The PWD park get a new "patron" - good or bad?

The Times Of India reports that the "Nizhal" park is to become a walkers' paradise

Chennai:The Chennai Corporation is planning to convert 6.1 acres on the southern bank of Adyar river near Kotturpuram into a park — the biggest in south Chennai — that will be a walkers’ paradise.
The elected council of the corporation unanimously passed a resolution approving the proposal to use the land that belongs to the water resources department, a wing of the Public Works Department. The area, the biggest open space in south Chennai, will be given a new look with lawns, seating, lengthy walkways, children’s play area, ornamental lights and parking for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
According to officials, the consultancy firm engaged by the local body has already submitted the blueprint for the project. “A sum of Rs 70 lakh will be pooled to develop this area. It will provide a breathing space for residents of south Chennai, who now have to go to the Marina or the Elliot’s Beach,” a corporation official said. The adjoining River View Road, near Gandhi Mandapam Road, will also be widened by 7m.
The Saidapet zone of the corporation will soon float the high-cost tender, inviting bidders to transform the river embankment. The area, which was once a dumping site, was cleaned up and fenced by the PWD a couple of years ago with the objective of setting up an eco-park. With the support of Nizhal, a non-government organisation, as many as 250 saplings were planted.
Volunteers and students have been helping Nizhal maintain the park for the past two years. “We will continue to support the corporation in maintaining this special tree park, which is also a tree learning centre for students and the comunity,” said Shoba Menon of Nizhal. The majority of the saplings were sourced from Auroville nurseries and other nurseries in the suburbs. Volunteers remove weeds and water the plants every week.
The corporation also has plans to pull down a dilapidated school building near Greams Road in Nungambakkam and install nets for cricket practice.

julie.mariappan@timesgroup.com

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai is the headline of an article in The Hindu, and yes we can vouch for that.

I rhymed about it here, remember?

The article by P Oppili, says,

Are you finding the short, sweet song of Koels replacing the annoying tone of your morning alarm lately?

The population of Asian Koels in the city is on the rise this time around, according to ornithologists and naturalists. Observations by the ornithologists have revealed that one of the main reasons for the increase in Koel population is the increase in the number of crows in the city.

Koels are brood-parasitic, that is, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. The only hosts they find within the city are nests of crows. Moreover, the breeding season of Koels coincides exactly with that of crows, between April and August, they say.

V. Guruswamy, a naturalist who is pursuing research on Asian Koels in the city for the past seven years, observes that the bird's breeding season is divided into two.

The first being the pre-breeding season between February and April, and the second being the trans-breeding season between May and August. Members of the Madras Naturalists' Society also confirmed that singing birds' population was currently on the rise in the city.

He observes that as many as 6,000 ‘Koel calls' can be heard regularly, depending upon the number of birds found in a wooded residential locality. The month of July is the peak season for Koels breeding and the number of calls will come down by September, when the crow's breeding also comes to an end, he says.

Raja Annamalaipuram, Simpsons Estate in Sembium, Radhakrishnan Salai in Mylapore and Perambur Railway Colony are some of the areas that Mr Guruswamy has observed. He has recorded the population of Koels in these localities.

Talking about the recording of ‘Koel calls', Mr Guruswamy says that they sing as early as 4.45 a.m. and their last call is recorded around 6.15 in the evening. With more and more crows occupying various trees in the city, the Koels stand a better chance to breed well and thrive in the city, add the naturalists.

The garbage has increased in Nanmangalam

Nanmangalam reserve forest - the landmark hill within

Yesterday, we revisited Nanmangalam, with the same bunch of school kids from last week. They were armed with some tree knowledge from last week, and the idea was to take them into the forest, help them understand the web of life, the importance of a forest, and the need to make sure that these treasures are protected.

I was all brave about taking them along as I assumed that DCF, Mr Ashokan would be around, but he wasn't. Thankfully, Sheila came along or I would have been stuck with 60 kids, and one binocular, trying to show them birds as I don't know much about trees anyways! The kids were really happy to be on the walk and enthusiastic, and the teachers too. so we meandered along the fringes of the forest I think, because the vegetation was sparse.

Its been more than a year, I reflected since I visited Nanmangalam. I remembered crossing this large maidan on the way to the bubo bubo quarry. But instead of heading to the quarry, we walked towards a temple, led by the helpers at the extension centre.

We saw too much eucalyptus for our liking and explained why it's not such a good idea to have too much of this fast growing tree. We also saw another colourful weed - lantana - in plenty. As we crossed the maidan, there was a movement in the bushes and a snake came slithering across the open ground, with a bunch of crows circling its head. The reason for the crow's interest was a fat frog caught in the mouth of the snake! I have never seen a snake slither on the ground with it's head held aloft like this, and it moved purposefully into the next clump of bushes and vanished from sight. It had the markings of a rat snake, Sara pambu. That was excitement enough for the group!

We saw drongoes, bulbuls, sunbirds, doves, and could we have seen a black-headed munia? I thought there was a whole bunch of them. White browed bulbuls called agitatedly from the trees, but I didn't see one. A lapwing flew across, calling in al,arm at this bunch of people descending on the forest.

I was saddened to see the increase of litter in the forest, as we walked on to the quarry. There are obviously favourite spots, where groups sit, marked by plastic water bags, cigarette packs and pan parag sachets. Empty PET bottles too. I spied a large bag among the bushes, and picked it up, and we rallied e kids into picking up any litter that we could easily remove. The children were most cooperative, and we had to prevent them from putting their hands too deep into the bushes as they spied a sachets pack glinting among the greenery.

I hope our sermon on not throwing litter, improving our civic sense and reducing the use of plastic, had some influence.

At the quarry, more pain. The water's surface was filled with thermocol. I had not seen this earlier. What is the forest department doing to clear this? I was appalled.

I plan to send these photos to the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Chennai.
The quarry - filled with rain water, but look at the floating thermocol

Maybe we (Nizhal), along with tree sensitizing can get the visiting children to make boards in English and Tamil requesting people not to litter.

I wonder if it would help if there were dustbins, with lids, in the park area. Maybe some "trails" could be laid out, with some interesting facts on trees?
Clcik on the pcture, and you will see that the white floating substance at the far end on the water is more thermocol

The bags of garbage we cleared in one hour...there is much more.

A weekend with trees

17th July 2010:

Off to Nanmangalam extension centre as a Nizhal volunteer. Its been cloudy and rainy in general, but of course on 17th July its blazing hot.

The plan is to take a bunch of 60(!) high school kids around the extension centre, talk to them about trees and their importance, introduce them to native species (as against our familiar exotics like Rain Tree and Gulmohar), and hope to sensitise future citizens against indiscriminate tree cutting and to promote wise tree planting as well.

Usha takes her car, and we trundle along past Pallikaranai and Quaidemillat college, and hear blaring music from a temple loudspeaker. Its supposed to be devotional, but how anyone could feel devotional under this auditory assault is beyond me. Maybe its me that is so lacking in faith?

Anyway, if you think I am digressing I am not. Deepika said that as soon as we hear the music we were to do a U-turn and we would arrive at the extension centre gates! It was a very accurate landmark that no GPS system could have given!

Mr Ashokan the DCF turned out to be enthusiastic and committed, and so the walk was a breeze. The kids arrived with no caps and large heavy bags (should remedy this for the next school visit), but were attentive and interested.

The Extension Centre abuts the road, and there is active tree planting of indigenous species going on here. There were two views on the setting up of this centre but it seems to be here to stay.

The trees below are those planted in the extension area. Interestingly, all these native trees are high on medicinal properties. Its imperative that we research them and obtain patents.

Terminalia arjuna - fruiting

Called Neer marudhu in Tamil, the Arjun tree grows all over India, and is widely used in ayurveda for a whole host of cures. The bark and leaves seem to be helful in treating heart conditions. Morinda citrifolia-Nuna

Another wonder tree is nuna. The fruit you see is used to make juice that is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Alstonia scholaris - Indian Devil tree/scholars tree!

I stared idly at this tree. Not particularly distinguished, but it has these opposing names - Devil's tree on the one hand, and scholar's tree on the other. So our all scholars devils or are all devils scholars?!

For some reason, tribals in the Western Ghats reportedly dont like to sit under this tree as the devil is believed to live in it. Its bark is used to treat loosies, and its wood was traditionally used to make blackboards - hence the scholaris title. Callophyllum inophyllum - Alexandrian Laurel - punnai

A coastal tree, very decorative, and Usha says they are lining the streets in Pondy. I should check next time we go there. And guess what, that fruit you see is quite magical. An oil extracted from its nut is used in anti-ageing creams, and is also a viable biodiesel!!

We saw herbs that help in dandruff control, Vitex negundo (nochi) that is like a backyard mosquito control plant, sandalwood saplings, Indian rosewood and mahogany and so much more.

Next week we go back for a nature walk through the RF, with the same kids.

July 18th:

6:45 am, nagging drizzle, overcast skies. This could have been yesterday's weather, but no, I want sun I get rain, and vice versa! And why did I want sun? So the butterflies would be out, and the birds would be chirping as we took the young children of the Madras Club on a little walk around the club.

Sudhakar and Minni kindly agreed to come in as the experts, and we did stroll around the club grounds, heartened by the enthusiasm of the children. Thankfully trees stay where they are, and so we used them as the anchors for our walk!

The lovely banyan, the spreading rain trees, fish-tail palms, the massive neem on the lawns and the plentiful copper pods provided talking points.

As did this Gastropod.

The huge snail that caught all the oohs and aahs

Check out the muscular foot that the snail uses to move along, by its contractions. 1mm/second average snail speed.

Isn't that a beautiful glistening shell?

Commelina - day flowers

Sudhakar pointed out the day flowers in the green lawns underfoot. Click on the picture and see the flower zoomed in, its rather lovely, delicate and intricate, all for a day.

But this tree below was unidentified Tree unknown (Identified as Mimusops elengi - Magizham)Plumeria obtusa - Singapore frangipani

The flowers of this plumeria are different from the common one, rather more elegant I thought.

And so we wound up, after more earthworms, cotton stainer bugs, seven spotted cockroaches, millipedes, centipedes and a red bead tree.

We were rewarded by a sumptuous breakfast that included "mla pesarattu" - also a first time for me!!

July jottings

Nizhal's PWD park

• Need to number the trees
• Usha cuts palm webbing along with the paper, oops.
• Arrive, and its all cloudy, green and overgrown.

Nice!

• Spider eyeballs me. Annoyed at being disturbed.
• Look at his hairy legs...or is it hers?
• Scurries away under another leaf, and I decide not to disturb his peace.

• Butterflies everywhere
• Common lime, plain tigers flitting about.
• These two caught, and its just my Sony Ericcson phone cam!

• Two chital stags looked on curiously, nervous as well?
• We are only labelling the saplings, boys, I wanted to say.
• But the closer we got the more fidgety they were. And then with a leap and a charge they were off, beautiful antlers and all.

Anyways, the job was done, the rain held off, and the snakes stayed away.

Leopard in Kabini

Leopard in Kabini - Dr Alaganantham's Photos

May 2010 - Nagarhole park, Kabini.

Geetha writes:

a leopard sauntered across the path in front of our jeep in a very
leisurely fashion. Needless to say, the shutterbugs (Arun and Dr
Alaganantham) went on an overdrive!

On seeing the photos, Mr Ravi Chellam of ATREE, responded

Based on the photo-data base we have, we have been able to identify this male leopard as NHL-225, whom we first photo-trapped in March 2008 and also have had subsequent photo-captures. He seems to be a fairly tolerant and very visible leopard as we have photos of him from at least one other tourist.

I thought that was interesting - a leopard with a personality quirk?!

Aigrettes and egrets

A sonnet for the egrets:

Pulicat Lake - a crowd of egrets with a couple of painted storks

In the Adyar estuary,
At Pulicat, Pallikaranai, Nelapattu,
Standing stock still and wary
Even in far away Ranganathittu.

The yellow feet of the little egret

Little egrets, feet so yellow
Intermediates, standing tall in a throng
Cattle egrets, plumage mellow
Great egrets, necks and bills so long.

Cattle egret in breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
All dressed in white,
Familiar, in pensive pose
Makes me often wonder, might
They really be so morose?

Now I learn it is their aigrette in breeding season

That used to be a milliner’s delight, all with reason!

Great egret - Casmorodius albus - tallest of the white egrets. Long neck, and bluish green lores. Those feathers on the back are additional breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
Intermediate egret - Mesophoyx intermedia - smaller than the large. Yellowish lores during breeding. What you see is additional breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
Little egret - Egretta garzetta - small and graceful. What a pose! Photo by Mr Ramanan

Photo by Mr Ramanan

White nights on the Neva river - Gold, malachite and amber

White nights on the Neva river begins here.

We Indians love gold. We hoard it, smuggle it, wear it, gift it, flaunt it, like no other people in the world. Or so I thought, until I went to St Petersburg in Russia, last month.

Wherever I turned in this city of the eighteenth century, I saw gilded domes, gold painted decorations, and golden statues and ornaments. And the cathedrals and palaces would have malachite columns, jugs, engravings and what have you.

There were so many shops selling amber as well!

The needle spire of the cathedral of Peter & Paul. Ready in 1733

Nicholas Cathedral, built between 1753-62

How did they not get stolen, looted or defaced during the revolution, I wondered. And where did all this gold come from?

Turns out that gold in Russia and Peter the Great, St Petersburg's founding Tsar, have a strong link. He encouraged the exploration and mining of gold at the turn of the eighteenth century in Russia. According to the Gold Miners Headquarters, he issued a legal document called The Mining Privilegei", in 1719, and this encouraged private prospecting and the eventual discovery of gold in the Ural mountains.

Of the monuments and cathedrals, we saw, the spire of the cathedral in the Peter & Paul fortress complex, is one of the earliest decorative uses of gold, (I think) in St Petersburg.

The dome of St Isaac's. 100kgs of gold leaf were required to gild it. Opened in 1858

And then came the discovery of gold at Ekaterinburg, and malachite as well. I guess this was the time that Catherine II (aka Catherine the Great) reigned supreme.

This interesting tidbit I picked up from the jeweller Glimmerdream, as they traced the history of malachite:

In 1835, miners working the "Nadezhnaya" pit of the Mednorudyansky malachite deposit in the Urals exposed a malachite boulder of the highest quality that would eventually be found to weigh over 260 tons.
It took nine years to free the gigantic pocket from the body of rock without breaking it, and almost twelve years to bring it to the surface. Slabs from this find were used in the interior of the Anichkov Palace, as well as the Winter Palace where it was used to face eight columns and eight pilasters in the Malachite Room -- created by the architect brilliant "master of the interior" Alexander Bryullov in 1837 as a drawing room for Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (Fredericka Louise Charlotte Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia) (1798-1860), the wife of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855).
This same boulder also supplied enough malachite to face eight of the ten huge Corinthian columns that support the three-tier two-hundred foot gilded iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church) of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. (The other two columns are faced with lapis.)

Malachite Room at the Winter palace - 1839, showing the gilded doors as well
Malachite Room, again. This was the room where the Provisional Government based themselves, in the interim between the fall of the tsar and the takeover by the Bolsheviks The gilded iconostasis within the P&P cathedral

We did not visit the Catherine Palace in the town of Pushkin, but I read that around 100kgs of gold was used to gild the facade of that palace, too! That's crazily over-the-top, I thought. No wonder they had a revolution! The Catherine Palace is also famous for the legendary Amber Room. On my return, I have learnt that Russia -Kalingrad in particular - has almost all the world's mineable amber! Called Konigsberg at the time of Peter the Great, it was from here the Prussian emperor Frederick I gifted the panels to Peter. They were stolen by Hitler's Germans during WWII, and taken back to Konigsberg castle, and were supposedly destroyed in the fire that broke out in the castle in 1945. (The panels in the Catherine Palace now are replicas.)

Worthy of a Dan Brown thriller, is the mystery of the amber room. In fact, there is a book about it. The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure. After reading the Observer's review of the book, I am sufficiently intrigued to want to go out and look for the book, now!

More gold, decorating the top of a wooden cabinet at the Winter Palace

Gilded statues at Peterhof's Grand Cascade

We saw gilded statues all over Peterhof in the gardens. These were originally lead, reportedly, and were gilded later.

But why was there no mass looting and plundering, when the Bolsheviks more or less took over St Peterburg, in 1917?

Were they as disciplined as John Reed makes out in his eyewitness account, "Ten days that shook the world"? Here's an excerpt from "The Bolsheviks Storm the Winter Palace, 1917" EyeWitness to History, that quotes John Reed.

A number of huge packing cases stood about, and upon these the Red Guards -and soldiers fell furiously, battering them open with the butts of their rifles, and pulling out carpets, curtains, linen, porcelain plates, glassware.

One man went strutting around with a bronze clock perched on his shoulder; another found a plume of ostrich feathers, which he stuck in his hat. The looting was just beginning when somebody cried, ‘Comrades! Don't touch anything! Don't take anything! This is the property of the People!’ Immediately twenty voices were crying, ‘Stop! Put everything back! Don't take anything! Property of the People!’ Many hands dragged the spoilers down. Damask and tapestry were snatched from the arms of those who had them; two men took away the bronze clock. Roughly and hastily the things were crammed back in their cases, and self-appointed sentinels stood guard. It was all utterly spontaneous. Through corridors and up stair-cases the cry could be heard growing fainter and fainter in the distance, ‘Revolutionary discipline! Property of the People.’

We crossed back over to the left entrance, in the West wing. There order was also being established. ‘Clear the Palace!’ bawled a Red Guard, sticking his head through an inner door. ‘Come, comrades, let's show that we're not thieves and bandits. Everybody out of the Palace except, the Commissars, until we get sentries posted.’

Two Red Guards, a soldier and an officer, stood with revolvers in their hands. Another soldier sat at a table behind them, with pen and paper. Shouts of ‘All out! All out!’ were heard far and near within, and the Army began to pour through the door, jostling, expostulating, arguing. As each man appeared he was seized by the self-appointed committee, who went through his pockets and looked under his coat. Everything that was plainly not his property was taken away, the man at the table noted it on his paper, and it was carried into a little room.

Or was it, as noted in Wikipedia

"The Palace was pillaged and devastated from top to bottom by the Bolshevik[s]...Priceless pictures were ripped from their frames by bayonets. Packed boxes of rare plate and china...were broken open and the contents smashed or carried off. The library....was forced open and ransacked.....the Tsaritsa's salon, like all other rooms, was thrown into chaos. The colossal crystal lustre, with its artfully concealed music, was smashed to atoms. Desks, pictures, ornaments—everything was destroyed."

The enormous size of the gilded domes and statues possibly saved them from looters? Ironically, the personal collections and the decorative idiosyncracies of the tsars and tsaritsas of the Romanov empire, now serve the people of Russia, bringing in foreign tourists by the busload, and earning huge amounts for the country, as we all collectively gawk at a lifestyle that was.

The vulnerable Great Indian Bustard

Today's paper and this news item in the BBC a couple of days ago, show the vulnerability of the Great indian Bustard in India today.

A report on the Jaisalmer Desert National Park by Mr Ramanan, had highlighted this bird.

Great Indian Bustard - Photo by Mr Ramanan

BBC News - Concern over plans to downgrade Indian national park reports that there is pressure to de-classify the Karera bird sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. It is an interesting article as it documents the man-creature conflict in India, so typical of the situation for all birds and animals that cannot survive with us.

The authorities in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are under pressure to declassify a national park because much of its rare bird life is believed to have been lost forever. Locals eager to have free use of the land complain the park's special status prevents them from doing so.

But critics say any move to downgrade Karera bird sanctuary - created in 1981, principally to help save the Great Indian bustard - would be an admission that conservation efforts there have failed.

If ratified by the central government and the Supreme Court, Karera will become the country's first national park to lose its official recognition.

Conjugal success
The residents of 33 villages in the 200 sq-km (124 sq-mile) sanctuary argue the Great Indian bustard has not been seen in more than 10 years because of "habitat destruction".

Villagers say no rare wildlife exists any more. The Great Indian bustard is one of the world's heaviest flying birds. It lost out to the peacock when India's national bird was decided - reportedly because of its tricky spelling and the peacock's more attractive looks. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, it is found in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

At Dihaliya, a village on the banks of Dihaliya lake, villagers explain how the sanctuary has affected their lives and livelihoods. They are not allowed to buy, sell or make any significant changes to the land and cannot mine it, or carry out any kind of construction work - even building irrigation canals is not easy.

Jawahar Singh, the village head, says there are more than 35,000 people living in villages adjoining the sanctuary. "Our sons cannot find brides as they cannot raise money by selling land if required," he said. Manoj Siwari, from Phatehpur village, is 25 years old and says he has been turned down five times by prospective brides. He blames the national park for his failure to marry. "Please declassify this sanctuary so that we can organise our lives," he said.

"There are no rare birds here any more. We are being held to ransom unnecessarily. During marriage discussions, people criticise us for our inability to raise money. It is not fair."

Hostility
Great Indian bustards were once found in great numbers in Karera - an area characterised by semi-arid grasslands. In an attempt to save the 15 or so birds left, the area was classified as a sanctuary in 1981. The population grew for a few years to up to 40 birds, but it has since dropped steadily and not a single Great Indian bustard has been sighted since 1994. In view of this, the state government has sent a proposal to the central government to declassify the sanctuary.

GK Sharma, a forest officer, says villagers' hostility has affected conservation efforts.
"When we built watch towers, they tore them down. They do not kill the animals but do not report any illegal activity either. It was difficult to build relations with the residents as they felt forest officers were friends of the birds and therefore were their enemies."

However, it was not always like this. Asad Rahmani, director of Bombay Natural History Society in Mumbai, worked for more than six years in the sanctuary in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "The bird does not mind farming land and there was no poaching in this area," he said.

"But constant habitat destruction is the main reason for its disappearance. We had given a detailed plan to protect it but nothing was done. In fact the figures of 35 to 40 bustards were inflated."

'Fix responsibility'
The bird prefers walking to flying and requires undisturbed nesting areas. If the egg or offspring do not survive, bustards are known to desert that particular area - if the offspring survives, they will return to the same place.

Mechanised farming and over-grazing by cattle and sheep - combined with increasing human encroachment - are the main reasons cited for the bird's habitat being disturbed.

The bird has disappeared over a period of time. Its disappearance from the sanctuary is a cause of concern, wildlife experts say, and is an indicator of the health of the country's grassland ecosystems. One of the recommendations in Dr Rahmani's plan is to "fix responsibility" for the disappearance of the bird. Activists say those to blame should be held to account.

"The bird has disappeared over a period of time. Something could have been done earlier. It is impossible to hold any one person responsible," says Alok Kumar, chief conservator of forests.
Dr Rahmani suggests protecting pockets of about 200 hectares in different parts of the park to rebuild a habitat after it loses its special status - in which only traditional farming methods not resisted by the birds would be allowed.

The conflict between conservation and promoting the needs of farmers has intensified because of government apathy over the years. The vast expanse of the Karera bird sanctuary looks parched and barren in mid-summer. Herds of cattle and sheep graze every few kilometres. This used to be the bustards' breeding season in Karera but not any more.

The golden bird gave up on this home many years ago. It is a scenario which would be a tragedy if repeated in India's other national parks - home to some of the world's most endangered animals, including the tiger.

An article in today's Chennai edition of Times of India reported that Andhra irrigation projects spell doom for birds at the Rollapadu sanctuary in AP

Andhra Pradesh’s only bustard sanctuary located at Rollapadu in Kurnool district could soon become history with the population of this bird species dropping from 60 to just 10. In fact, in the last three years alone, the Rollapadu sanctuary which was one among the best of the six bustard sanctuaries in India for long, has lost over a dozen of these endangered birds to government schemes.
Wildlife experts point out that the change in landscape of the sanctuary from grassland to wetland due to populist irrigation schemes of the government, has led to this serious loss. With paddy fields replacing groundnut plants around the sanctuary, the habitat is no longer conducive for the great Indian bustard that is accustomed to stonestrewn, sparsely vegetated land, they say. Even unwarranted afforestation near the sanctuary, spread roughly over 9 sq km, has added to the mess. Speculations are that many of these birds have migrated to the sanctuary in neighbouring Karnataka while those left in the state have stopped breeding due to lack of a favourable habitat. Either way, the state is fast losing its rich bustard population and might soon be left with none.
“The first damage was done when a reservoir was built close to the sanctuary as part of the Telugu-Ganga project about eight years ago. That changed the area into a wetland and villagers started paddy cultivation around the place,” said C Srinivasulu, associate professor of zoology, Osmania University who has worked on the subject at Rollapadu. He added, “The change in cropping pattern wiped out all groundnut trees that usually provide fodder for bustards.” Prof

Srinivasulu fears that at this rate, Rollapadu could soon join the list of sanctuaries such as Nanaj in Maharashtra and Karera in Madhya Pradesh that have lost all their bustards over the years. For some enthusiasts it is the unnecessary afforestation programmes of the government that have led to this destruction of bustard habitat.
They claim that budgets earmarked for such plantation drives are “randomly” spent by the department without much thought given to such matters. “Saplings of several fastgrowing trees have been planted around the sanctuary only because the department had to somehow spend the money sanctioned for the same,” said a member of the World Wildlife Foundation’s AP chapter adding, “This has raised the groundwater level of the area and changed the landscape. Consequently, we have lost many bustards.”
A less popular theory about the dwindling number of bustards is the increase in black buck population in Rollapadu.

In March 2010, a couple of MNS members had visited Rollapadu and enjoyed the grasslands. They did see plenty of blackbuck, but also wolves, several raptors and other bird life.

They have a whole album of Rolapadu pictures here.

In India, with great difficulty, land is designated as sanctuary land, and it would be a complete and utterly retrogade step to de-classify these lands, don't you think?

Does it not make more sense to try to revive these areas, rather than de-classify them?

28th June update:

============

Jairam Ramesh has appealed to the Gujarat government to increase their efforts in saving the grasslands of Adbassa in Kutch, Gujarat for the sake of the bustard.

The Blackbuck magazine - a revival

The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai / Madras Miscellany : A Blackbuck revival

To celebrate the silver jubilee of Blackbuck, the journal of the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS), there was recently released in Madras a compilation of articles selected by nature-lover Theodore Baskaran from those that had appeared in it during the last 25 years. Together with The Spirit of the Blackbuck were released two new issues of Blackbuck, which was making an appearance after a couple of years.

The author with the most articles in the compilation is, naturally, M. Krishnan, that prolific writer and photographer of Nature. Sadly, the picture on the Penguin cover was not the striking picture of a blackbuck that had appeared on the cover of the first issue of the journal, dated April 1985 (my picture today).

It was some years after the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS) was founded that Blackbuck made its first appearance. It was one day in the 1970s that R.V. Mohan Rao and S.P. Chandra, birdwatchers both, bumped into two other birdwatchers in Guindy National Park. The latter introduced themselves as V.J. Rajan and T. Konneri Rao. Sitting under a tree and enjoying a feast of mangoes after their morning's exertions, the four discussed the possibility of forming a society of like-minded, Nature-loving persons. With Rajan taking the lead — as he was to in the society once it was formed — the four wrote to persons each knew who might be interested. Of the 40 addressed, 16 turned up at Mohan Rao's house to discuss the formation of a society. Among them were G.K. Bhatt, who had at the time just founded a photographic society and who, with that experience, offered to draw up the constitution, and K.V. Sudhakar, who to this day helps with the management of the Society.

The MNS was formed in May 1978 and adopted its constitution the following January. G.K. Bhatt was elected its first President and Rajan its Honorary Secretary, a post he was to hold till his death in 1994. The other members of the Committee were Preston Ahimaz, T. Konneri Rao, V. Santharam and M. Raghuraman, all still involved with the Society's activities. Rajan of the Telegraphs was the moving spirit of the Society in its early years and it was he who helped it to sink roots. Field trips and talks, discussions and film shows on flora and fauna were the MNS's early focus and still remain so. Then came a monthly bulletin, which still comes out, but the Society felt it should do more by way of communication. So was born Blackbuck.

The journal's first editors were V. Santharam and P.M. Rangarajan, the former still the guiding spirit of Blackbuck, now teaming with K.V. Sudhakar and Kumaran Sathasivam. Another associated with Blackbuck has been Dr. Rajaram, who was Editor from 1990 to 2000.

Blackbuck may be focused on a serious look at Natural History, but what has been special about it is that it has welcomed contributions from people ranging from professional scientists to amateur naturalists.They have sent in material varying from scientific studies to anecdotal recollections to masterly literary descriptions. Combining all three, the curmudgeonly M. Krishnan showed the way to many. It's appropriate that he dominates The Sprit of the Blackbuck.

Detailed report on the Adyar poonga

Rebirth of the Adyar creek - Chennai - City - The Times of India

CHENNAI: Pied kingfishers, yellow wagtails, egrets, white bellied sea eagles, chestnut-winged cuckoos, black-winged stilts...

A waterbody, once a dumping site laden with tonnes of debris and gallons of sewage, has begun attracting migratory birds, thanks to the state's ambitious restoration of the ecologically sensitive Adyar creek. The Adyar Poonga Trust (rechristened as Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) recently) is racing against time to complete the first phase of restoration of the 58-acre stretch, one of Chennai's most eco-sensitive spots, before November this year.

"It was a filthy place, with debris strewn around. Cattle was being reared by neighbouring slum dwellers and anti-socials made merry in the area that was full of thickets. Initial assessment of the creek area was, in fact, done from the nearby high-rise structures because no one could enter the poonga (creek)," says an official associated with the project.

CRRT had to excavate 150,000 tonnes of construction debris and garbage from the site to create a water body embellished with earthern pathways, wooden bridges, signage and bamboo pavilions. About 91,280 plants of various species are being planted inside at locations such as the entrance plaza, swale area near Town Planning Scheme Road, on the rear side of Ambedkar Manimandapam and along Santhome entrance plaza. About 37,600 reeds are being planted along the water margins.

"Adyar poonga is a fulcrum for environmental education," says K Phanindra Reddy, member secretary, Chennai Rivers Restoration Project. As part of the educational reach programme, eco-clubs are being set up in neighbouring schools and colleges by the Trust. "Adyar creek will eventually become a model for restoration of water bodies, including Cooum and Adyar," Reddy claimed.

As part of the restoration, the CRRT also plans to have a green centre in the erstwhile fisheries building near Ramakrishna Mutt Road. "An audio visual room, environmental education centre, library to document creek activities, laboratory to check water quality, a souvenir shop, coffee corner, all form part of the centre," Reddy said. Restoration work will soon extend into the estuary spreading over an area of 300 acres.

Initially spearheaded by Chennai Corporation and supported by Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Ltd, this project was conceived primarily as an effort to restore the fragile eco-system of the Adyar estuary and creek and raise awareness among the public about the environment.

The estuary has been a topic of furious discussion among ecologists and environmentalists for a long time now. Adyar river, one of the three major waterways in Chennai apart from Cooum and Buckingham Canal, is where migratory birds flock the most. According to Madras Naturalists Society secretary K V Sudhakar, "the area where the river and the sea meet is a major feeding ground for birds as it is rich in many organisms. A few years ago, our society recorded the presence of over 200 different species of birds in the creek," he added.

But the restoration project is seen by critics as excessive development work around a natural ecosystem which needs to be left alone. "Restoration of the creek would mean bringing the creek back to its natural condition. I would like to call this a transformation project where an existing natural ecosystem is being engineered into a tourist spot," said Nityanand Jayaraman, a freelance journalist and an environmentalist. According to Nityanand, the marshlands of Adyar creek is being turned into an artificial freshwater ecosystem in the process.

On the other hand, Sudhakar, says the project is a step in the right direction. "All the trees being planted are native, and the people who have undertaken the work know what they are doing," he said. Referring to the massive real estate development that Chennai is witnessing, he said the ongoing measures would evoke interest in saving the creek. "With this project, you are bringing in the public, who will see what they are losing and take an interest in saving it . Awareness is very important."