Tamil Nadu Pollution Control & Eco Awareness

[kannan infratech]

I was invited to attend the meeting of IWWA (Indian Water Works Association) Chennai chapter. I was told that this association was once very vibrant and was a think tank advising the Govt on any matter related to WATER.

Almost all the Engineers from TWAD and CMWSSB were members and the organisers were Engg Directors and IAS officers at Secreatry level, it seems. Apart from that the private sector was also well represented, I was told.

Now, there is an attempt to revive the same by contacting all old memebers and adding new members.

I hope that the Govt will also give due weightage for the opinions and views of this association (Experts opinion)

[Sampathkumar]

Originally Posted by kannan infratech

I was invited to attend the meeting of IWWA (Indian Water Works Association) Chennai chapter. I was told that this association was once very vibrant and was a think tank advising the Govt on any matter related to WATER.

Almost all the Engineers from TWAD and CMWSSB were members and the organisers were Engg Directors and IAS officers at Secreatry level, it seems. Apart from that the private sector was also well represented, I was told.

Now, there is an attempt to revive the same by contacting all old memebers and adding new members.

I hope that the Govt will also give due weightage for the opinions and views of this association (Experts opinion)

Welcome Kannan. Please update our forum after you attend the meeting. Please share the informations.. I am also ready to join as a volunteer if possible.

[Sampathkumar]

[Sampathkumar]

Coimbatore: Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Thursday announced a financial aid of Rs. 25 crore to the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) here over a period of next two to three years to carry forward research activities.

Announcing the launch of Annual Indian Forestry Congress from this year in December in Dehradun and in 2011 in Coimbatore, Mr. Ramesh called upon the farming community to pursue agro forestry for their own as well as for the good of the country.

He was speaking at a function organised by the IFGTB and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) after releasing four new clone varieties of eucalyptus and casuarinas besides booklets, pamphlets.

He also gave awards and prizes to those who took part in the marathon research that had yielded results in the form of new varieties in tree species.

Mr. Ramesh said the new clone varieties would be launched in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Next year, IFGTB would possibly release a new variety of acacia and every year the institute would release such new varieties. Referring to the criticism on him as a person against science, Mr. Ramesh clarified that “he was a strongest supporter of science”. On Bt. brinjal Mr. Ramesh said: “Let Indian scientists decide for our people, let farmers and political leaders decide on what is good and let us not run after America for a seed.”

Mr. Ramesh said now farmers growing acacia had to wait for four to five years to cut. It was seven years for eucalyptus. Farmers wanted tree species that could be grown and cut in three to three-and-a-half years. It would be a challenge for scientists to release such varieties. He exhorted the scientists to go to the field and not sit in laboratories.

Mr. Ramesh said Dr. M.S. Swaminathan’s efforts led to Green Revolution. Now, it was the turn for ‘ever green’ revolution. He urged the scientists to focus on soil fertility, crop productivity and climate change resistance besides erratic rainfall and increasing dry days.


IFGTB Director N. Krishnakumar said the long gestation period in tree species was over and the farmers wanted species that grew fast. Holistic information was being generated to achieve the 33 per cent green cover.

ICFRE Director G.S. Rawat called for insect resilient varieties. V. Irulandi, Chief Conservator of Forests (Extension), Forest Department, said owing to projects such as trees outside the forest land, Tamil Nadu was able to achieve the one-crore trees target in three years.

Full-time member of Planning Commission G. Kumaravel said land and land-based assets were paramount and there was need for agriculture/forestry to keep pace with other sectors.

Collector P. Umanath said initially there were apprehensions about viability and possibility, but thanks to the Forest Department’s initiative, now funds allocated were proving to be inadequate.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Kerala, T.M. Manoharan said of the chosen 1,400 villages in Kerala, rules had been liberalised to fell trees without pass or permit in 1,350 villages. But Tamil Nadu insisting on pass for transport of such timber was proving to be a problem. He appealed to the government to look into it.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/19/stor...1954850500.htm

[Sampathkumar]

Industrial units should make full use of captive power plants, says official

ERODE: Industries should go for technological upgradation and install modern equipment that would help conserve the energy, Advisor, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Union Ministry of Power, S. Ashokkumar said.

Delivering a special address at the Workshop on Energy Management in Pulp and Paper Sector organised jointly by the BEE and Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited, he said that the advancements in science and technology had led to production of a number of energy efficient equipment in the world.

Industries should take lead in the energy conservation efforts and adopt modern technology for energy saving, he stressed.

Mr. Ashokkumar expressed concern over the under-utilisation of the capacity of captive power plants established by industries in different parts of the country.

He said that a majority of the industrial units were not operating their captive power plants with full capacity.

The units should try to utilise at least 95 percent of the capacity of the power plants, he said.

Seshasayee Paper and Boards Deputy Managing Director K.S. Kasi Viswanathan, inaugurating the workshop, said that industrial units were making efforts to upgrade to latest technology to save energy. The upgradation, however, would take some time before it can be fully implemented.

K.K. Chakravarti, Director, BEE, Mr. Sakthivel, Deputy Director, Inspectorate of Boilers, Tiruchy Region, and S. Appavu, Electrical Inspector also spoke.

The workshop was organised as a part of the life-long learning programme of BEE for the adoption of energy efficient process technologies and practices and implementation of Energy Conservation Act 2001.

Representatives of various pulp and paper units from different states participated in the workshop.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/19/stor...1951810300.htm

[Sampathkumar]

Udhagamandalam: A Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA) will be set up under the Environment Protection Act, said Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, addressing a press conference at Kotagiri on Thursday.

Announcing that it would be notified shortly, he said within three months the proposed body would identify places to be declared as ‘no development areas’ in 51 districts of six States which form part of the Western Ghats.

It would also identify areas where development had to be regulated and where development could take place without restrictions.

Claiming that nine such authorities had been set up under the Environment Protection Act in various parts of the country, he disagreed with a suggestion that they were toothless.

Under grave threat

Conceding that the Western Ghats was under grave threat, he said he was committed to protecting it, referring to projects such as the Athirapally power project in Kerala, which had been shelved on environmental grounds. The situation in Goa had attained crisis proportions.

Pointing out that the Western Ghats was a continuous eco-system, he said a parliamentary forum on the Western Ghats would be brought into being. Mr.Ramesh said a meeting of MPs concerned would be convened soon.

Earlier, he launched a forum called the Nilgiris Natural History Society, promoted by the Keystone Foundation at Kotagiri.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/19/stor...1960770400.htm

[Sampathkumar]

Udhagamandalam: Students and residents of this hill station got some valuable insight into various aspects of climate change thanks to a lecture, organised by the British Council, the Nilgiris Documentation Centre and the Rotary Clubs in the Nilgiris district here on Friday.

The Emeritus Professor of Climate Modelling Lord Julian Hunt delivered the lecture.

Understanding how the climate is changing in different ways around the world and how these variations will evolve is a great scientific challenge of our time, including the possibilities of changes to the Indian monsoon and El Nino climatic effects, he said.

Problems relating to climate change surfaced in the 1980s but nobody took them seriously then. Only about ten years ago did the world start understanding the importance of the issue.

Though human beings destroy the environment they also possess the capacity to think ahead. Variations have to be monitored in detail and considered carefully in investigating appropriate future policies especially for adaptation.

These policies have to be integrated with other policies, technologies and political considerations needed to ensure overall sustainable development, including reduction of air pollution, economic growth and mitigation of green house gas emission.

Down memory lane


Lord Julian also recalled his association with the Nilgiris and took a walk down memory lane.

The Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, M.R. Srinivasan, referred to the unusually heavy downpour experienced in Ketti area near here recently and the questions that it raised.

The vice-president, Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association, Geetha Srinivasan, who presided, said while climate change is a process of nature which has been going on for billions of years, the speed at which humanity is driving the process may result in mankind becoming the last of the endangered species on Earth.

According to her, a change can be brought about only with the efforts of individuals. Changes in individual lifestyles of people can change the situation.

The Nilgiris being a unique area needs a special district planning authority.

The Director, Nilgiris Documentation Centre, Dharmalingam Venugopal, said that climate change and survival are now inextricably intertwined.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/20/stor...2052210300.htm

[ChennaiIndian]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chenn...rsity-hard-300

Feb. 17: Lack of coordination between the forest department and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre located at Sriharikota continues to affect the biodiversity of Pulicat Lake, which is located on the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The country’s second largest lagoon is now suffering from acute silting but it has been at least six years since the forest department has taken up any de-silting work to ensure free flow and exchange of freshwater and seawater at the estuary.
Mr M.B. Gupta, the field biologist of the Pulicat Lake, said it had three mouths, two (Rayathaaru and Konderupaalam) in the Andhra border and another located in Pazhaverkadu at Tamil Nadu.
“Nowadays, the mouths are completely closed because of heavy siltation and there are hardly any efforts made to widen them,” he said. “The natural process of seawater entering the Pulicat sanctuary is not happening and this might affect the migration of the flamingos as the large wading birds require 13 to 15 centimetre stagnant saline water for feeding.”
“Pulicat sanctuary plays a major role in the migration of birds and is a transition point for flamingos,” said Mr K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan, founder of Nature Trust. “Some six years ago the Pulicat sanctuary used to be full of migrant ducks, but now they are found in small numbers. Efforts to conserve the lake should be taken up on war footing.”
Mr N.V. Subbunachari, district forest officer of Sullurpet, agreed that silting in the lake mouth was affecting the sanctuary. “We are planning to remove the silt and widen the lake mouths but the proposal is pending with SHAR,” he said.
However a senior official at SHAR denied that there was any lack of coordination with the local forest department.

[ChennaiIndian]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chenn...rsity-care-306

Feb. 17: Chennai has set the agenda for protecting the world’s delicate and fragile environment that is being increasingly threatened by a dangerous mix of factors, mostly man-made. Scientists and policy makers from 23 countries spanning across four continents who had assembled at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation here has asked world leaders to accord economic value to ecosystem services like land, water, biodiversity and climate and put in place mechanisms for payment for such services in a communiqué named Chennai Declaration.
The Declaration has also demanded reward, recognition and compensation for communities that act as safe keepers of the fragile biodiversity in the world.
“We are yet to assess the value of biodiversity. Though we are bothered about price of farmed products, we do not take into consideration the importance of soil, environment, ecology and biodiversity. It is estimated that the annual loss due to destruction of biodiversity all over the world adds up to $5 trillion,” said Dr Angela Cropper, deputy executive director, United Nations Environment Programme.
Dr Ajay Parida, executive director, MSSRF, said that the declaration also asked policy makers to establish special gene banks for climate resilient crops, natural grids of grain banks and to find markets for under-utilised and neglected crops like the millets grown by the tribal communities at Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu. “Efforts should be initiated to convert biodiversity hotspots to biodiversity happy spots,” asked the declaration.
It envisages important status to women, who are the real safe keepers of biodiversity. “Though we were not satisfied with the outcome of the Copenhagen summit on climate change, all of us are going back from Chennai fully satisfied. This declaration will be the agenda for world leaders converging in Nagoya, Japan later this year for the Convention on Biodiversity and at Mexico City for the next summit on climate change,” said Parviz Koohafkan, a representative of FAO.

[Sampathkumar]

Eco-friendly move: Tribal Peoples Development Society conducting an environment awareness campaign in Kannapadi hill village in Salem district recently. —

SALEM: Tribal People’s Development Society (TPDS), Kannapadi Hills, near Danishpet here in association with C. P. Ramaamy Ayya Foundation conducted a two-day programme on environment for the tribal villagers of the hills recently.

The speakers explained in detail about the changing environment due to global warming and the fall-out that had started affecting the people who used to live in forests and hills.

Diseases

They also told them the diseases that would attack not only the humans but also the livestock and crops.

The changes would affect the livelihood of tribals, particularly their women.

To minimize its impact the need for growing trees in hills and forests also was stressed.

Later elocution and essay competitions were held for school students.

Women members of self help groups also had been made aware of their role in the changing scenario.

All of them were told to shun plastic sternly.

It should be converted into a mass movement, they pointed out.

Tree saplings were distributed to the participants at the end of the two-day programme.

G. Revathi, M. Govindaraj, M. Vimalanathan, Valarmathi, M. Mani, J. Saminathan and TDPS Director V. Ganesan spoke on the occasion.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/21/stor...2152430300.htm

[Sampathkumar]

Non-biodegradable: Plastic waste choking River Vasishta at Attur in Salem district. —

ATTUR: River Vasishta that once kept Attur and its neighbourhood green has become dirty and unholy.

The river, which once supplied drinking water to the people who resided on its banks, is dying slowly with indiscriminate dumping of plastic garbage.

It supplied water for irrigation to over 10,000 hectares in Salem, Villupuram, Cuddalore and other areas.

The stretch of river near Attur town has become a big sewer emanating foul odour and has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes that besiege residents at all hours of the day and night.

At one time, the river happened to be the livelihood resource for hundreds of farmers and drinking water for many more.

Cauvery River in Mettur, a source located some 120 kilometres away from Attur town is now supplying water to its residents.

Plastic waste has blocked water flow in the river.

Garbage mounds, the people here say, remain without being cleared for years with not a single attempt to remove them.

Despite repeated requests from people, farmers and environmentalists, the Attur municipality shows no interest in keeping the river clean.

“There is no proper rehabilitation scheme for the river which cuts through the town on the lines of Tirumanimutharu River rehabilitation project in Salem. The worst affected are the farmers downstream who still depend on its water for farming activities,” said a farmer.

When contacted, officials in Attur municipality claimed that they had been collecting garbage at the door steps under the solid waste management scheme.

But they have no clinching answer to the insensitive dumping of garbage on the river bed, thus killing the water body effectively.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/22/stor...2253690300.htm

[ChennaiIndian]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chenn...odungaiyur-561

Feb. 22: The Chennai corporation commissioner on Monday informed the Madras high court that the corporation was taking remedial measures with regard to dumping and burning of garbage in Kodungaiyur.
When the case came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar, corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni, who was present in the court, informed the bench that steps were being taken to prevent the entry of rag-pickers and burning of garbage in Kodungaiyur.
Directing the commissioner to file an affidavit in this regard, the bench adjourned to February 24 further hearing of the petition filed by Kaviarasu of citizen welfare association seeking a direction to the Chennai corporation to remove the excess garbage and stop further filling up of garbage in the landfill site at Kodungaiyur.
Earlier, when the matter came up for hearing on February 10, advocate general P.S. Raman submitted that the corporation was taking all steps to prevent entry of rag-pickers and burning garbage and requested the court to issue a suitable direction to the commissioner of police (CoP) to take action on a letter addressed by the corporation dated February 9 and the bench directed the CoP to take action and pass app-ropriate orders in three days. The letter requested the CoP to arrange for patrolling and creation of police outpost at Kondungaiyur dumping ground to prevent rag-pickers from entering the area and burning garbage.

[Sampathkumar]

New Delhi, Feb. 24

The Railway Budget had a greenish hue as the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, announced a slew of measures to reduce the carbon footprint.

The Railways proposes to install a GPS-based optimised driver guidance system on diesel locomotives, which will reduce fuel consumption by 8-10 per cent. “We will work closely with the Prime Minister's National Action Plan on Climate Change and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency,” said Ms Banerjee.

Transportation is one of key areas that India will focus on, as the recently established expert committee under former Planning Commission member Mr Kirit Parikh charts a road map to lower the country's carbon emissions.

There was a proposal to set up 10 Rail Eco-parks to conserve, protect and promote Railways' wetland and forest areas, Ms Banerjee said. An eco-park in Naopara, West Bengal, was recently inaugurated. Ms Banerjee said that the Railways also proposed to introduce at least 10 rakes with green toilets.

It has already distributed 2.6 million compact fluorescent lamps as part of its initiatives to tackle climate change.


http://www.blonnet.com/2010/02/25/st...2552540400.htm

[Sampathkumar]

Green homes gain ground

Energy-efficient, eco-friendly buildings are becoming popular in the residential segment too.

Cooling off naturally.

Anjana Chandramouly

“Go energy-efficient and eco-friendly” or in other words “Go green” messages are beginning to gain ground. There are encouraging signs that the urban consumer segment is looking for green building solutions from builders. Also, the green building concept is going beyond the realm of commercial space into the residential segment.

Green home spaces are rapidly evolving and clients today have a clear intent of owning a green building, says Mr Inderajit Kembhavi, Principal Associate, Kembhavi Architecture Foundation.

There is a niche, educated urban consumer segment that seems to be demanding green building solutions from builders, says Mr Krish Murali Eswar, Chief Operating Officer, Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd (BCIL), a pioneer in developing green homes. “We are beginning to notice large construction companies such as L&T looking to work with BCIL on green technology solutions. That is an encouraging sign.”

According to him, corporates are now realising the potential savings in running costs, productivity gains for employees, health benefits and brand visibility gains of getting a green building certification. This trend is particularly being witnessed in new IT buildings and SEZ, he adds. On the green residential sector, Mr Eswar claims that his company is yet to come across significant competition, “although a few builders are beginning to approach us for green technology solutions”.

The company, he says, also gets inquiries for designing green independent homes. Architects such as Mr Kembhavi feel that percolation in the residential sector is happening at every level; from a small house to large projects. “In fact, I can happily say that today most of the buildings have at least some amount of green in them,” says Mr Kembhavi with optimism.

A big selling point

“Green” has become a huge selling point today, he says. He points out to the fact that his company has worked on the design aspects with leading developers including Provident Housing for their Provident Wellworth project in Bangalore, Century Group for their upcoming projects and Chennai-based Akshaya Homes.

As one of the very few developers in Bangalore to venture into the green residential segment, BCIL has had a challenging time, competing with conventional developers and trying to keep prices competitive at the same time. Coupled with the recessionary factor, how difficult was it for them? “Our target segment has been fairly well defined. Therefore, our efforts to reach out to this clientele group are very focused,” says Mr Eswar. In fact, the company finds this segment recession-proof.

What works to their advantage is the word-of-mouth boost that their consumers have given to the green movement, themselves being beneficiaries of the lower costs incurred while living in a green home. This has been particularly helpful in marketing the company's upcoming futuristic off-the-grid villa campus in Bangalore, where about 20 villas were sold even before the official launch, says Mr Eswar. However, he confesses it has not been an “easy journey”.

Is it costly to go green?

It is a myth to think that going green is costlier, say experts. A green building should be more economical than a conventional building, as the theory is based on saving and optimising resources, says Mr Kembhavi.

The trick, says Mr Eswar, is in the kind of value engineering adopted. According to him, buildings are often 15-30 per cent over-engineered in this country. “We are constantly looking for ways of reducing steel, cement, and wood — three of the high-cost elements in a building.”

Though it does cost a little bit extra to add green elements to a campus, the cost gets offset in the cost of ownership over the lifecycle of the ownership.

“Clients realise this,” he adds. According to Mr Kembhavi, the only element expensive is harnessing of energy as solar panels are expensive.

Affordable green homes

There are three key elements in bringing the overall costs down, explains Mr Eswar. According to him, materials, labour and processes have to be value-engineered to maintain costs.

Getting into the specifics, Mr Kembhavi says the ‘greening' work starts right when the site is selected. The first job on hand, he says, is preserving the top soil. “Save it and reuse it,” he says.

What could also help is a sensible architectural design that blends with traditional construction practices. For instance, small windows where the wind is entering and large ones for it to go out. Provide thicker walls or cavity walls on the south-western side to dissipate heat. Use filler slab instead of RCC roof.

Have a terrace garden, and use brickbat coba on the roof for insulation and water proofing. In terms of consumption, use controlled or low-flow fittings. Rainwater harvesting and water treatment through vegetation could go a long way, he says.

Some well-known benefits to users of green spaces are: better health to users; lower operating costs; lowered pollution and toxicity; and long-term payback.

Government intervention

Stake-holders point out the following areas where government intervention could make a difference.

Subsidies and income-tax rebates on various residential investments and loans will ease the pressure on the purchase decision. This must be offered to consumers directly.

Other banks can take cue from SBI in reducing the home loan rate for rated green residential buildings. The government can aid in subsidising the interest rates for home loans too.

State-owned insurance company should consider introducing tailor-made insurance products for green residential buildings.

Cross-subsidising investments in green residential development efforts directly with the money being saved directly in energy efficiency. “It is a loss for government to supply water to residents in any city.

“The hidden costs of supplying power are so high that it is no secret that the urbanite's power bills are clearly subsidised,” says Mr Eswar of BCIL.

Since the real-estate sector contributes to more than 5 per cent of global carbon emissions across the globe and subsidies for green projects can lead to an increase in green projects, the government should look at providing incentives to both consumers buying green properties and developers focusing on green development, says Mr Brotin Banerjee, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Housing Development Company.

The Government should increase the FAR and reduce the coverage. Advocating vertical development could be an answer, since horizontal growth eats into land.

Make sure future buildings necessarily have more green aspects.

Ensuring more open and green spaces in every site.



http://www.blonnet.com/iw/2010/02/21...2151631500.htm

[Sampathkumar]

[Sampathkumar]

[georgenadar]

will TN government put an end point for stupid keral government doing crappy thing over TN...

[Sampathkumar]

கடலூர் ரசாயன கழிவுகளால் கடல் ஆமைக்கும் ஆபத்து ?



கடலூர், பிப். 26 : ரசாயனத் தொழிற்சாலைகளால் நாளுக்குநாள் மாசுபட்டு வரும் கடலூர் நகரத்தில் ரசாயன கழிவுகளின் கலவையால் கடல் பகுதிகளும் மாசுபட்டு வருகின்றன. இதனால், இங்கு வாழும் அரியவகை மீன்கள், ஆமை உள்ளிட்டவை பாதிப்புக்கு உள்ளாகியுள்ளன.


ரசாயன ஆலைகளின் பாதிப்புகளால் மாசுபட்டு அபாயகர நிலையில் இருக்கும் நகரங்களில் 16-வது இடத்தில் கடலூர் இருப்பது, கடலூர் நகர மக்களுக்கு பெருமை சேர்ப்பதாக இல்லை.


இங்குள்ள ரசாயனத் தொழிற்சாலைகளில் இருந்து வெளியேற்றப்படும் அபாயகரமானக் கழிவுகளால், கடல் நீரும் வெகுவாக மாசுபட்டு வருகிறது. கடலூர் சிப்காட் தொழிற்சாலைகளில் நாளொன்றுக்கு 2 கோடி லிட்டருக்கு மேல் தண்ணீர் பயன்படுத்தப்படுத்துகிறது.


இந்த ஆலைகளில் இருந்து வெளியேற்றப்படும் ரசாயனக் கழிவுகள் சுத்திகரிக்கப்பட்டு கடலில் 2 கி.மீ. தொலைவில் கலக்கப்படுவதாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது. ஆனால், இவை சுத்திகரிக்கப்படாமலேயே கடலிலும், உப்பனாற்றிலும் கலக்கப்படுவதாக சுற்றுச்சூழல்ஆர்வலர்கள் தொடர்ந்து புகார் தெரிவித்து வருகின்றனர்.


இதன் விளைவாக கடலூர் கடலில், மீன்கள் பெருமளவுக்குக் குறைந்து வருவதாக மீனவர்கள் வேதனையுடன் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர். 2 கி.மீ. தொலைவுக்குள் காணப்பட்ட மீன்களை தற்போது காணவில்லை என்றும்; கடலில் 5 கி.மீ. தொலைவில் காணப்படும் கெழுத்தி உள்ளிட்ட மீன்கள் ஆயிரக்கணக்கில் அண்மையில் செத்து மிதந்ததற்கு கடலில் கலக்கும் ரசாயனக் கழிவுகளே காரணம் என்றும் குற்றம்சாட்டினர். மேலும், ஒரு கி.மீ. தொலைவில் காணப்படும் டால்பின்களும் 2001-ம் ஆண்டு முதல் வருவதில்லை என்கின்றனர்.


இந்நிலையில், 10 கி.மீ. தொலைவில் காணப்படும் ஆமைகள் தற்போது பாதிப்புக்கு உள்ளாகியுள்ளன. பாலாமை என்ற வகையைச் சேர்ந்த ஆமை ஒன்று இறந்தநிலையில் தேவனாம்பட்டினம் கடற்கரையில் வெள்ளிக்கிழமை ஒதுங்கிக் கிடந்தது. கடற்கரை நோக்கி முட்டையிட வரும்போது, ரசாயனக் கழிவுகளால் இந்த ஆமை இறந்திருக்கலாம் என்று மீனவர்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.


இதுகுறித்து மீனவர் பேரவையின் கடலூர் மாவட்டத் தலைவர் சுப்புராயன் கூறியது:


இந்த அரிய வகை பாலாமைகள் கரையில் இருந்து 10 கி.மீ. தொலைவுக்கு மேலுள்ள, ஆழ்கடலில் வசிக்கின்றன. மார்ச் மாதத் தொடக்கத்தில் அவை கரைக்கு வந்து முட்டையிடும். குஞ்சி பொறித்ததும் 90 நாள்கள் கழித்து வந்து, குஞ்சுகளை கடலுக்கு அழைத்துச் செல்லும்.


கடலூர் சிப்காட் ரசாயனத் தொழிற்சாலைகள் தொடங்கப் பட்ட பிறகு, கடலூர் கடற்கரையில் ஆமைகள் வந்து முட்டையிடுவது வெகுவாகக் குறைந்து விட்டது. ஏதேனும் தப்பித் தவறி வந்தாலும், ரசாயனக் கழிவுகளால் இறக்க நேரிடுகிறது என்றார்.

http://www.dinamani.com/edition/stor...80;ு%20?

[Sampathkumar]

Officials speak to people in Shevaroyan hills and other areas near Salem


Preventive measure: Forest officials launching awareness campaign against wild fires by distributing handbills at the foothills of Yercaud in Salem on Saturday. —

SALEM: As summer has started parching the earth, the officials from the Department of Forests have also launched their routine annual exercise of making the public aware of bush fires in Shevaroyan and other hills surrounding the city and district.

On Saturday a team of officials distributed handbills asking the public not to carry inflammable articles and irresponsibly throw lighted sticks and half-burnt cigarette butts that used to cause heavy damage to the flora and fauna of the forests in Shevaroyan and other hills.

The tourists also were asked to be responsible while they enjoyed Yercaud atop the hills.

In addition to this, the officials also asked the villagers surrounding the foot hills to be ever vigilant.

Tom-tom campaign was also carried out in these villages. School children also were brought in to spread the message.

The District Forest office also provided phone numbers for emergency calls.

They are: Salem: 0427-2415097; Asthampatti: 98425 14215; Yercaud: 94432 65748; Danishpet: 94426 39636; Mettur: 94436 35936 and Pappireddipatti: 94422 63426.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/28/stor...2852890300.htm

[kannan infratech]

Sampathkumar!

You are taking great effort to collate all info related to environment.

You must be really passionate about this.

Please join one of the wild life / Nature enthusiasts clubs. You can travel to all these areas yourself.