From my scrap book :: 14 :: Rising environmentalism among youngsters

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Soothing greenery in an urbanscape

It is encouraging to see that concern for the city’s environment is on the rise amongst the youngsters. Plays are being enacted on street corners and elsewhere bringing home to the audiences the value the people get from a robust and green environment, And what provides it are trees, and more trees,

The provocation for this sudden upsurge in environmentalism among the young men and women was the revival of the proposal for construction of a rest house and some residential units for the elected members of the Legislative Assembly. The proposal was initially mooted after the 2014 State Elections. It was, however, withdrawn in the face of huge uproar by the general public as the proposal involved in cutting down a few thousand trees enhancing the depleting tree cover in the Arera Htlls in particular and the town in general. Then, as well as now, the proposal had been initiated by the Speaker of the House. While the Speaker of the last Assembly saw reason in the arguments of the environmentalists who were opposing him the Speaker of the current Assembly seems to be a little more tenacious and does not seem to be in a mood to yield.

One must say the lead in opposing the avoidable construction for our worthies was taken by Dainik Bhaskar, the local Hindi daily. As usual the newspaper takes its justifiable stance in favour of the city’s environment then the people who too are equally concerned chip in with their opinions and statements. This helps in fleshing out the newspaper’s stance giving it a greater substance. The newspaper appears to have a committed team in its stable of reporters which ferrets out facts from closed and dust-laden files to bring them out for the readers’ benefit.

As usual this time, too, the team has done remarkable work and brought out facts that were forgotten due to efflux of time. Some of the facts brought out by the newspaper are -

-       - There are 230 worthies in the Assembly but already there are as many as 272 residential units available for them. Besides, the Members have cornered several flats that have come up under various projects in the town under due provisions made for them. They either live there or, according to some other reports, have rented them out.

-        -As much as 33 acres land is still lying unused in the old MLAs rest house area which can be used for erecting new buildings when required. There would seem to be no need for felling trees in a new area of Arera Hill which has since been highly colonized and has lost most of its greenery.

-       - Post 2014 elections when the former Speaker proposed the new construction for our worthies the first act was to cut down around 1150 trees. The authorities seem to be always ready with axes in hand to chop down any tree that they see standing on a piece of land proposed for any construction. Eventually, the Speaker’s plan did not materialize but the trees stayed felled. Perhaps in a bid to cover up, a report of planting of 3000 trees was prepared – a report that was patently false.

Felling of trees for various development projects in urban areas has come in for criticism by superior courts in the country. Journalists have also been active in criticizing the loss of green cover all over the urban landscape in India. Even Bhopal has been flagged for serious implications due to loss of trees and consequential rise in temperature. Last July the newspaper Asian Age reported “an ominous climate change may be knocking on the doors of the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, now almost a barren shadow of it once green past”.

The paper reported a phenomenal increase in the city’s Mean Maximum Temperature (MMT) during the last ten years. As per the weather data the MMT which was 33.22 degrees Celsius in 2010 has galloped to 42 degrees Celsius in 2019. No wonder the City then had a climate that was every bit salubrious. The paper said that the massive loss of green cover in the city was the key factor in turning it into a heat chamber during the last summer. The city has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the four cities that are the fastest in losing their respective green cover. The newspaper quoted Commissioner Bhopal Division who is reported to have said while launching a tree planting campaign, “We are already late. A climate disaster is waiting to happen if the situation is not reversed”. Presiding over a plantation drive the Commissioner is enlisting several organizations including the Indian Army for assistance.

 A recent report in a local newspaper said that it is the “netas” and “babus” who are champions in felling of trees. If the city is to be saved from a rising MMT people, especially young ones, have to take concerted action to stop “netas” and “babus” from wielding the axe.

Our Life, Our Times :: 18 :: Fraught Urban Life

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The Delhi High Court recently asked the Delhi Government about their plans to deal with the monkey menace in the metropolis. The matter was last heard sometime in January last but so far no progress has been achieved. The Capital seems to have been overrun by monkeys and people are afraid of them as the simians have become aggressive and frequently chase elderly people or even bite them. 

Things have become so alarming that a two judge Bench of the High Court said that the matter of contraception of monkeys cannot brook any delay. On the other hand the Environment Ministry briefed the Court that it would take seven more years to drive out the monkeys. The Court gave a glib reposte to it by saying that by that time they would all be driven out of Lutyen’s Delhi.

The Court’s reposte came when the Environment Ministry deposed before it that it was waiting for release of funds for research on immune-contraception and that it would take another seven years after funds are allotted to research and develop the vaccine. The Court did not like it and said some African countries have a vaccine and we are still talking of funds to develop one. It said that the Government should think of importing the vaccine in view of the desperate situation caused by the exploding population of monkeys in the capital.

It seems Asola sanctuary near Delhi where the city’s monkeys are relocated is now spilling over and they frequently raid neighbouring colonies and farm houses.

While Delhi is dealing with monkey menace we in Bhopal are faced up with the stray dog menace. A recent report in the local press lamented deaths due to rabies in the city. Apparently two deaths occurred within twenty days of one another. The newspaper criticized the local authorities since as much as Rs. 2 billion have been spent to deal with the menace of stray dogs but there has been no respite from it.

This is largely true. The locals have to face the menace on a daily basis. Groups of a couple of dozen or more of these free ranging dogs move around or lie around on the streets and in the markets oblivious of the traffic that passes by. At night they become active and bark all through the dark hours picking up fights. In case a motor bike came their way they give it a hell-for-leather chase. They have been known to have attacked old women and infants.

They have multiplied, shall we say, exponentially, as stray dogs cannot now be liquidated, thanks to Mrs. Maneka Gandhi. She comes down heavily on any municipality that kills stray dogs. That would be well and good as also kind only if she provided adequate resources – financial and technical – to keep the population under control. Since the staff for sterilisation is insufficient to deal with the enormity of the problem the numbers of stray dogs have been merrily increasing. While the human population of Bhopal is reported to be around 20 lakhs there are 2 or three lakh stray dogs – that is, for every 10 humans there is one or more stray dogs.

While Hindus in general have a soft corner for monkeys, considering them, as they do, as representative of the Monkey God Hanuman, the dogs are a different kettle of fish. Mrs Maneka Gandhi’s express orders prohibit killing of stray dogs. No wonder, such as they are, stray dogs are making merry in urban India attacking all and sundry. Kerala reportedly had the worst of it as several infants were picked up, taken away and eaten up by these street bullies.

Quite surprisingly, one sees reports every other day of a tiger being poached. It is a protected animal and yet it is killed for money and many a times the perpetrators of the crimes are not even apprehended. Likewise another protected animal that has had the wrong end of the stick is the leopard. Because of shrinking habitatat poor fellows have to come looking for prey close into urban areas and get brutally killed. The irony is that while we are not able to protect a rare animal in the wild we are protecting hundreds of thousands of those which, in fact, need not be protected as there are far too many of them. Trust this country for all the decisions that are generally topsy-turvy.

If nothing drastic is done in a jiffy urban India will soon become a huge and happy hunting ground for of free ranging dogs and simians.

*Photo from internet