director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. This was a prestigiousteam capable of undertaking investigation and any aspersion on them is unbecoming.
The report of January 2008 also recorded observations and recommendations. Forget about the warnings and cautions of previous eight years, had Pabla acted upon the recommendations of 2008 reports, perhaps the surviving tigers would not have perished.
The fact is Panna has no tigers. abla ignored all warnings and continued to deny tiger disappearance till March 2009. The responsibility of managing a tiger reserve lies with the state government; shifting the responsibility and the blame to the central government or WII is not tenable.
Regarding the attack on me personally, I do not need a certificate from Pabla for integrity and competence. Like Pabla I too was chief wildlife warden of Bihar at one time. Our job does not allow making money from the tiger crisis. We are constitutionally responsible to save tigers.
As for alcohol, my love or hate for liquor ended 17 years ago when I became an insulin-dependent diabetic....
Sweet sorghum is Indian
Apropos the article, 'Nature cure from India' (July 16-31, 2009), sweet sorghum was introduced in India by Nimbkar Agricultural ResearchInstitute (NARI) in the early 1970s. Since then we have produced many hybrids which have been exported to more than a dozen countries. I hope the writer updates her database on sweet sorghum....
Non-performance award
The editorial 'Time to be different' (June 1-15, 2009) points out the Congress returned to power because of the poor. You credit the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and waiving of farmers' loans for the party's victory and touch on Keynesian public investment driven recovery programmes.
Waiving agricultural loan to thetune of Rs 71,000 crore--increased from Rs 61,000 crore--was a measure to get the vote bank and not governed by any economic reasoning. The haphazard developmental work promoted by NREGS in villages is not a Keynesian prescription. Keynes was concerned about industrial stagnation and the gross domestic product.
This government has returned on non-performance....
Useful but expensive
Music therapy may be useful, but it seems few can afford it. ('The how, why of music therapy', August 1-15, 2009.)The article on green dosa, published in the same issue, is helpful for those suffering body aches ('Body ache? Try green dosa'). The practice isstill followed in southern India....
Cardinal sin
Governments of rich countries that dump their technologies on the developing world must realize flouting environment norms is a sin against nature and the future generation....
Thorium on Kerala's coast
'Uranium traces in Punjab children' (April 16-30, 2009) is baffling as there are no uranium mines in Punjab. Groundwater pollution is a problem in Punjab and many other parts of the country. There should be strict rules against excessive use of groundwater. Thorium is another radioactive mineral. It is found naturally and in abundance on Kerala's coasts. Preventive measures need to be taken to save the people living close to the sea....
Crop failure causes deaths
Farmers in Sringeri and Kappa taluks of Karnataka's Chikmagalur district are suffering due to ecological hazards and political apathy. The yellow-leaf disease has come as a blow to farmers growing areca nut, a major cash crop. The government and the scientists are yet todevelop a cure for the disease. Several farmers in the region have committed suicide. The Centre recently announced a rehabilitation package, but it is useless. Excessive rainfall and failure of alternative crops like vanilla has caused further anxiety among these farmers The ongoing conflict between the tribals and the state government over the Kudremukh national park is also giving the farmers sleepless nights....
Scientific cell disposal
With proliferation of electronic gadgets in India we have a long-term problem at hand. Old batteries are often dumped along with other garbage. These dry cells contain mercury and other poisonous substances and can cause permanent damage to our topsoil.
In Sweden people deposit old batteries in specially-designated collection centres. It is high time that we had a policy on disposal of used batteries. A possible solution is to charge a 10 per cent fee on sale of batteries.
The fee should be waived if the buyer deposits used batteries at the shop while purchasing new ones. If old batteries are not returned,the fee should be used to segregate used batteries from garbage and dispose them scientifically....
Only a few pay tax
Financial management in India has gone for a toss. There is a wide gap between the number of people paying taxes and the number of people who should be paying taxes. If you go through the reports of the last 30 years of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, you would not believe your eyes. Even after allowing for a wide margin of error--about 20 per cent--crores have gone missing. This money was meant for public works such as schools, hospitals and roads.
Of course, the rich have to pay more tax. But do they pay at all?...
Down To Earth welcomes letters, responses and other contributions from readers. Send to SunitaNarain, Editor, Down To Earth, 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 062....