Night traffic Banned

The Nilgiris district Collector has banned vehicular traffic on the Thalaikundah – Theppakadu Road (via) Kallatty and the Thorapalli – Theppakkadu – Kakanallah Road (NH67) from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In a notification in the Nilgiris District Gazette, Collector Archana Patnaik has said that the restrictions have been imposed in the interest of public safety and to protect wildlife and preserve its peaceful habitat.

The Karnataka government has banned vehicular traffic through the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary in the night. Wildlife activists have been demanding a similar move by the Nilgiris administration to protect wildlife in the adjoining Mudumalai tiger reserve.

Advocate M. Santhanaraman filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Forest Department and the Nilgiris district administration to ban vehicular traffic between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. last August. The then Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale had asked him to give a representation to the authorities concerned, expecting the government to take appropriate decision, keeping in mind various laws in existence for protection of wildlife.

Nearly a year later, the Nilgiris Collector, who is also the regional transport authority, has banned night traffic on these roads traversing the Mudumalai tiger reserve.

Emergency vehicles such as ambulances are exempted from the restriction. According to the notification, trucks carrying produce of farmers could ply on the above routes only with prior permission from the Collector.

Forest officials said movement of vehicles through the Mudumalai tiger reserve had come down in the night after the ban imposed by Karnataka. Now, forest rangers in Mudumalai and the Nilgiris North division had been instructed to impose the ban strictly. Earlier, vehicles were allowed to park near the check-post inside the Mudumalai reserve. This had also been checked now, senior forest officials said.

“A recent study revealed that there were 91 road kills in 71 days early this year. The ban on vehicular movement on these roads will reduce man-animal conflict and pressure on wildlife, especially when the tiger population is encouraging in Mudumalai,” said S. Jayachandran, secretary, Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association.( From The Hindu Dated 13.08.2010

Can we hear the roar again?

The Asiatic Lion is being in the end of eroding from our eyes... an article about that in week end on 03.Aug.2010 in The Hindu coimbatore edition .

Cheetahs is back in India

Cheetah – the only large wild mammalian species that India has lost – will now be reintroduced in the country's three identified grasslands. The move will help restore grasslands and protect many other endangered animals there. Cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) was last spotted in Chhattisgarh in 1967.

Cheetahs will be obtained from Middle East, where North African Cheetahs are bred, Iran, Namibia and South Africa. Initially, 18 cheetahs will be brought to three sites proposed in the report, “Assessing the Potential for Reintroducing the Cheetah in India”, brought out by the Wildlife Trust of India and the Wildlife Institute of India.

The report, presented to the Ministry of Environment and Forests here on Wednesday, has identified Kuno-Palpur and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh Landscape in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. All the three sites require an initial investment of Rs.100 crore each for development before the animals are imported in the next two to three years.

for more details log on www.wildlifetrustofindia.org

Rajasthan free from plastic bags

Rajasthan bans plastic carry-bagsIn a major step for environment protection, the Rajasthan government on Monday announced a complete ban on the use of plastic carry-bags all over the State from August 1. A notification declared the entire State a “plastic carry-bag-free zone.”The ban will also apply to manufacture, storage, import, sale and transport of plastic carry-bags. Violation of the order will attract prosecution under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act, which prescribes jail for five years or a fine of up to Rs.1 lakh or both. (Hindu dated 27.07.2010)

Wildlife Photography Exhibition

The event is happening at Uffizi, Rajshree Ford Towers ( II floor, above Ford show room) from July 12 - 18. It is open to public from 10 AM to 7 PM on the above mentioned week. organized by renounced Macro Photographer K.Jayaram.