Is India Winning the War Against Pollution? The fight for cleaner air and water intensifies as the nation grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change. From the devastating floods in Assam to the alarming rise in air pollution levels in Delhi, environmental challenges demand urgent action. This week saw crucial discussions on sustainable agriculture and renewable energy sources at the India Climate Change Conference, highlighting the government's commitment to tackling deforestation and promoting biodiversity conservation. But are these efforts enough? Experts warn of looming water scarcity and the need for stricter regulations on industrial emissions. The future of India's environment hangs in the balance, demanding collective responsibility and innovative solutions. Explore Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and the latest updates on environmental policies, climate activism, and the ongoing struggle for a sustainable India. Discover how you can contribute to a greener tomorrow.
Bengaluru: In an incident of concern, the unnatural death of a tigress and her three cubs, probably due to poisoning, came to light in the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district on Thursday. Addressing media persons in Bengaluru, Forests, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre announced that an investigation has been ordered into the incident and officials have been directed to submit a detailed report within three days. The probe will be conducted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF). "Karnataka stands second in the country in terms of tiger population, with 563 tigers. It is deeply saddening to learn about the death of a tigress and her three cubs in a state known for its conservation efforts," Khandre said. He directed that a spot inspection be carried out immediately and warned that strict action would be taken in case of any negligence by Forest Department personnel. "If someone is found to have poisoned the wild animals, criminal charges must be filed against them," he added. Khandre also stated that the investigation should verify whether the deaths were caused by electrocution and initiate appropriate action, if so. The incident has raised concern among forest officials and wildlife enthusiasts, with growing suspicion that miscreants may have poisoned the animals. Authorities have emphasised the need for a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of death. Sources indicate that the incident came to light when Forest Department personnel were patrolling the reserve forest in Hanur taluk on Wednesday. It is suspected that the tigress and her three cubs died after consuming meat laced with poison. The carcasses of the tigress and three cubs were found at Meenyam forests, in the Hoogyam range of the sanctuary. According to sources, the tigress had killed a cow and dragged it into the forest, and it and its three cubs had partially consumed the meat of the dead animal. It is suspected that the local villagers had found the carcass of the cow and poisoned it. The tigress and cubs died after returning to the kill and eating the poisoned meat. Senior forest officials have rushed to the spot and initiated a probe. Officials state that it's a prima facie case of poisoning, and they are awaiting the post-mortem report. The Male Mahadeshwara Hill Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 906 square kilometres and is a hot spot for wildlife animals, including tigers, elephants, leopards and others.
Accepting the honour, Acharya Prashant delivered a powerful address, "The climate crisis is not just outside, it's inside. The glaciers are melting because our minds are burning with greed. Oceans are rising because our desires know no bounds. Before we can act responsibly, we must first think clearly. And that is where true environmentalism begins, not in policy, but in consciousness." "When we talk about the environment, we usually refer to forests, rivers, air, and wildlife. But do we ever as ...Read More >
Lucknow: UP is set to celebrate Van Mahotsav from July 1 to 7 under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wherein the forest and wildlife department plans to plant a record 35 crore saplings across Uttar Pradesh, the highest in country.The department, working in close coordination with various other departments, has gathered 52.33 crore saplings and completed advance soil work on 72,912 hectares of land.A review meeting led by forest and environment minister Arun Kumar Saxena was held fo ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Jun 28 (PTI) Two people were arrested on Saturday in connection with the death of a tigress and her four cubs in the Hugyam forest range of Male Mahadeshwara Hills, police said. The big cats were found dead on Thursday, and subsequent investigation revealed they were poisoned. The breakthrough came after the carcass of a poisoned cow belonging to Maada alias Maaduraju was found. According to police, Maaduraju was reportedly enraged after his cow named 'Kenchi' was preyed upon by wild animals. To avenge the loss, he sprayed poison on the cow's carcass. His friend Nagaraju too is ...Read More >
Kushnepalli Forest Range Officer P. Dayakar stated that a case has been filed against Athram Bapu and Kudimetha Lachanna from Oddugudem for killing a wild boar. The two were caught sharing the boar's meat at a stream during a raid conducted by forest department officials, who had received a tip-off about the incident. Macherial: Two persons were booked for allegedly poaching a wild boar at Oddugudem village in Vemanapalli mandal on Thursday. Kushnepalli Forest Range Officer P Dayakar said that a case was registered against Athram Bapu and Kudimetha Lachanna from Oddugudem for killing a wild ...Read More >
Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 8 (ANI): As the commencement date for the 2025 Maha Kumbh nears, popular seers and saints are joining the crowd in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Amid celebrations, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj on Wednesday demanded that cow be given the status of 'Rashtra Mata'. He said that one of the biggest problems was cow slaughter and it must be stopped. The seer said that they would organise a 'maha yagya' to press their demands. "All Sanatani Hindus are uniting here for Kumbh. Even though we have a number of problems, the ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Concerns have been raised following the report of another tigress' death in Karnataka on Saturday, coming close on the heels of the shocking incident involving the death of a tigress and her four cubs. According to forest officials, the latest death has been reported from the Gundre Forest Range in Bandipur, located in Chamarajanagar district. Authorities, based on preliminary investigation, have stated that the tigress, estimated to be between 4 and 5 years old, appears to have died of natural causes. However, the post-mortem report is awaited for confirmation. The carcass was d ...Read More >
Kolkata: A two-member National Commission for Women team on Sunday visited the south Kolkata law college where a student was allegedly gang-raped last week.The team, accompanied by a videographer, was initially denied entry and asked to produce a formal order. After an hour-long discussion at the college entrance, the team, led by Archana Majumdar, was allowed in under two conditions -- no access to the crime scene and no videography permitted.The visit lasted 10 minutes. "We were denied access to the crime scene and other floors. I will include this in my report," said Majumdar, who was the f ...Read More >
Kendrapara (Odisha), Jan 14 (PTI) With the annual crocodile and migratory birds' headcount exercise getting underway, the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district would remain shut for nine days from Tuesday. Several teams have been constituted to count the crocodiles and birds in the creeks, rivers, wetland sites and mangrove forests within the park and its nearby areas, an official said. Any form of human activity could disrupt the process, and that is why the national park will remain closed till January 22, he said. The restrictions for visitors will also prevent noise ...Read More >
Guwahati/Morigaon, Jun 6 (PTI) The flood situation in Assam continued to be critical with over 5.6 lakh people reeling under the deluge in 16 districts, an official bulletin said on Friday. The toll in this year's floods and landslides stands at 21, with two more deaths reported on Thursday. Also Read | Thane Shocker: Wife Booked for Hurling Hot Oil on Autorickshaw Driver During Fight Over Domestic Issues in Kalyan. Wildlife has also been affected with nearly 70 per cent of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district facing inundation, an official said. The Regional Meteorological ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar, June 5 (UNI) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday urged the people to resolve to end plastic pollution and maintain a healthy, clean environment. "Today, let us pledge to eliminate plastic pollution and create a healthier, cleaner environment for our citizens," Majhi said while addressing the state-level World Environment Day event. He noted that plastic has become an integral part of our lives, especially single-use plastics. Stressing that plastic waste must be ad ...Read More >
Mysuru: The forest department in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar has initiated a comprehensive drive to identify and reclaim encroached forest lands. Early this week, the Mysuru forest department reclaimed eight acres of forest land in Hunsur.The forest department is currently investigating encroachments of a minimum of three acres and above, and measures are being taken. They are either evacuating encroachments by individuals or cancelling illegal grants of land by the revenue department by producing records.About eight acres of land in Gagenahalli in Hunsur, which was granted to an individual in e ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former head of Air India and chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani is the new Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) director. The official order for his appointment was issued on Wednesday. A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Lohani is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. Following his retirement from IRSME service, he joined the GMR Group as the CEO. According to the order dated June 4, his appointment to the post of director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pa ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
Mysuru: A tragic incident has unfolded at the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar, where a mother tiger and her four cubs were found dead under suspicious circumstances near the Hoogyam forest range. In response to the tragedy, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has called for a comprehensive investigation. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) will oversee the inquiry, and the minister has requested a detailed report to be submitted promptly. He has also emphasized that strict action will be taken if any negligence by forest staff is found. Top forest of ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
Berhampur: Residents of Baghasala in Gajapati district are living in fear after forest officials found pug marks of a suspected Royal Bengal Tiger on the outskirts of the village in Paralakhemundi forest division on Tuesday. The villagers apparently sighted a big cat early in the morning and reported it to forest officials. A forest department team went to the village and collected the animal's pug marks. "After preliminary analysis, the pug marks have been identified as that of a tiger," said S Anand, divisional forest officer (DFO), Paralakhemundi. Camera traps will be installed in the are ...Read More >
Viral video shows AI cameras spotting a herd of elephants. (Photo: X/susantananda3) Elephants in Odisha's forests often face the threat of train collisions on railway tracks, as highlighted by multiple reports over the years. To prevent such accidents, authorities installed four AI cameras in the Rourkela Forest Division. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Susanta Nanda, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, stated that the use of AI cameras effectively averted another potential accident. In t ...Read More >
Guwahati: The flood situation across Assam continues to be critical, with over 5.6 lakh people in 16 districts reeling under the severe flood, an official bulletin confirmed on Friday. The cumulative death toll from this year's floods and landslides has now climbed to 21, following two more fatalities reported on Thursday. Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge! The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin stated that floodwaters are currently submerging 57 revenue circles and 1,406 villages, impacting a total of 5,61,644 individuals ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Jun 27 (PTI) The discovery of a seemingly stale carcass of a cow in Hugyam forest range in Mahadeshwara Hills on Friday strengthens the doubt that the death of a tigress and her four cubs could be due to poisoning, officials said. These five tigers were found dead in this forest on Thursday. It is suspected that the miscreants had poisoned the cow, and after eating it, the tigress and its cubs might have died. "Either the bovine was poisoned before being left in the forest, or the owner of the cattle, after spotting the dead cow, would have spread poison on its body, which the ti ...Read More >
Munnar: The residential areas of Old Munnar are once again gripped by fear as leopard sightings have been reported near human settlements. An inspection by the Forest Department and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) confirmed the presence of a leopard through the discovery of pugmarks in the area. The animal was reportedly spotted by passersby on Thursday night and again on Friday morning near the KDH Club locality, an area where many tourists are also accommodated. Children playing outside their homes also claimed to have seen the leopard. It is suspected that the animal may have been drawn to t ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday took strong action against the police officers allegedly responsible for the Bengaluru stampede, suspending several high-ranking officials, including the city's police commissioner. Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced a one-man commission to probe the lapses that triggered the deadly stampede. "Cubbon Park Police Station police inspector, station house master, station house officer, ACP, Central Division DCP, cricket stadium in-charge, additional commissioner of police, commissioner of police have been susp ...Read More >
SAMBALPUR: Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary has reported a significant rise in the population of Indian Bison (gaur) with their number increasing to 788 from 659 in just six months. According to the latest census conducted by the Hirakud Wildlife division, the sanctuary is now home to 788 gaurs including 315 juveniles and 128 newborns, indicating the robust breeding and healthy herd dynamics of this Schedule I species. The census was carried out from May 11 to 13 through a three-day direct counting exercise involving 73 units and 147 personnel. It used 122 camera traps and 130 permanent inspecti ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday dismissed Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's criticism regarding the Delhi Zoo's proposed agreement with the Reliance Group's Gujarat-based wildlife facility, saying such collaborations are routine and aimed at improving animal care and management practices. "Some people have made it a habit to create doubts in the mind of the public at every instance," Yadav said on X in response to Ramesh's remarks. He clarified that the National Zoological Park (NZP), also known as the Delhi Zoo, had signed a memorandum of understa ...Read More >
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], June 8 (ANI): Several districts of Rajasthan witnessed an intense heatwave on Sunday, with the highest temperature of 47.4 degrees Celsius recorded in Sri Ganganagar. According to the India Meteorological Centre in Jaipur, the temperatures recorded across different districts were 47.4°C in Sri Ganganagar, 46°C in Bikaner, 45.9°C in Barmer, 45.6°C in Churu, 45.4°C in Phalodi, 45.2°C in Jaisalmer, and 45°C in Kota. Also Read | Anjali Varmora Suicide Case: Young Model Ends Life in Gujarat's Surat, Mental Stress Suspected. A June 8 yellow alert, for heatwave and dust ...Read More >
Haridwar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj on Sunday demanded that hotel, dhaba and eatery owners on the Kanwar Yatra routes should display their names and identities on boards outside their business establishments. The owners, who hide their identities under fake names, on the Kanwar Yatra routes should not be spared, he told reporters here. "Tampering with faith of the Hindu devotees during the Kanwar Yatra will not be tolerated," said the Unnao MP. The food shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes should have a board outside with the names of their owners clearly written on them, h ...Read More >
Jaipur: Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma Friday flagged off the first air-conditioned 'Rajasthan Vahini Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train' from Durgapura railway station under the Devasthan department's Senior Citizens Pilgrimage Scheme-2025. This initiative marked the beginning of the pilgrimage to Rameshwaram, carrying around 800 passengers.Under the scheme, 50,000 senior citizens will travel to 13 different pilgrimage sites via AC trains for the first time this year. The eight-day journey is the longest among the Devasthan department's pilgrimages, including visits to the Ramanathaswamy Jyotirlin ...Read More >
Nagpur: Development without ecology is not development it is devastation in disguise, remarked, environmentalist and member of the State Board for Wildlife Shrikant Tekade while addressing a World Environment Day programme organised by RTO Nagpur in collaboration with the Institute of Environment, Ecology, Health & Management (IEEHM).Speaking on this year's theme 'Beat Plastic Pollution and Deforestation', Tekade painted a grim picture of plastic misuse and its growing impact on both urban and forest ecosystems. He pointed out that Nagpur generates over 1,100 tonnes of municipal waste daily, o ...Read More >
India's next space hero is here. It's Shubhanshu Shukla.In a historic leap for India's space exploration, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Scheduled for launch on June 10, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), Shukla's journey will make history as he becomes the first Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS.Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a pioneering private spaceflight mission that will not only send India's first private astronaut to space but also mark the return to human spa ...Read More >
RANCHI/SILLI/PURULIA/KOLKATA: "Bhagwan Krishna ne aaj bacha liya (Lord Krishna has saved us today)," said farmer Puran Chand Mahto (55) of Mardu village in Ranchi district's Silli block, still unable to believe his luck at being alive to tell the tale of how he and his family - his three daughters and a relative, who is a minor - slept peacefully while a tiger silently crouched in a corner of the same room.Around 4.30am Wednesday, Puran was getting ready for the day. As he stepped out of his thre ...Read More >
Bengaluru, June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said an investigation has been launched into the death of a tigress and its four cubs in the state's Chamarajanagar district, and necessary orders have already been issued, even as two suspects have been held for questioning. Sources said that the authorities have taken two persons into custody on Friday and are questioning them in connection with the incident. Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah said that appropriate action would be taken once the investigation report is submitted. Minister ...Read More >