Category Archives: Nature

Growth can’t be at the cost of natural heritage

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, Travel

Hyderabad:

The KBR Park is known for its bio-diversity and wildlife. Spread over 400 acres, it is a virtual forest in the midst of a burgeoning metropolis, home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna. It is a part of Hyderabad’s over 400-year-old heritage – which includes gardens, lakes and its cosmopolitan culture.

Originally known as Chiran Palace, the park was the residence of Prince Mukarram Jah and was later rechristened after former chief minister Kasu Brahmananda Reddy after its acquisition under the Urban Land Ceiling Act.

Till the late 1990s, I remember, the KBR Park was surrounded by a nine-kilometre compound wall. This wall was demolished when the then TDP government in united AP began road widening around the park, and NTR Trust Bhavan and a cancer hospital of NTR family came up nearby.

This was the first blow dealt to the park, a mini-Deccan ecosystem.

It is true that the city has grown manifold in the last six decades.

As an economic hub, Hyderabad has great potential to become a global city. It needs a massive step-up in its civic infrastructure to cater to the burgeoning population. An upgradation of road network and better traffic management are key elements of de velopment plans envisaged for this sprawling city .

For this, government has drawn up the Strategic Road Development Program to meet the longterm needs of the city.

However, while taking up these works, the government has to ensure that the eco-system of KBR Park remains unaffected as it is the city’s natural heritage.True, development of civic infrastructure is the need of the hour.

But equally imperative is the preservation of this natural habitat in the midst of urban sprawl.I would urge the authorities to ensure that the eco-system of this natural heritage be preserved, not harmed in any way .

Without eating into land spaces of the park, the authorities need to work out alternative proposals for the six multi-level grade separators to be constructed at six junctions around KBR Park.

Already , disappearance of gardens and lakes from this city over the decades has turned it into a tropical hotbed. Every successive summer seems to make the city hotter with soaring temperatures.

We definitely need better roads and junctions and traffic management but not at the cost of our natural, cultural and architectural heritage. KBR Park and all other green spaces in the city must be preserved to make Hyderabad a liveable city again.

(The author is MIM president and Lok Sabha MP)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / Asaduddin Owaisi / May 26th, 2016

Hyderabad to host conference on India’s COP21 commitments

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad :

The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) has been selected by the United States Department of State to organise a conference focused on implementing India’s COP21 commitments to be held here on June 24-25.

The conference, ‘Future Is Now: India from COP21 to Reality’, would include international experts and practitioners, environmental NGOs, in-country development organisations, finance experts, Indian companies and philanthropic organisations as well as India’s top national and state decision-makers, a media statement from the U S Consulate General Hyderabad said.

“The participants will explore India’s key climate change issues and opportunities in light of India’s Paris commitments,” it said.

ISC is partnering with the Center for Environment and Development to present the conference, which will feature Indian and US experts on topics such as clean energy, energy efficiency, climate finance, resilience, climate mitigation, air pollution and waste reduction, the statement said.

The Department of State’s Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, was quoted as saying, “India is a vital player in addressing climate change and we look forward to increasing our partnership to expand clean energy deployment and access.”

Steve Nicholas, Vice President of Urban Programs at ISC, said, “The Paris Agreement is an incredibly important opportunity to reduce emissions and implement green development projects in India. Connecting US and Indian leaders to each other is critical because those professional relationships will continue to pay dividends.”

“We’re honoured to be working with our colleagues in India to understand their challenges, share what we’ve learned, and talk about what’s possible,” he said.

Conference participants, who may include leaders from local government, industry, NGOs, academics, and national government officials, would have the opportunity to connect with their peers and share challenges, solutions and resources, the statement added.

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source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / PTI / May 09th, 2016

Hopped up on Seeds, Crops and Hope

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

GoodSeeds01TELAN27apr2016

When Narayan Murthy came to India from the United States, he didn’t know that he would end up retracing his roots, in a journey that would last forever.

A management consultant by profession, he is the founder of GoodSeeds, an organisation that sells organic food and home products. And it doesn’t end there.

Narayan works closely with farmers across the region to help them find a platform where they can find buyers and connect with other farmers for better reach and productivity.

Says Narayan, “I left India in 1992 and went to the US for higher studies and a job. I completed an MBA from Booth School of Business, Chicago, after which I started working as a management consultant. I was earning quite a decent package and monetarily I was very sound. But there was a voice in my head which kept on telling me that this is not what I wanted to do. But I didn’t know what it was that I was looking for.” That’s when he decided to come back to India and spend a few years here, “I came back and after a year or so, I realised that it was my roots that I had been missing.”

Narayan Murthy, founder of GoodSeeds, which sells organic food and home products
Narayan Murthy, founder of GoodSeeds, which sells organic food and home products

Originally from Chennai, Hyderabad is now his home. But how did he land up here? He answers with a chuckle, “I got a job here in Microsoft as a strategic planner in 2008. Now this city is my home.”

It so happened that one day his friend complained about how good organic food is not available in Hyderabad. Since Narayan was already wondering what to do with himself, the idea appealed to him. Thus was born GoodSeeds in the year 2012. “The name came about because it was about sowing good ideas about what we eat, drink, who we live with and where we live,” adds Narayan. Sort of an eco-friendly contribution to society.

While the company sells a variety of organic items ranging from organic baby food and organic fruits to organic personal care products, farmers often come to them to gain market connections, “Many farmers get in touch with me. I connect them to the market and customers who choose to buy organic products. This way they are able to connect to other farmers as well. We also help them get access to seed banks, so that they can expand their crop portfolios,” informs Narayan.

GoodSeeds03TELAN27apr2016

He goes with farmers to different areas like Yadagirigutta, Anantapur, outskirts of Mysuru and Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) for advise and to network. As a result of his efforts, farmers are coming closer and becoming part of co-operatives. Narayan adds further, “It’s beneficial that small farmers become part of small co-operatives. For example at Timbaktu, Anantapur there’s a small co-operative of 40 farmers. A farmer can’t do everything alone. If he tries everything and it goes wrong then unfortunately it will be him who will starve. These days people give their lands to farmers on lease to grow crops. In return, the farmers are paid on a monthly basis. So, even if there’s a drought, farmers will get their money and manage to keep their respect intact, as well.”

They also encourage things like the Sunday organic bazaar held at Saptaparni, Lamakaan, Our Sacred Space and Goethe Zentrum, where farmers sell everything from organic fruit to staples like rice. It’s probably not as fancy as the farmers’ markets in the US, but hey, with people like him around — it may become a reality sooner than you think!

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Edex / by Saima Afreen / April 25th, 2016

A showcase of biodiversity of vegetation

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion
Steeped in history:The entrance of Gandhari Vanam in Adilabad district – Photos: S. Harpal Singh
Steeped in history:The entrance of Gandhari Vanam in Adilabad district – Photos: S. Harpal Singh

Gandhari Vanam in Mancherial town will soon have a museum showcasing millions of years of biodiversity of Adilabad.

Gandhari Vanam, a nature park near Mancherial town in Adilabad, is where you can go millions of years back in time. The 174-million-year-old tree fossils to be exhibited in a section of the soon to come up facility will help you visualise what the district must have looked like back then.

Steeped in history: Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar observing a Jurassic-era tree fossil at the nature park.– Photos: S. Harpal Singh
Steeped in history: Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar observing a Jurassic-era tree fossil at the nature park.– Photos: S. Harpal Singh

“That was the time when the giant dinosaurs roamed here, thriving on these coniferous trees. The Pranahita-Godavari valley of upper Gondwana is unique as it has preserved many of nature’s components from the era in its 3,000-metre thick sediments deposited over a period of 200 million years,” said Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar, pointing out the uniqueness of the nature park being developed by the Telangana Forest Department at a cost of Rs. 3.6 crore.

The park, located on the Mancherial-Mandamarri main road on the fringes of the coal town, is named Gandhari Vanam as the Gandhari fort is located close to it. It is a 350-acre facility divided into three parts.

“A 20-acre plot on the left side of the road (coming from Mancherial) has been developed as a picnic spot with ornamental plants, apart from a host of things. At least 500 visitors come here on weekends,” the DFO said.

The second 50-acre enclosure will become a good forest, and the department has plans to make it a deer park and an aviary in the near future. The third section, and the most important one, is the 280-acre facility on the other side of the road. It is like a repository and museum of the huge local biodiversity in terms of vegetation.

“Adilabad forests at one time had boasted of at least 500 types of trees, and we are planting many of these, which, for the sake of awareness and convenience, have been segregated into a few sections. For instance, we will have a medicinal plant section with 250 species, and others which will have trees linked with horoscope and nine planets,” Mr. Prabhakar disclosed.

For nature enthusiasts, Gandhari Vanam also has a walking track, while a boating facility and a couple of check dams are coming up. The authorities have also put up boards with information regarding the given sections, trees and fossils for the benefit of people. “We have designed the park to be educative too. People should know about nature, what it was and what it should be,” the DFO said.

The 280-acre facility is like a repository and museum of the biodiversity in terms of vegetation

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Mancherial (Adilabad District) / April 25th, 2016

Dual delight intrigues botanists

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel
Bi-coloured wonder:A mahua tree with dual coloured foliage.–Photo: S. Harpal Singh
Bi-coloured wonder:A mahua tree with dual coloured foliage.–Photo: S. Harpal Singh

The mahua or ippa tree can be seen on the Utnoor-Asifabad road in Adilabad

Many miss this natural wonder while zooming past on the Utnoor-Asifabad road in Adilabad, but those who do spot the colourful tree, stop to marvel at its beauty. A majestic mahua or ippa tree, located about 500 metres from Heerapur village in Utnoor mandal, towards Jainoor, is a visual delight and scientific curiosity — half the tree has red-brown leaves while the other half has green leaves.

The tree retains this dual foliage from the end of March for about a month, soon after it sheds its flowers.

Adilabad has an estimated five lakh mahua trees, mostly in the tribal belt. The mahua flowers have medicinal value and form a major non-timber forest produce for the forest dwelling Gond and Kolam tribal communities.

The tree bears two differently coloured leaves at the same time apparently because it has a dual leaf development stage. “This could be because of two different seeds joining at the time of germination but retaining individual characteristics of growth on maturity,” said a forest department official of the rare phenomenon.

The tree is about 40 years old, according to villagers. “It was a young tree when I was a child,” recalled Atram Shankar, a 40-year-old Gond farmer from Hasnapur village, about 2 km from the bi-coloured beauty.

The Forest department has taken note of the tree with the rare foliage and Forest Range Officer of Utnoor, P. Ramesh Rao and others have visited the place to document the occurrence.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Adilabad – April 18th, 2016

Popularising the farm pond concept

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

In an effort to popularise farm pond concept, Komatireddy Pratheek Foundation dug up a farm pond at farmer Kola Bikshamaiah’s field at Kakulakondaram village of Nalgonda mandal here on Sunday.

Pratheek Foundation had started closely working with Deshpande Foundation, which has been actively working on rain water harvesting in Nizamabad and Maharastra.

CEO of Pratheek Foundation M.V. Gona Reddy said that they simply want to replicate the work of Deshpande Foundation in the district for the benefit of the farming community.

The chairman of the foundation and Nalgonda MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said they were planning to initiate several skill enhancement programmes for the youth in the district to improve their employability. “They would also concentrate on maternal health, student leadership, micro-entrepreneurship and livelihood opportunities,” he said.

Several skill enhancement programmes planned to improve employability.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Staff Reporter / Nalgonda – April 18th, 2016

This progressive farmer’s effort pays off

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
Timely returns:The water harvesting pit in the farm of S Jayapal Reddy of Kesamudram in Warangal district.–Photo: M. Murali
Timely returns:The water harvesting pit in the farm of S Jayapal Reddy of Kesamudram in Warangal district.–Photo: M. Murali

Farm pond dug up in Jayapal Reddy’s field three years ago begins to yield water

To spend Rs. 10 lakh to dig a farm pond is not possible to every farmer. But S Jayapal Reddy, who with a fond hope of harvesting water, went on and dug up a huge open pit.

“I have about 50 acres land here but as there was no water I embarked upon the task of getting a water harvest pit dug up in my land about three years ago. The pit is 30 feet deep and 100 feet wide.

This effort started yielding some water which is enough to irrigate about 10 acres,” he explained. He draws water with three motors for about five hours daily to wet his paddy fields. He strongly argues in favour of massive plantation and digging up water harvesting structures everywhere to conserve every drop of water.

According to him, the huge trench in his fields also helps recharge bore wells and open wells around his fields belonging to other farmers.

There were no proper rains for the past three years. As a result , he groundwater table also went down and with no irrigation water in these parts of the mandal, the farmers were finding it difficult to continue farming operations with meagre water in extreme weather conditions.

Going by the advice of scientists, many decided to opt for farm ponds, recharge pits and trenches in fields to hold little water when it rained.

“We hope to get good rains this year. But not much is being done to hold as much as possible.

Motivating others

Here we are motivating farmers to opt for farm ponds and rain water harvesting pits wherever possible,” Mr Jayapal Reddy explained.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao / Kesamudram (Warangal Dt) – April 26th, 2016

Aswaraopeta has huge potential for apiculture

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

The enormous potential for promotion of apiculture (beekeeping) as a means to provide alternative income to farmers is waiting to be tapped in Aswaraopeta, the horticultural hub of Telangana.

Aswaraopeta and its surrounding mandals including Dammapeta in Khammam district account for the lion’s share of horticultural crops in the entire Telangana State.

Oil palm plantations are mainly concentrated in Aswaraopeta and Dammapeta mandals. The total area under the oil palm cultivation is 30,000 acres in the district. Coconut plantations are spread in over 2,000 acres in the two mandals.

Aswaraopeta mandal encompasses a sprawling coconut seed garden, horticulture research station, and around 200 private horticulture nurseries. The mandal consisting of nurseries of diverse range of horticulture crops including coconut, oil palm, mango, and cashew is considered most suitable for beekeeping.

Availability of flower bearing plants that bloom almost throughout the year and abundant nectar to support beekeeping activity on a commercial scale make Aswaraopeta mandal the ideal place for taking up the agro-based income generation activity, notes Prabhakar, an oil palm grower of Aswaraopeta.

Beekeeping has lot of financial potential as it helps produce a wide range of bee products including honey, jelly, wax and pollen which are in huge demand in the market.

The drastic decline in honey collection in Bhadrachalam Agency has necessitated the need for promotion of apiculture to meet the burgeoning demand for honey in the open market, he points out.

Apart from honey production, beekeeping activity also aids cross pollination thereby helping in maximising the horticultural crop yield, says R Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, Khammam.

A proposal to provide training to some field level functionaries and horticulture farmers of the mandal on scientific methods of beekeeping at a reputed institute in the neighbouring State is under consideration, he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by P. Sridhar / Khammam – March 23rd, 2016

Prestigious honour for OU academic

Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

Dr. C. Manoharachary, senior scientist of National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), was recently awarded ‘Indian Phytopathological Society Recognition Award’ for the year 2015 in recognition of his services to the field of plant pathology.

The Indian Phytopathological Society conferred the prestigious honour on him in New Delhi recently, informed a press release from Dr. Pratibha Sharma, secretary of the society.

Dr. Manocharachary did his post doctoral work in Germany. An acknowledged academic in his own right, Prof. Manoharachary specialises in biodiversity, taxonomy, conservation and bioprospecting of fungi, plant pathogens, microbes, mycorrhizae, lichens, medicinal plants, besides others. He discovered 20 new genera, 120 new species and 500 new additions of fungi.

He guided 50 PhDs, published 540 research papers in reputed national and international journals, besides authoring 28 books.

Dr. Manoharachary served the Osmania University in various capacities for over 40 years.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – February 26th, 2016

Conservationist wins laurels

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nature
Tiger researcher Jogu Yellam receiving the certificate for meritorious service in tiger conservation in Adilabad on Tuesday.— Photo: S. Harpal Singh
Tiger researcher Jogu Yellam receiving the certificate for meritorious service in tiger conservation in Adilabad on Tuesday.— Photo: S. Harpal Singh

Adilabad perhaps became the first district in Telangana State to recognise the importance of conservation when the administration gave away a certificate of appreciation to a tiger conservationist at the Kawal Tiger Reserve. Jogu Yellam, a tiger researcher at the KTR had his efforts in conservation as well those in tracking the movements of the tigers which have arrived at the facility rewarded when Collector M. Jagan Mohan and Superintendent of Police Tarun Joshi presented him the certificate at the 67th Republic Day celebration here on Tuesday.

Earlier, the Collector unfurled the national tricolour and took the salute at the march past by armed forces in the district as well as cadets of NCC and others. Among those who attended the programme were the in charge District Judge Suneetha Kunchala.

Addressing the people of the district from the AR head quarters here, Mr. Jagan Mohan recounted the government’s efforts in uplifting the poor and downtrodden. He said the Dalit Basti programme introduced by the government saw 294 dalit beneficiaries being allocated over 857 acres of land at the rate of 3 acres per beneficiary incurring a cost of Rs. 29 crore during 2014-2015.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Adilabad – January 27th, 2016