AIIMS says it did not
violate ICMR guidelines

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has said that it did not violate any guidelines.........more

12 famous Indian
soldiers: An
insider’s view

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Did you know that field Marshal Cariappa acquired his famous nickname after a British officer’s......more

Crimes by Delhi Police
personnel on the rise

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: It may have taken two alleged custodial deaths in the last few days to put spotlight on the conduct......more

Musharraf’s son
advocates Indo-Pak
educational
exchanges

LUCKNOW, Mar 20: Educational exchange programmes between India and Pakistan will go a long way in improving the....more

Parliamentary Committee
concerned over water
wastage

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: A Parliamentary Committee has expressed concern over the lack of awareness about the need to......more

Kerala massage parlours
fighting to redeem
reputation

KOCHI, Mar 20: Continuous raids on small ayurvedic massage centres in the state and the attempt to equate massaging......more

Police challenge order
declaring caw cell’s
work as "illegal"

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Delhi Police have challenged a Metropolitan Magistrate’s order declaring the entire working of its....more

Woman held for trying
to immolate herself
at sati temple

JAIPUR, Mar 20: A woman who allegedly tried to immolate herself at the spot where a sati was performed about a century.....more

 
Photo exhibition on Tibetans’ perseverance .....

Great team work has ensured return to normalcy: Collector .....

Denying visa to Modi affront to Indians: Venkaiah .....

23 years passes "Project tiger" still not met,tigers on verge of extinction.....

AIIMS says it did not violate ICMR guidelines

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has said that it did not violate any guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in carrying out stem cell transplants on heart patients undergoing bypass surgery.

The AIIMS issued a statement in clarification to a PTI report on March 17 that the ethics and safety of injection of stem cells into heart patients had been questioned by stem cell biologists and that the study did not have ICMR clearance.

AIIMS spokesperson Aarti Vij said in the statement that ICMR "had no guidelines related to stem cell research, when the study was initiated at AIIMS."

"Even now, the ICMR website has only draft guidelines which are available for consideration and comment but are not presently approved or notified. As such, AIIMS has not contravened any existing guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)," the statement said.

Stem cells that have been used to treat patients at AIIMS are patient’s own cells extracted from the bone marrow, during cardiac surgery and permission of AIIMS ethics committee was obtained for the procedure, it said.

Referring to criticism that AIIMS had chosen to report the work in a newspaper and not in a professional journal, the statement said the results had been presented at scientific conferences.

"AIIMS would submit the results of its study to peer reviewed scientific journals after the required period of follow up of patients to indicate long term effects."

The studies being conducted at aiims are in fulfillment of its mandate to be a leader of relevant health research in India and to provide the best available care to patients who desperately need it, the statement said. (PTI)

12 famous Indian soldiers: An insider’s view

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Did you know that field Marshal Cariappa acquired his famous nickname after a British officer’s wife found it difficult to pronounce his name and kept calling him kipper?

Or the time when young Sam Manekshaw was shot nine times and in reply to the surgeon’s question on what happened to him, had simply replied - "a bloody mule kicked me."

These and other interesting vignettes about India’s most famous armymen find mention in Major General V K Singh’s book ‘Leadership In The Indian Army: Biographies Of Twelve Soldiers.’

Spanning over sixty years of military leadership in India, Singh’s book seeks to bring to life the human side of twelve exceptional military leaders.

Be it personalities like Cariappa, Manekshaw, Thimmaya or the relatively unknown Usman, Batra and Bhagat - the biographies rely heavily on personal accounts and anecdotes to highlight these military leaders’ personalities.

Unlike traditional biographies, the author does not refrain from taking a dig at their foibles - even Cariappa’s inadequate grasp over Hindi.

"Soon after Independence, during a visit to the forward areas, Cariappa had to address the troops. He wanted to tell them that now that the country was free, so were all of them. But what he said was, `Is Waqt Aap Muft, Hum Muft, Mulk Muft, Sab Kuch Muft Hai’," writes Singh about the first Indian Commander-in-Chief.

Interspersing anecdotes with detailed accounts of the soldiers’ exploits on the battlefield, the reader is also given an overview of India’s military history - including the wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1947, 65 and 71).

Describing the loss of Jhangar town in Kashmir during the war against Pakistan in 1948, the author recalls the exploits of Brigadier Mohammed Usman, who had vowed not to sleep on a bed until he avenged the town’s loss.

"True to his vow, he had spent the last three months on the floor, even though it was bitterly cold... (immediately after) he had redeemed his pledge, Usman asked for a cot to be brought in," writes Singh.

The author also brings out the humane qualities of the Army’s leaders.

"A large number of civilians had sought refuge in Naushera (in Kashmir in 1948). There was shortage of food and many of them did not have enough to eat. Usman ordered his troops to observe a fast on Tuesdays, so that the saved rations could be given to civilians," writes Singh.

Singh, who finished writing the book in 1998 after collecting information for five years, had to wait till 2005 to obtain clearance for publication from military intelligence.

"I had to rely on personal interaction with relatives and colleagues of these men rather than regimental records since military records after 1962 were classified," says the author.

However, one thing does seem to bother Singh. "Strange as it may seem, none of our military leaders was awarded the Bharat Ratna. The adage about soldiers being remembered only during adversity and being quickly forgotten afterwards was never so true," he writes. (PTI)

Crimes by Delhi Police personnel on the rise

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: It may have taken two alleged custodial deaths in the last few days to put spotlight on the conduct of Delhi Police personnel, but official figures reveal that wrong doings by those in Khaki has been steadily rising over the last few years.

While 44 Delhi Police personnel were arrested in connection with various crimes in 2002, it was 58 the next year and 65 in 2004. This year, four police personnel had been arrested in the first two months, according to figures tabled in the Rajya Sabha this week.

Most of them had been booked for corruption, but some were held for henious offences like rape, murder and attempt to murder.

While eight policemen had been held for rape in 2002, two were caught on the charges in 2003 and four last year.

Five Delhi police personnel were arrested for murder in 2003. The number dropped by one the following year while two were held for allegedly taking human life last year.

On charges of attempted murder, two policemen were arrested in 2003, four in 2004 and one so far this year.

This Thursday, a sub-Inspector, an assistant sub-Inspector and a constable were arrested for allegedly killing a suspect in Shahdara Police Station in north-east Delhi.

On Tuesday, a businessman had died in Shanti Nagar Police Post in north-west Delhi. While police claimed that he had committed suicide by electrocution, his family members had claimed that he was beaten to death at the instance of his business rivals.

If the figures presented in the Rajya Sabha were any indication, more police personnel seemed to be getting involved in corrupt activities with the passage of time.

While 21 policemen were held for corruption in 2003, the number increased to 38 and 43 in the next two years. Four more had been arrested till February this year.

In addition, the anti-Corruption branch of the Delhi Government and the Central Bureau of Investigation had implicated 23, 38, 72 and four police personnel for corruption in the years since 2002, according to the statistics.

Departmental inquiry had been initiated against 11 of them.

Seven police personnel were arrested for cheating in 2002 and 2004, while nine were nabbed in 2003. Three were held on theft charges in 2002 and 2003 and five the following year.

The number of Delhi Traffic Police Personnel caught after complaints of corruption and harassment had also gone up steadily over the years.

The Public Relations and Grievance (PRG) cell had caught 174, 213, 264 and 50 traffic police personnel in 2002, 2003, 2004 and upto February, 2005, respectively during raids and surveillance checks. (PTI)

Musharraf’s son advocates Indo-Pak
educational exchanges

LUCKNOW, Mar 20: Educational exchange programmes between India and Pakistan will go a long way in improving the relations between the two countries and fostering peace in the sub-continent, Mr Bilal Musharraf, son of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said today.

Addressing the Kailash girls hostel inmates of Lucknow University here, Mr Bilal invited the university girls to visit Pakistan and observed that girls from across the border should also come here.

"I have come to this hostel, where my dadi (grandmother) stayed during her student days. Sadly, she could not come due to illness," he added.

Mr Javed Musharraf, elder brother of the Pakistani President, who accompanied his nephew on his maiden Lucknow visit, said, in a lighter vein, he hoped to befriend girls of the hostel.

"I am a retired person and not of Bilal’s age, so I can only hope for friendship with the girl inmates here," he quipped.

Mr Javed said he had heard a lot about the city of Nawabs and had always wanted to visit the place.

Earlier, a grand welcome was accorded to the duo at the hostel where the girls interacted with Mr Bilal and his uncle.

The group also went around the university campus and Mr Bilal took photos. Later, they visited Chhota and Bara imambaras in old Lucknow.

"I promised dadi to bring photos of Lucknow," said Bilal. (UNI)

Parliamentary Committee concerned over water wastage

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: A Parliamentary Committee has expressed concern over the lack of awareness about the need to conserve water and how its wastage can lead to acute water scarcity disturbing environmental and ecological balance.

"Most disturbing is the fact that the Government did not think it necessary to maintain any data with regard to the wastage of water. Mismanagement of water resources and lack of proper awareness result in the wastage of millions of gallons of water per day," the standing committee on rural development chaired by Kalyan Singh said in its report tabled in Parliament.

The report assumes significance as "World Water Day" is to be observed on March 22 which would also mark the beginning of the world water decade upto 2015.

The committee felt that there was need to focus attention on creating awareness among the masses about conserving water resources and for this purpose it suggested extensive use of mass media.

It was of the opinion that a streamlined monitoring mechanism should be in place so that the implementing agencies of Swajaldhara projects can be made accountable.

The committee noted that after achieving substantial coverage of habitations with provision of drinking water, the issue of sustainability — both of source and system - has emerged as the most pertinent issue.

It said that in this context, maximum stress should be given to the conservation of water resources by adopting measures like control on over extraction and exploitation of ground water resouces and that water harvesting schemes be given priority by the department.

The committee felt that mere allocation of funds for taking up sustainability issues will not serve the purpose.

It said just as the Finance Minister proposed the launching of a nationwide water harvesting scheme with 50 per cent capital subsidy to nabard by which one lakh irrigation units at an average cost of Rs 20,000 per unit will be covered, so also schemes be started for supply of drinking water.

The committee expressed concern that even after more than five decades of planned development, provision of drinking water to schools was a distant dream.

In several states, the coverage has been indicated as zero per cent.

While appreciating the fact that the responsibility of implementation of drinking water scheme and of school coverage is with the State Governments, the committee feel that adequate efforts to sensitize the various State Governments about the urgency of providing drinking water to schools are not being made by the Union Government. (PTI)

Kerala massage parlours fighting to redeem reputation

KOCHI, Mar 20: Continuous raids on small ayurvedic massage centres in the state and the attempt to equate massaging with immoral traffic have pushed them into a crisis.

The massage centres, the buzz word of Kerala tourism in the recent years, are struggling hard to keep their reputation safe, as authorities crack down on fake shacks peddling ayurveda and a subsequent smear campaign. Hundreds of small-scale genuine SPAs in the state have been forced to redeem their reputation.

Police raids are going on in the small centres and their licence had been cancelled but star hotels and resorts, where the same service is offered, have been spared, according to the all Kerala ayurvedic health and beauty clinic association.

"We ensure affordable rates for ayurvedic treatment, unlike the costly ones in star hotels. The centres have been the key to promote tourism and earning foreign exchange. It is an unfortunate trend that police should raid all centres and withdraw the licences," association secretary Abdul Rasheed said.

There are at least 250 such small ayurvedic centres, run by therapists and ayurvedic doctors in Kerala, giving direct employment to thousands.

"Of course, there are such fake centres too. But we cannot tarnish the image of the entire sector in the name of a few unscrupulous players in the business," he said.

After ayurveda has turned as the catchword for tourism, crops of centres have spawned across the states, specially the droves leading to famed beaches like Kovalam, Varkala, Cherai, Alappuzha and Kollam.

According to police, a large number of health centres often provide allegedly a mix of titillating massage and ayurvedic treatment, carried out in an unscientific manner by untrained or ill-trained persons, using spurious oils and concoctions.

Besides, immoral traffic also was thriving under the guise of health clinics, police claimed, adding that it had forced them to go on a series of raids.

"All the therapists have valid certificates and had attended courses to be trained masseurs. It is really sad to brand all of them as those in the immoral traffic trade," says V Manikantan, president of all-Kerala Ayurvedic and Panchakarma Staff Association.

"All such smear campaign and hardships forced on the centres have put the entire industry in bad light. It will help only to lead such hapless women to the streets.

If it was mere sex trade centres, most of us would have been already so rich that we would leave the banner of ayurvedic centres,’’ association leader Subash Antony says, angrily.

"The all-Kerala Ayurvedic Health and Beauty Clinic Association suggests setting up of a monitoring committee with representatives of ayurveda department and the association to keep a tab on the health centres.

Start registration for centres, extend grades based on the services, issue identity cards for the staff and ensure protection to them from local goons, the associaiton has suggested.

The Government also has recently promised to regulate the centres and weed out the unwanted players from the sector. As per the existing laws, concerned local bodies are issuing licence to such centres. A law mooted to regulate the health centres one year ago is, however, yet to take final shape.

Foreign tourists who come here are broadly of two types. Those who are well-heeled, well-prepared, and follow an itinerary, go in only for ayurvedic centres of repute. It is the second lot, the bargain-seeking backpacker, who opts for the cheaper but inferior ones.

Domestic tourists seeking ayurvedic rejuvenation too keep off the shady joints. (UNI)

Police challenge order declaring caw
cell’s work as "illegal"

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Delhi Police have challenged a Metropolitan Magistrate’s order declaring the entire working of its Crime Against Women (CAW) cell as "illegal" and "in contravention of the law of the land".

The Metropolitan Magistrate "has erred in exceeding his judicial power by going into the existence of caw cell and its working" because he has limited power to supervise the working of police stations and investigation, ACP Ajit Singh of CAW cell, north east district said in a revision petition filed in a Sessions Court at Karkardooma here.

CAW cell was doing a commendable job "in larger interest of the society" and with the help of mostly women police staff more than 50 per cent of the efforts for reconciliation between parties were successful, he submitted.

Earlier, Metropolitan Magistrate Pratap S Malik had said "the entire working of the CAW cell is entirely illegal and is against the settled principles of the law. A statutory agency (CAW cell) cannot justify its action on other grounds if it is violative of the statute itself".

Agreeing that the Commissioner of Police had the power to set up such cells, Malik had, however, said any statutory creation by the Commissioner of police has to be within the amplitudes permissible under the Delhi Police Act.

"They cannot go beyond the `policing’ ie they cannot, for any reason, whatsoever, be anything more than being responsible for maintaining public order," Malik had noted.

The order had sent shock waves in the department and Police Chief’s Legal Advisor R S Ghumman had sought Delhi Government’s "legal opinion" as the cell was involved in "reconciliatory" efforts which the court felt was beyond the the purview of "policing".

The Magistrate’s order implied that CAW cell could not take up work like conciliation. It created a strange situation for Delhi Police as the cell, set up in 1983 under section 19 of Delhi Police Act, handles about 8,000 to 10,000 complaints received from women every year.

"Under the Delhi Police Act, the Commissioner of Police cannot constitute a cell and ask it to provide better civic amenities in place of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

"Nor any cell constituted by the Commissioner of Police can facilitate `better team management’ in place of BCCI with an object to improve the performance of Indian cricket team. The good objective does not justify the transgression of the parent state (Delhi Police Act), Malik had observed.

Instead of straightaway registering FIRs on complaints lodged by women as required under CRPC, CAW cell conducts an "enquiry" to examine the details of alleged offences against women, provide assistance in case the complainant wants reconciliation, pin-point the guilty, collect evidence for prosecution and prevent miscarriage of justice.

During the enquiry it follows its own procedure (and not the Criminal Procedure Code) to identify the nature of offence, collection of evidence and examination of witnesses.

According to Delhi Police, this is because the cell is not an SHO in the eyes of the law and a case is registered in a cognizable matter only after conciliatory efforts fail.

Terming it as untenable under the law, the court said it can easily be done during investigation after lodging an FIR.

Law enforcing agencies cannot on their own substitute a more just and equitable code of procedure, it had said and pointed out that the Apex Court has said in several cases that FIR must be registered immediately after the incident. (PTI)

Woman held for trying to immolate herself at sati temple

JAIPUR, Mar 20: A woman who allegedly tried to immolate herself at the spot where a sati was performed about a century ago was arrested today after a clash between the police and devotees of the medieval ritual at a village in Rajasthan’s Pali district, police said.

The 42-year-old woman, Basanti Devi Vaishnav, who reached the dias of the sati temple at Sumel village in Pali to offer ‘Puja Archna’ in the presence of thousands of villagers, was being brought to Beawar under police protection.

It was not yet confirmed whether Vaishnav only offered prayers to observe the 100-year myth of sati in Sumel village or actually tried to immolate herself, police sources told PTI.

As the police prevented Vaishnav’s attempt to glorify the ritual and tried to disperse the crowd, the villagers pelted stones at them. They had to use mild cane charge in retaliation, the sources said.

Villagers belonging to the gurjar, rawat and mehra communities had organised a ‘Satsang and Bhajan Kirtan’ to observe the century-old incident - which falls every year on ‘Phalgun Dasami’ - at the sati temple, police said.

Additional police contingents, including two companies Rajasthan armed constabulary had been deployed since yesterday to maintain law and order in the area.

Inspector-General of Police (Jodhpur range) Kalyan Mal Pali Superintendent of Police Hari Ram Meena were camping at the village, police said adding that poor telephone connectivity in Sunel village was causing a communication problem.

There was a rumour that another woman may try to perform immolate herself at the temple, the sources added. (PTI)

Photo exhibition on Tibetans’ perseverance

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: A tired old woman in tatters with hands folded and head bowed in prayer with a placard ‘China Quit Tibet’ and a child waiting with flowers in its hands for the Buddha - images that reflect the perseverance and resilience of an exiled community.

These and other moving pictures were among the 230 rare photographs depicting the Tibetan socio-cultural life in exile and its impact on the Indian Himalayan Buddhist Communities, on display in the capital recently.

A glimpse through the 200 enlargements and about 30 blow ups shot by journalist-photographer and Tibetologist Vijay Kranti serves as an eye opener to how a microscopic community of Tibetan refugees, just about one lakh in India, have revived their socio-cultural and national identity despite a desperate situation and difficult conditions.

"India today has become the world’s largest reservoir of authentic Tibetan culture. This achievement is outstanding in the light of the fact that Chinese occupants of Tibet have done everything to destroy this rich culture in the past 50 years. As an Indian, I feel proud that my country has played a remarkable role in this historic achievement", Kranti said.

While prayer appeared to be the Central theme of most photographs, snaps of monks in traditional robes sipping Coca Cola and Tibetan men herding cattle in bylakuppe in far-off Karnataka reflected the community’s assimilation into modern Indian society while retaining their distinctive culture through the traditional mandala painting.

However, the caption of a moving photograph of a devotee with luggage at a railway station sums up the community’s harsh reality. ‘unending journey’, it said. (PTI)

Great team work has ensured return to
normalcy: Collector

PORAYAR, Mar 20: Excellent coordination between the Government, Non-Government Organisations and the public has helped Nagapattinam district, the worst affected district in the December 26 Tsunami, return to normalcy, according to the Collector Dr J Radhakrishnan.

"There are several unsung and unknown heroes such as those who removed bodies and those who served the victims in various ways. It is our duty to salute them," he said.

The Tsunami killed more than 6,000 people, rendered nearly a lakh homeless and orphaned hundreds of children.

The collector’s remarks are corroborated by service organisations carrying out relief operations in the area. Rama Swaminathan, president, Seven Star Civic Exnora, says that the administration was very responsive to needs of NGOs. There was efficient coordination of ngos’ activities by the Government. "Relief materials have reached almost all areas," she says.

Dr E Venkatramani, Director of Vherds, a Chennai based organisation, sponsored by Danida says his people were readily given an appointment to see the collector when they wanted to get permission for a relief operation. "The additional Collector and DRO gave us tips on what needed to be done."

Also coming in for praise are civil service officers, who worked to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected. Among them are Shantha Sheela Nair, Chief of Overall Relief Coordination, Vivek Harinarain, IT Secretary, who coordinated NGOs activities, former Collector M Veera Shanmuga Moni, who took steps to provide food and water to survivors and Supriya Sahu, who focused on women’s problems.

Mangaiyarkarasi, a survivor at Nagapattinam is all praise for the Collector for the manner in which orphans are taken care of. "Mahesh, the five-year old child of my neighbour lost his parents. In the Tsunami orphange run by the Government, he is very happy."

Though there are a few complaints, the overall feeling among people is one of satisfaction.

Indran of Tsunami hit Manickapangu village near Tarangambadi says he is satisfied with the short term relief measures. "But I am worried about the long-term plans. The Government says they will build houses for us. But that activity has not gained momentum in this area."

Eleven ministers, camping in the area, interacted with victims, heard their grievances and asked officials to take care of their needs.

The Indian police service also did its part in ensuring relief to the victims. Central zone IG George Camped in the interior hamlets and headed a huge team, comprising one DIG, 7 SPs, 15 ADSPs, 16 DSPs, 140 SIs and 2400 policemen, to ensure a ‘people friendly approach’ to restore normalcy.

Today, nearly 80 days after the tragedy, those affected are getting on with their lives. Children have started attending schools. Many couples have got married. Youngsters among the victims have started learning other vocations like tailoring, masonry, paper-cutting, wiring, refrigeration and so on.

Fishermen have been getting fishing nets and boats and most of them will soon put out to sea. The coordinated approach of various agencies has served as a lesson on how to handle disasters of such magnitude. (PTI)

Denying visa to Modi affront to Indians: Venkaiah

HYDERABAD, Mar 20: Appreciating Centre’s stand on denial of visa to Narendra Modi, former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu today said the US Government’s decision was "an affront to the citizens of the country" and might affect Indo-American relations.

"People wanted cordial relations with US. But Washington’s decision to reject visa to constitutionally elected Gujarat Chief Minister would probably affect it," Naidu told reporters here.

Naidu appreciated UPA government’s stand on the matter and said it was the responsibility of the Central Goverment to protect the rights of its citizens.

He said it was not an issue concerning an individual or a political party, but protecting the integrity of the country.

"We always used to feel proud that India and US were two largest democracies in the world. But now we have to think twice before comparing India’s democracy with US," Naidu said.

People were agitated following the US decision and all Indians should rise and express in a united way their indignation at the insult meted out to the largest and greatest democracy of the world, he said.

Without naming Pakistan, Naidu said US has been maintaining relationship with the country where minorites have been persecuted and the head of the state, who organised a coup, was warmly welcomed in America.

Brushing aside reports that the decision was based on the findings of National Human Rights Commission, Naidu said "there was no question of US interfering in India’s internal affairs".

He suggested that internal problems should be solved within the country. (PTI)

23 years passes "Project tiger" still not met,
tigers on verge of extinction

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: When the project tiger was formally launched on April 1, 1973, it was in response to an urgent cry to save the national animal driven to near extinction largely by trophy hunters, the spillovers from the raj.

More than twenty years on and many more decades after the glory days of hunting for pleasure, the tigers are vanishing again, but the crisis is more fearsome this time because the enemies are ill defined, larger in numbers and stealthier.

The national wild animal census, an exercise held every four years in wildlife sanctuaries across the country, reported 1,576 tigers in May 2001 from 27 reserves.

The next counting, scheduled to be held in may this year assumes greater urgency because wildlife parks, many of which conduct annual census individually, have reported alarming decline in their tiger populations.

The wildlife census of 2002 reported 70 tigers in Rajasthan, UP from nearly 56 in 1999. The maximum 30-35 tigers were counted in Ranthambhore national park, 24-26 in Sariska, two in Sawai Mansingh sanctuary and 5-6 in Keladevi sanctuary. One tigress was also found in Keoladeo national park in Bharatpur, a 29 sq km wetland renowned for its birds.

The present crisis relates to Sariska and Ranthambhore, both project tiger parks formerly the hunting reserves of the erstwhile royalty. At the last count in June 2004, the tiger population had dropped to 16-18 in Sariska. The last tiger sighting also was reported in June. Tourist guides had reported sighting a tiger last November and made an entry in the visitor’s book, but it was later clarified that the animal sighted was a leopard and not a tiger.

On an average, 25 tigers were reported in the 881 sq km Sariska national park for many years before the 2004 census.

In Ranthambhore, 38-40 tigers were reported in the 2004 census, but sightings have been rare there as well after October last year. According to local NGO tiger watch, as many as 18 tigers have gone "missing" from the park over the last five years.

Orissa has a total of 192 tigers in the wild with simlipal accounting for the maximum 94 tigers. Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Nuapada district has 32 tigers. The rest are distributed in other districts.

The tigers are reported to have disappeared from 24 forest divisions of the state out of a total of 46. No tigers were reported from these 24 forest division during the census last year.

Elsewhere though, wildlife officials were more optimistic. Uttar Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) Mohammed Ahsan told UNI that the state despite losing a good chunk of its forest area to Uttaranchal after the new state was formed, has maintained a constant and "enough" number of tigers.

The last census of tigers in the state, done in May 2003 counted 283 tigers which, according to him is the "sufficient number meeting the capacity of the state."

The only major wildlife sanctuary in the state, the Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district was last reported to have about 95 tigers.

Chhattisgarh last year reported 239 of these animals from its wildlife sanctuaries and Maharashtra recorded 238 in the last census held there in 2001. Tamil Nadu has recorded 30-40 tigers in its Indira Gandhi and Mudumalaiwildlife sanctuaries in the western ghats.

Conservation experts however are deeply sceptical of these figures which are commonly arrived at using the pug-mark tracing technique which some believe gives wildly inaccurate results.

The imprints if well-defined are moulded into wet plaster and tested for their individualness using various criteria. The trackers generally follow the marks to watering holes, river beds and well-travelled paths.

Apart from the inaccuracies that can creep in due to distortion of imprints, duplication, and the fact that marks don’t register in stony or leafy surfaces and are washed away in rains, there are doubts about people wishing to bloat figures they report.

Union Forests and Environment Secretary Prodipto Ghosh, speaking to mediapersons recently had said there was ‘weak correlation’ between the tiger census conducted on the basis of pugmarks and also the visual sighting recorded every year by the forest personnel.

This was more so in the case of Sariska and Indiravati National Park in Chhattisgarh, he said.

According to Rajasthan Environment and Forests Minister Laxminarayan Dave, his Government may also review census reports prepared in the past in Sariska to ascertain if the previous census figures were inflated.

Mr Ahsan mentioned that the up census was "only near to accurate" and there could be a fluctuation of 20 per cent on either side.

But in the absence of resources to upgrade to more modern methods like camera trapping, the pug-mark based census remains the most viable option.

The experts though agree that only organised and systematic poaching can lead to such mass disappearance of tigers. Tiger parts and even the scat is highly valued in the global market especially in China.

Insufficient policing due to lack of resources indirectly aids poaching. The 881 sq km Sariska park is a stark reminder which is policed by 300 foresters. They have just two revolvers, two guns and six vehicles to guard the park.

According to Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO ) Secretary Biswajit Mohanty the first major seizure of 21 leopard skins (which is often smuggled out with tiger skins ) was made in Orissa in1996 near Khurda. This was followed by another seizure of 3 leopard skins from Bhubaneswar city.

However, not a single person has been convicted in the case mainly due to lack of legal steps initiated by the Forest Department. One tiger was found dead at Satkosia in 2001 and hunting of tigers had been reported from Sunabeda and Narayanpatna in Rayagada district.

He said there is no intelligence network to track poachers and trade routes. The WSO had offered to help the State Government in 1996, but the proposal was never followed up, Mr Mohanty said.

But the State Governments don’t generally admit they are unable to control poaching in wildlife reserves. Maharashtra’s Chief Conservator S W H Naqvi said the incidents of poaching and deaths of tigers and panthers have been reduced considerbaly in the state.

Many of the deaths reported since 2001 were either due to diseases or other reasons like electrocution and accidental trapping.

UP Chief Wildlife Warden Mohammed Ahsan said the prime aim of the department was to protect the habitat of the tigers and said there was no worry about their count. Last year police had seized one tiger skin and 450 tiger claws in the state.

Commercial activities like mining inside protected forests is another cause of concern. Taking note of the situation more than 200 mines were closed in Sariska following a Supreme Court ruling in 1995.

Tiger habitats in Orissa’s Satkosia and Baisapalli are now gravely threatened due to extensive mining which is compounded by rampant forest fires during summer.

Increasing tourist pressure inside national parks is another major peril for the tigers. Sariska, for instance also has a Hanuman Temple that draws large number of pilgrims while a state highway cuts through the park. Hotels near the park are solely dependant on tourism for survival and are a cause of problems sometimes.

Last year, prominent tiger expert Valmik Thapar’s nephew Jaisal Singh was arrested for lighting a campfire for a few guests of his hotel in the buffer zone inside Ranthambhore.

Also, it a fact that the glory years of the project tiger, which saw an exponential growth in their numbers in the first decade or so have long gone and the focus of the Governments have shifted to other things.

The man-animal conflict, which has never been too far off, has surfaced with a vengeance. Since the project tiger, there are over 300 million people more in this country and their livestock competing for the same space.

Money and manpower have been diverted to requirements that are deemed less pressing than wildlife conservation.

"Tigers are at the top of our Geo-cultural diversity. It is part of our common heritage. The crisis is a wake up call for us and for other national parks," says Rajendra Singh, social activist and Magsaysay award winner.

The alarm sounded this time around has echoed high up in the Government. Alarmed by the media reports about the dwindling tiger populations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday ordered Constitution of a task force to go into the question of management of tiger reserves in the country.

Dr Singh, who chaired the second meeting of the national board for wildlife, had recently ordered a CBI probe into the "distressing reports" about the disappearing tiger population in tiger reserves, especially at Sariska.

The task force proposed to be an advisory body would include forest officials, representatives of civil society and wild life experts. It has been asked to give a report on the current status of project tiger.

The Government has proposed banning official gifting of animals to foreign heads of State and Government and to zoos abroad.

It also gave its approval to allow professional researchers into protected forest areas for carrying out scientific research and expedite setting up of a national wildlife crime bureau to gather intelligence, stop poaching and illegal trade.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said her Government was concerned about the situation in Sariska and Ranthambhore, because apart from wildlife, tourism also gets affected.

"The situation in the parks has worsened over the years. We have set up of a committee to look into the problems".

The six-member empowered committee will look into the crisis in Sariska, Ranthambhore and Keoladeo national parks. It has been asked to frame "concrete and practical environmental recommendations" in view of the problem the three parks.

According to project tiger expert Saroj Pattnaik, the former Chief Wildlife Warden of Orissa, the large scale vacancies in the lower cadre like forest guard is a major problem for conservation of tigers in his state.

In Simlipal, the State Government, has proposed to deploy ex-Army personnels to guard the tiger reserve in view of the shortage of forest staff.

He said Sunabeda sanctuary being very close to Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, utmost protection was required even before the sanctuary is declared a project tiger reserve.

He said since the conviction rate is very low in offences relating to the wildlife in Orissa, there has been demand for setting up of special court and creation of prosecutor to deal with the wildlife cases.

Meanwhile in Chhattisgarh, the Indravati national park, spread over in an area of 1,258 sq km has its own unique problem. Bordered by Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra and Orissa it is located in the heart of a Naxal-dominated region.

Since 2002, the Naxals have warned the forest staff not to enter the park area. They have also asked villagers to inform if they spot an ‘outsider’.

They have also stopped Paradh — the month long annual hunting festival of local tribals. In their own way naxalites here are doing the job of checking hunting and tree-felling in park area.

ACCF (wildlife) R K Sharma, while admitting that there were some problems related to the park, denied reports about the possibility removing Indravati from the project tiger list.

"Research activities, like those on animal behaviour, has only been affected," he said.

According to Conservator of Forests (wild life) of the Tripura Ashish Kumar Roy, quoting from 1979 and 2002 census said there were no tigers found during either counting in the four wildlife sanctuaries in the state.

The 1979 census was exclusively for the tigers while the 2002 census was a general wild animal census.

However, an official document said that in 1970, a report on wildlife of Tripura by the State Forest Department recorded presence of six tigers in the state. In 1974, the tiger census report of Tripura confirmed presence of seven tigers in longtharai reserve forest in north Tripura. They seem to have disappeared like many others. (UNI)

 

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