DEHRA DUN: It was a miraculous escape for Pratap Singh Pundir of Dhalwala near Rishikesh as he took shelter inside his house after being chased by an elephant on Wednesday night. The pachyderm pulled down part of the house before being chased away by villagers.
Similarly, rampaging elephants damaged two more houses, uprooted a hand pump and destroyed crops in Bhattonwala and nearby areas.
A study was conducted to estimate the soil organic carbon pool under Eucalyptus, Poplar, Shisham and Teak plantations in Haridwar and Dehra Dun, districts of Uttarakhand and Yamunanagar District of Haryana State.
In A unique move, the authorities at Rajaji National Park have undertaken a project to build an overpass above a stretch of railway tracks and a motorable road for the movement of elephants. Once completed, this 1.5-km stretch between Motichur railway crossing to Raiwala in Haridwar district will be the first overpass of its kind in the world. It is being constructed at the directions of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court, in order to protect the corridor through which elephants have been moving traditionally from one part of the park to the other.
Environmentalists and social activists led by G D Aggarwal are headed for Delhi to continue with their campaign against construction of power projects between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. After the Uttarakhand Government decided to halt work on the Pala Maneri and Bhiron Ghati projects, the campaigners are now targeting the 600-mw Lohari Nagpala project being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation. Aggarwal's fast unto death entered its 10th day on Sunday when he left the Manikarnika ghats of Uttarkashi to shift base to Delhi.
The decision of Prof G.D. Agarwal, who has been on a 'fast unto death' for the past week against power projects on the Ganga, to direct his agitation against the Central government following the shelving of two power projects by the BJP state government has politicised the issue. While Agarwal refused to end his fast and decided to target the Union government, the Uttarakhand Congress leaders alleged that the 'Sangh Parivar' has hijacked his agitation for their petty political interests. Interestingly, the state government has promised to support him in his fight against the Centre.
Efforts to save the Ganga got another fillip on Wednesday, with sadhus from Rishikesh and Haridwar, including yoga guru Baba Ramdev, joining the fight and declaring the formation of the Ganga Raksha Manch. Ramdev, while launching his nationwide movement to save the Ganga, warned:
The Save Ganga Movement, which began with a fast unto death by a former IIT professor, may turn into a major political issue ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. After more than 30 Hindutva outfits supported the movement, Baba Ramdev announced the formation of the Ganga Raksha Manch at Haridwar on Tuesday. Although it was said that the manch would not be affiliated to any political party, the presence of senior VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia raises many questions.
Brutality, man-made disasters cause regular elephant deaths With their habitat shrinking fast, elephants are regularly falling prey to human brutality and man-made disasters. The last few days have been especially tragic for these gentle beasts. After the shooting down of a tusker in Ranipur Jhal area of Hardwar district last Thursday, an elephant and her one-year-old calf were electrocuted near Dimna lake near Jamshedpur on Monday while the decomposed body of another pachyderm was discovered at the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.
Streo Cartosat-1 satellite data was processed to generate high spatial resolution digital elevation model (DEM) using ground control points (GCPs) collected through geodetic single frequency GPS in differential GPS mode. DEM was processed to generate bare earth DEM by removing heights of natural and man made features from DEM.
