Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

New project to save Great Indian Bustard in Kurnool

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology
The Great Indian Bustard in flight at the Rollapadu Sanctuary in Kurnool district. / Photo: Rakesh Narala / The Hindu
The Great Indian Bustard in flight at the Rollapadu Sanctuary in Kurnool district. / Photo: Rakesh Narala / The Hindu

The rare giant bird, Great Indian Bustard, is currently facing deep trouble due to ecological changes. According to an estimate, the endangered species has shrunk to just 300 in the entire globe. The birds at the Rollapadu Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary in Kurnool district have also dwindled to five from 10.

As the alarm bells are ringing, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and State Forest Department have launched a unique Species Recovery Programme to save the Great Indian Bustard, which will continue for a decade.

Majestic bird

The project will be implemented at the Rollapadu Great Indian Bird Sanctuary set up in 1987 in an area of 6.14 square km near Nandikotkur in Kurnool district.

The BNHS will spare a principal investigator and two researchers who will lead the project to improve the breeding, habitat development and help increase the numbers. Over a dozen staff members will assist the scientists.

The Great Indian Bustard is a majestic bird with an average height of up to 120 cm, long neck and legs and a brownish plumage. A mature bird weighs up to 14.5 kg, while female birds are 15 to 20 per cent less in height and weight.

The GIB feeds on locusts, beetles, butterflies, snakes, scorpions, lizards, mustard, pulses like Bengalgram and groundnut seed. The bird spends most of the time on the ground and flies only when it intends to undertake long flights to migrate to other areas. A bird lays one or two eggs in a breeding season, which is the August-December period in Rollapadu.

Detailed study

Farmers in Rollapadu area recall that the busty birds would flock around them during harvest time to pick up insects that got exposed from the ground. These scenes have disappeared completely now and even a decade ago the GIB population was estimated at 40-50.

Divisional Forest Officer at Atmakur, Mohammad Moiddin Nawab, who is incharge of the sanctuary, told The Hindu that in the first stage of the recovery programme, a detailed study would be undertaken to pinpoint the causes of the falling numbers.

According to a view, the characteristics of the habitat are changing rapidly after construction of the Alaganur Balancing Reservoir close to the sanctuary. Initially, everyone thought that improvement in water availability would help the sanctuary. But this was not so. The improved irrigation facilities around the sanctuary have transformed the ecosystem from grassland to wetland. Farmers have now shifted from dryland crops to paddy and other commercial crops, which consume large amounts of chemicals and pesticides.

Within the sanctuary, the number of co-species hostile to the GIB such as wolf and the blackbuck have increased rapidly.

The blackbuck population rose from 17 in 1982 to 1,000 now. Wolves relished GIB eggs and chicks. Last year gloom descended on the sanctuary when a wolf devoured a precious chick. Currently, two forest watchers are guarding an egg laid by a bird. Sometimes, stray cattle also trample on the eggs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by D. Sreenivasulu / Kurnool – May 07th, 2013

Visakha Dairy new plant to be ready in 3-4 months

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Visakhapatnam :

Visakha Dairy plant, which is under construction at Rangampeta in East Godavari district, will be ready by August-September, according to Chairman, A. Tulasi Rao.

He was speaking to reporters at the Visakha Dairy plant here on Sunday after releasing a new product — 100-ml toned milk in tetra pak at Rs 5.

He said the dairy was selling 75,000 litres of high quality milk per day with varying fat content in toned, double toned, skimmed and standard milk variants. The dairy aims at a target of 1 lakh litres per day by the end of the year.

The 100-ml Visakha Tetra Pak is aimed at the lower-end consumer, combining the twin features of affordability and single use. The product would be sold in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

He said that the plant could process 6 lakh litres per day. Visakha Dairy is procuring milk from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and the two Godavari districts.

“We are setting up the Rangampeta processing plant at a cost of Rs 20 crore with a capacity of 2.5 lakh litres to 3 lakh litres, as it is becoming increasing difficult to bring milk all the way from the two Godavari districts. We have to cut down on the transport costs. We tried to acquire the sick Godavari Dairy and turn it around, but the Government was not very keen on it. Therefore, we decided to put up a plant on our own,’’ he said.

Rao said that Visakha Dairy is procuring milk from more than 2 lakh farmers in the five districts, covering 2,800 villages.

“Our primary objective is to provide quality milk and milk products to consumers and at the same time do justice to our farmers by paying them a remunerative price. Of course, a balance has to be struck between the two aims. We have set up a hospital with excellent facilities here for the sake of the farmers and staff and we also try to provide educational facilities to the children of the farmers,’’he said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by Ch. R. S. Sarma   sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in / Visakhapatnam – May 05th, 2013

Urban agriculture booms in Hyderabad

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

Urban agriculture is the new culture that is catching up in the city. More than 4000 households in the outskirts of the city currently are self reliant for the vegetable needs of the family. This time Horticulture department for a change is giving subsidy directly to the citizens instead of farmers who want to grow of complete nutrients set of vegetables.

Officials say according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates, by 2050, global food demand will grow by 70 per cent to cater to the needs of the global population of 9.3 billion. As the natural resource to feed this population is going to be difficult task urban agriculture is seen as big solution to the problem.

Speaking to TOI horticulture department director K Devamuni Reddy said that the initiative as part of urban farming is met with good response since it was initiated two months back. “We give the citizens who are ready to grow a cluster of vegetables at their home a subsidy of Rs 360 and they have to spend another Rs 1200 from their pockets” he added.

This subsidy kit involves four silatin round beds, red earth, farmyard manures, 14 bags and other essential things to grow a garden at home. Officials said though the citizens have to spend additional Rs 400 to 500 for transporting ,response has been more than good. Mostly people in Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, LB nagar, Vanastalipuram who have own houses have shown good interest with more than 4000 subsidy kits being distributed so far. Officials plan to increase this number to another 1000 in next few months.

The growers will be able to get Ladies finger, Tomato, Brinjal, Pallak, coriander, Amarathis, Ridge guard, Bottle guard, Beans, cucumber, and Cluster beans. The subsidised kit will have the required seeds and the kit will be sufficient for two seasons to grow. “The programme is designed in a way that Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) recommendation for nutritional needs are fulfilled. With each kit there would be a yield of 450 KG yield which would be covered in a span for three to four months” K Devamuni Reddy said. It would cover nearly one hand half KGs a day for a family of four members.

Official sources said that in Hyderabad, it was found that households that produce vegetables saved 20 per cent of their total food expenditures by retaining part of the produce for household consumption. “I find this programme interesting because we can get the guidance from them directly. Costs can be brought down too” V Venkatalakshmi of LB Nagar said. Soon the officials are planning to do visits of as many as households possible and monitor their practices.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Vegetables / by Sribaala Vadlapatla, TNN / May 04th, 2013

Asian Seabass seed production unit to be set up in Krishna district

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) has sanctioned Asian Seabass seed production unit — the first in Andhra Pradesh — in Krishna District. With brackish water aquaculture activity gaining ground in the district, demand for huge quantity of Asian Seabass (Lates Calcarifer) species has also gone up.

Brackish water aquaculture is taken up in more than 5,000 acres across the district, but the farmers depend only on Seabass seed provided by Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA), Tamil Nadu. The CIBA officials said that the variety survives in freshwater aquaculture ponds also, hence very popular.

The yield of Asian Seabass is much higher compared to other species. This led to the demand increasing manifold. Getting entire requirement from Tamil Nadu is turning out to be a Herculean task.

Many farmers had to withdraw their plan of growing the variety due to non-availability of seed in the district. “The NFDB has sanctioned a seed production unit worth Rs.72 lakh, which is proposed at Urlagonditippa village. It will be set up by T. Sankara Rao, a farmer,” Fisheries Deputy Director T. Kalyanam told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – May 05th, 2013

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s unique ‘Adopt a Lake’ plan

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Hyderabad :

To preserve and protect lakes, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Lake Protection Committee has come with a unique scheme, ‘Adopt a Lake.’

With an objective of involving all stakeholders like individuals/corporates/institutions in lake protection, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for lake adoption would be finalised by the Lake Protection Committee soon. Interested individuals/corporates/institutions have to maintain constant vigil by employing suitable watch and ward team to monitor the encroachments, debris dumping, constructions or tampering of ‘full tank level'(FTL) boundaries. They also have to maintain vigil at all inlets and outlets to keep the lake pollution free.

The interested parties have to submit a detailed proposal to HMDA’s Lake Protection Committee on how the lake could be maintained and upgraded to make it environment-friendly with proper bio-diversity. The HMDA would soon invite Expression Of Interest (EOI) from the different stakeholders to finalise the terms and conditions. of the draft MoU.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / May 02nd, 2013

Solar power to light up 20 tribal ashram schools

Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

It is seen as a panacea to the power-cut problem

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) a global NGO in collaboration with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) is setting up 1 KV solar power generation plants in 20 tribal ashram schools in the Agency area in the district as a panacea to the power cut problem which is adversely affecting the studies of tribal students.

This has taken up it as a pilot project by spending Rs. 2.75 lakh on each 1 KV plant and TERI expects to complete the project around August. The district administration would eventually cover all the Ashram schools depending on availability of funds.

TERI State Coordinator V.V.K.B.N. Murthy told The Hindu that solar energy based lighting will be a boon to the students in tribal areas and would solve the problem of frequent interruption to power supply. He says that solar power would be a success story in the rural and tribal areas if SHG groups are involved in the implementation of solar projects.

The NGO is introducing solar appliances including home lighting systems, individual lanterns and task lights, etc. in the villages which are under darkness most part of the evening and night, due to long hours of power cuts and also to the hamlets which do not have access to regular power supply. It is engaged in setting of Solar Charging Stations (SCS) in the rural and Agency areas to re-charge solar appliances. So far 100 SSS have been set up and 200 more will be read soon in the State.

TERI is imparting training to entrepreneurs and technicians selected by NGO’s through which the solar lights project is being implemented. The training involves supply, installation and re-charging of solar lights and the operation of solar charging stations. The entrepreneurs are supported by the village residents who pay Rs.10 each per month to the former which takes care of several charging stations and in turn earns his salary.

The objective of SCS is mainly to recharge the batteries which can be used for 4 to 6 hours every day. The stations can charge 50 lights at a time. Solar lamp not only tackles power shortage but also replaces kerosene lamps which are eco-friendly. Every village will have a local entrepreneur who will supply and maintain the solar lamps. Every nine villages will have a technical resource person who will oversee the smooth functioning of the solar charging stations. As many as 43 stations are operating in the district. NGO’s Samskruti, Vikas and Kovel Foundation are in partnership with TERI. Besides, 30 in Srikakulam, 44 in East Godavari district, 9 in Guntur, 12 in Karimnagar and 2 stations in Adilabad are running.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Ravi  P. Benjamin / April 14th, 2013

Hay-granary technology still popular in Krishna

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology
A farmer proudly displays the traditional granary made of spliced hay for storing grains in Kuchipudi in Krishna District. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
A farmer proudly displays the traditional granary made of spliced hay for storing grains in Kuchipudi in Krishna District. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu

Farmers having a land-holding of not less than four-acres are largely dependent on traditional ‘Purri (granary)’ method of storing foodgrains, arguably free from rot and rain affect.

Gone are the days in Krishna district where farmers had to depend on middlemen for selling crop, as they had no godown space to store the produce till it fetched remunerative price. In this traditional farmers’ technology, two-lines of large rope made of spliced hay is tied surrounding a mud-clad space created with gunny bags and the soil for basement.

While constructing the hay rope granary, some farmers use gunny bags to create necessary space, which is simultaneously filled by pouring grains, others make a tight rope tied around a mud wall. “The granary set up in open space would never absorb rainwater and grains are safe from any weather condition” said a woman farmer and entrepreneur M. Vijaya Lakshmi from Kuchipudi.

“It’s a method in which rotting of grains is never reported and even mice cannot gain entry due to its thickness and strength,” added Vijaya Lakshmi, who built 120-bag capacity granary outside her residence by spending Rs.1,500 for labour charges. The strength of the granary depends on how much hay is used in the making of the rope. Irrespective of height or width, each granary serves the purpose for two-years to store grains.

This kind of granary is largely being used to store paddy and blackgram in Krishna district. Unprecedented number of hay granaries welcome the visitor in the villages which are far from mandal headquarters, and which are plagued by poor transportation facilities. Even in Diviseema and Kuchipudi areas village elders said that the farmers in Krishna district used to store grain underground till 1980s.

While small farmers prefer the method of storing grains for their domestic needs, middle and big farmers construct it in business interest, and store the produce till price in market goes up. “This age-old rural technology is a boon for people like me as I have no space inside the house to store the produce,” said Peketi Seetarami Reddy of Kaja village in Movva.

Mr. Reddy, tenant farmer in 23 acres, also buys paddy from his fellow farmers at low prices and stores it for better marketing prices in his 150-bags capacity hay granary. Expert in making hay granary construction, 55-year-old K. Seetaramayya of Arisepalli is happy that the work keeps him busy every January and brings numerous orders. He reveals that he too set up a granary, storing barely 15-bags of paddy for domestic grain storage.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam, April 27th, 2013

Man’s gift to beast in the heart of the forest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

 

The Kawal Tiger Reserve has immense potential to become a base for tigers.. / The Hindu
The Kawal Tiger Reserve has immense potential to become a base for tigers.. / The Hindu

Jannaram (Andhra Pradesh) :

As you drive through the dusty, dense Kawal Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh’s Adilabad district, it does not take long to hear the jungle’s rhapsody.

Bison, sambar, wild boars and deer can be seen near water bodies, as spotted deer gallop amidst tall teak trees and dry grass.

An initiative undertaken by the World Wild Life Fund and the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department here has come to be a blessing for the animals in the reserve. It provides drinking water using automatic solar pumps.

Regular behavioural patterns of the animals were closely monitored before deciding to install the solar pumps.

As the sun rises and bright rays fall on panels, the submersible pump switches on by itself and shuts off when the sun sets. Each pump evacuates about 30,000 litres of water a day. Of this, 5,000 litres are stored in the overhead tank and the rest flows to the percolation tank. That is where the animals come to drink water.

S. V. Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, A. V. Joseph, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wild Life Warden, of Andhra Pradesh, travelled into the heart of the forest to commission the solar projects. Joseph told Business Line that the forest reserve has immense potential to become a base for tigers. Now, we have good number of herbivores and small carnivores and occasionally big animals come in here; it won’t be long before visits by bigger ones increase, he said.

VIABLE SINK

It was notified as a tiger reserve in 2012 and is seen as a viable sink for dispersing tigers. The reserve has a corridor linking tiger landscapes such as the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve about 100 km in the north, and Indravati tiger reserve, 150 km to the east.

The tiger reservoir is spread over about 900 sq. km., along with a buffer area of about 1,123 sq. km. It has a splendid montage of habitat that supports the rare assemblage of four Indian antelopes — nilgai, chousinga, chinkara and black buck. The forest is also home to nearly 250 species of birds.The forest authorities are enlisting local tribals to serve in the forest, and once the reserve gets popular, it will provide more job opportunities.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News ? by V. Rishi Kumar  rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in / Jannaram (Andhra Pradesh) – April 07th, 2013

Messages in many bottles

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment
Prashant Lingam. | A Suresh Kumar
Prashant Lingam. | A Suresh Kumar

Brick by brick a dream house is built. Hyderabad-based entrepreneurs Prashant Lingam and wife Aruna Kappagantula, founders of Bamboo House of India, are busy giving a new twist to the adage. They are replacing bricks with trash plastic bottles to build sustainable homes. For the record, a mud-filled plastic bottle is no less strong than a brick.

The husband and wife duo are on a mission to improve the housing situation of the poor in the country. And, they have chosen a material which is dirt cheap and available in abundance. “Housing shortfall in India stands today at 148 lakhs dwelling units and we hope our innovative technique will help bring it down,” Lingam says.

Lingam puts forth that in the mantra “reduce, reuse and recycle”, the ‘reuse’ part is often overlooked. “In the pilot project, we built a house with bamboo and bottles. The basic skeleton was made with bamboo. For the walls, bottles filled with mud were placed both vertically and horizontally. It offers thermal insulation. The plastering was done with mud and cow dung. Cement plaster was only used for the final coat,” says Lingam. The roof was made with bamboo attached to wooden batons.

Cost Effective

Baked bricks, tiles, concrete and rocks, among other construction materials, have been essential for generations. But now, thanks to Lingam and Kappagantula’s innovation, a house can be constructed sans these materials. The icing on the cake is that it is strong and cheap.

A plastic bottle house costs a quarter of the money required to build a conventional house. Lingam and Kappagantula’s 225 sq ft house looks like an ordinary home, but it differs in many ways. They claim the sand-filled bottles are stronger than ordinary cinder blocks. “The structure has the added advantage of being fire proof, bullet proof and earthquake resistant,” says Lingam, adding, “In terms of strength, performance is equal to bricks and may be better too. We will be shortly sending bottle wall panels for testing to IIT Delhi. We hope the results will help us to refine the process.”

Around 4,000 bottles procured from scrap dealers were used to build the house. The house was built at a cost of around Rs 75,000. “Each bottle costs Rs 1, whereas a cement brick costs around Rs 10 and a red brick comes for Rs 5,” says Lingam.

Apart from the price difference, the house also scores on the heat factor. Excess use of cement generates a lot of heat. The house was built with less than eight bags of cement and it is expected to last a lifetime, and definitely not less than 30 years.

Sea of bottles

Getting enough empty bottles was a formidable challenge and getting the structure right was also a priority. Partnership with institutions like IIT-Delhi, National Institute of Design and the National Mission on Bamboo Application helped in zeroing in on certain technical aspects. “Initially people might have apprehensions about building bamboo and bottle houses, but we are sure with time this concept will surely catch up as there is a growing awareness on environmental issues,” opines Lingam.

They plan to promote the bottle technology for mass rural housing as raw material would be locally available and labour is cheap. A small house of 200-400 sq ft in a rural area can be constructed at less than Rs 50,000. They are working to tie up with all local restaurants/bars/food joints etc from where bottles can be sourced and educate them about not disposing of the bottles. They have already started promoting the concept among students in schools and colleges, so that the next generation thinks beyond bricks and cement.

With local means, locally available building supplies, creating something valuable for the local community is a perfect example of intelligent recycling.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Swati Sharma / April 14th, 2013

Anantapur sets an example in afforestation

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
The plantations of Hardwickia Binata species at Dharmapuri forest in the Rayadurgam mandal of Anantapur district. / Photo: RVS Prasad / The Hindu
The plantations of Hardwickia Binata species at Dharmapuri forest in the Rayadurgam mandal of Anantapur district. / Photo: RVS Prasad / The Hindu

 More than 300 hectares of green forest developed in Kalyandurgam, Kadiri and Penukonda forest ranges

For the first time ever in the history of Anantapur district, arguably, the Forest Department has achieved 100 per cent survival rates in most of the plantations it undertook in the last three years, thanks to the novel methods used along with a good dose of common sense.

The Anantapur district today boasts of more than 300 hectares of green forest in Kalyandurgam, Kadiri and Penukonda forest ranges, at least in terms of greenery through trees and not necessarily shrubs, thanks to the concerted efforts of the forest department.

Speaking to The Hindu, the District Forest Officer (DFO) of Anantapur T.V. Subba Reddy said the results were a progression of an experiment held two years ago by him and his team within the department which led to the current state.

“We started off by identifying the reasons behind consecutive failures in afforestation ventures earlier. And the reason turned out to be lack of water and usage of exotic species in most cases and consequent lack of plant growth,” said Mr. Reddy moving over to how the issue was dealt with.

Starting off with a decision to have pits measuring one cubic metre dug next to the plants to ensure that every drop of water was used in a situation of very low rainfall, Mr. Reddy said adding that we also decided to use plants which were already 1.5 metre tall so that survival was only a latent question for the plant with established roots and decent availability of water in the vicinity.

“Usage of indigenous trees like Neem (Azadiracta Indica), Banyan and Peepal besides Holeptilia, a non-browsable species, has meant both 100 plant survival and lowered maintenance costs,” said Mr. Reddy. The department has decided to implement afforestation plantation in more than 500 hectares this year, provided sufficient funds, he said.

When questioned if the earth work needed for this kind of plantation did not mean enhanced cost per hectare vis-à-vis the traditional method of plantation, he said while the traditional model works out to Rs. 75,000 per hectare – the cost is for plantation and maintenance costs per hectare for three years – with less than 50 per cent survival rate, it costs Rs. 60,000 for a similar period with 100 per cent survival rate.

“And the most important factor in afforestation plantations in the district like Anantapur, which is on the verge of desertification, is ensuring green cover and not the costs being incurred for it,” he says.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of selected exotic species in the plantations – Hardwickia Binata, a hard wood species native to Latin America and Seema Ruba Glauca, a non-browsable and fast growing dry weather species which can withstand very long dry spells besides producing edible oil – has also meant success for the Forest Department.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Anantapur, April 06th, 2013