Helipad threatens blackbuck habitat - The Hindu

The Hindu
The 30-acre polo ground has been specially earmarked for the black buck.
The proposed helipad is within 200 metres of their habitat. Photo: K.
Pichumani

Forest dept. objects to proposed facility at Guindy National Park

The 30-acre polo ground inside Guindy National Park,
the last remaining habitat of the blackbuck, an endangered antelope, is
under threat.

Officials at Raj Bhavan plan to create a
helipad there, despite objections from forest department officials,
said a senior forest officer.

Around 3.30 p.m. on
Wednesday, a team of officials, including Hans Raj Verma, principal
secretary, environment and forests, and Ramesh Chand Meena, secretary to
governor, inspected the polo ground. After this, a meeting was held at
the Secretariat.

On July 22, 2013, Mohan Verghese
Chunkath, additional chief secretary and secretary, environment and
forests, had written a letter to Jatindra Nath Swain, principal
secretary, public (protocol) department, stating that the noise and
escalated activity over formation of a helipad at Raj Bhavan would
impact the flora and fauna in the area.

The polo
ground has been specially earmarked for blackbuck, numbering 320, and
the area is maintained to suit the habitat needs of the animal.

The
proposed helipad is within 200 metres of the blackbuck habitat. Hence,
it is not advisable to create a helipad there, he said.

This
is not the first time such a proposal is being pushed, said another
forest officer. In September 1998, bushes in the polo ground area were
cleared to create a helipad to facilitate the landing of then Prime
Minister A. B. Vajpayee.

However, as forest officers
were adamant in their decision to not allow the formation of the
helipad, the idea was dropped and a helipad was created inside Anna
University.

Naturalists, on condition of anonymity,
said the authorities could create a permanent helipad at Anna
University. Guindy National Park is the last patch of blackbuck habitat,
and should not be disturbed at any cost.

Already,
under the pretext of expansion on the IIT-Madras campus, many open areas
that were once blackbuck habitats have been taken over and buildings
have come up there, they said.

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

27th August 2014

A nice warm day in Abu Dhabi, and we were taken off to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, with its 82 domes and the spectacular white marble facade.  Conceived by the current ruler's father as a monument to "tolerance. love and mutual understanding" no stone has been left unturned (quite literally) in implementing and putting together this vision.

Opened in 2007, there were shades of the Taj Mahal and the Blue Mosque for me.

An imposing complex that can be seen from quite a distance. The third floor of the northern minaret houses a whole library!

The "towers" in the outer walkway house the elaborate lighting system.  There are some 22 of these around the mosque.  We went at midday, but it seems that the night illumination is quite spectacular, with the lighting reflecting the phases of the moon.

The imposing main entrance

The coloured marble inlays were beautiful and varied.

I used the iPhone panorama option to capture the grandness of the central courtyard, its floral decorations contrasting the stark white marble.

I saw the world's largest hand knotted carpet

Two years in the making, the carpet needed some 1,200 artisans!

Beautiful copies of the holy book.

Moroccan stuccowork.  Beautiful isnt it?

Verses from the Quran - there were different kinds of calligraphy in different domes.

The chandeliers were from Faustiq in Germany we were told.

The pulpit

Very Grand indeed!

Treescapes - Hong Kong

The trees stand proud and erect, and are well cared for.  (Bombax)

I loved the trees of Hong Kong.   It always amazes me what green does to a place.

An ode to commerce, glass and concrete, but to me, the trees of HK just added that little bit to make my heart cheerful.

On the streets, I would see large trees, carefully labelled....not nailed, but with a flexible wire going around.

....And with a spring that allows for the growth of the tree!

Of course the city is blessed with rain, lots of it

The trees very familiar and similar to what we have here.  Lagerstroemia

We also saw trees being chopped down in half an hour with electric saws, when they were in the way.....but from what I could make out, these were trees that gre easily and not the large tropical trees that take a long time to grow.

Tree planting in Hong Kong is very much a part of the urban planning,  there is no random and enthusiastic planting, and what is planted is cared for and tended.

The Victoria Peak trail was delightful and invigorating, and I of course meandered and wandered, looking at every little insect, listening to the crickets whirring, and the bulbuls calling!

The trail all around the peak is lined by a track like this, and seems to be a favourite place for expats to walk their dogs and work on their fitness.

At midday, we saw several serious joggers!  Sweating profusely and carrying that water bottle to hydrate. 

The pathway was lined with tree boards, but I was very unsuccessful in matching the board and the tree.  Hmmm, I wonder why. 

The Peak tram - gets you to the top of the 500 odd m peak, almost vertically!

The Peak - certain parts of it - are protected, and the green cover is lush.

Masked laughing thrushes were a plenty, especially in the city parks

As were the little red doves.  Sparrows were also in abundance, which seems to negate the cellphone theory.

These crickets buzzed in unison all through our walk, the chorus rising and fading to some mysterious rhythm.

The butterflies were as big as birds.....

....but difficult to capture in our little cam.

This light vented bulbul, though, obliged, posing on the lamp post for us.

This was labelled as the India Rubber Tree - brought by the Brits - and with no known pollinating agent in Hong Kong. Views of the bay  a ....Kowloon .....and the bridge and port.  It must be pretty to do the walk at night as well. Next time! We headed back to this monstrosity called the Peak Tower, with a viewing gallery (extra charge for that) A morning well spent and the hotel room and shower were welcome after this!