June 12: Tigers are a rarity and spiders are dime a dozen. That has not prevented some forest officials from preferring the latter at the expense of the former. The Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger reserve (Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary) has been witnessing a steep fall in the number of big tigers or the panthera tigris. However, the magnificent animal's official protectors are not too bothered about this and are perfectly happy discovering new kinds of spiders and herbs.

A multi-thematic ecological park will be set up at Sundipenta of Nallamala in Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve by the AP forest department. Eco-parks, zoological and botanical museums will also be set up opposite to the existing Centre for Bio-diversity Ecological Research (CBER).

The anxiety at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre was palpable. As the countdown ended, ISRO's chairman G. Madhavan Nair and his team could hardly believe their eyes. ISRO's pride was skyrocketing.

Despite their optimism, it was a nail-biting launch when Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off with 10 satellites from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on April 28.