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.
Odisha's Forest Department has commenced the All India Tiger Estimation-2026 at Similipal Tiger Reserve. This initiative involves a detailed two-phase assessment starting with surveys and culminating in camera trapping. Phase-I focuses on sign and transect surveys, while Phase-II deploys camera traps to gather further data. In a significant move for wildlife conservation, Odisha's Forest Department inaugurated the All India Tiger Estimation-2026 at the Similipal Tiger Reserve. The initiative aim
Ramnagar: (Uttarakhand): The tiger population is rising consistently in the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the forest fringes around it. These days, many tigresses are sighted frequently with their cubs roaming in the forests. This is a big achievement for the forest department but poses a serious challenge, as well. Tigers increased in Corbett and Forest Division: There are more than 260 adult tigers in the Corbett Tiger Reserve at present. Cubs less than two years of age are not included in this count. Apart from this, according to the last All India Tiger Estimation Report, the presence of 67 ...Read More >
BENGALURU: The death of two 10-day-old tiger cubs and the disappearance of their mother for the past two days in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), 227 km from Bengaluru, has alarmed the forest department and the conservation community. On Monday, a forest foot-patrol team found a dead cub near Kirubanakallagudda in the Holemurdatti range of CWS. The following day, another cub was found dead a few metres away. The carcasses, a male and a female, were estimated to be at least three days old. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) PC Ray said postmortem examination revealed that ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Zeenat, the three-year-old tigress from Maharashtra brought to Odisha's Similipal last year under translocation project, is believed to be pregnant after mating with a melanistic male tiger named T-12 Mahabal in May this year. If her pregnancy is confirmed, Zeenat would deliver cubs around August or September this year, said Prem Kumar Jha, Odisha's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife). Love blossomed after Zeenat was released into the wild in April this year. She made the forests between Yamunagarh and Gudugudia in Similipal her new home. In May, she came across a r ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday reacted to his cryptic bird post, apparently directed towards the party's top leadership. Tharoor dismissed to talk about his reported rift with the grand old party publicly, and said that if there were issues to discuss, they would be "discussed privately"."I am not going to get into political issues here. If there are issues to discuss, they would be discussed privately, and when the time comes, I shall do so," he said speaking to reporters at an event in Ahmedabad.Tharoor's growing rift with the Congress Party has come into sharper focus fol ...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 >
Bhubaneswar: A heartening chapter is unfolding deep within the emerald wilderness of Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, where a Royal Bengal tigress named Zeenat, originally from Maharashtra, is believed to be carrying a new generation of cubs -- a milestone that could reshape the future of the region's famed tiger population. Brought to Similipal in 2023 as part of a bold genetic diversification project, Zeenat was tasked with an extraordinary mission: to infuse new bloodlines into a population long shadowed by the risks of inbreeding, particularly among Similipal's rare melanistic (black-co ...Read More >
Pilibhit: Fear returned to Pilibhit's Nauria region on Thursday morning as tigers believed to have earlier killed two farmers launched a fresh series of attacks, leaving one woman dead and two villagers -- including a teenage boy and another woman -- seriously injured in separate incidents within two hours. In Mandaria village, 50-year-old Trishna Devi was killed after being attacked by a tiger around 7 AM while she was working in her field. Her mauled body was recovered from the field shortly after the attack. Just 15 minutes earlier, the same or another tiger had attacked Nilesh, a 15-year- ...Read More >
RANCHI: Tiger pugmarks found on the very first day of the tiger census have lent significant weight to forest officials' claims about the presence of big cats in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). The census began across Jharkhand on December 15. According to officials, it is being carried out across 31 territorial forest divisions and five protected wildlife divisions in the state, including major conservation areas such as the Palamu Tiger Reserve and the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. The exercise is part of a nationwide wildlife enumeration programme conducted once every four years to generate a ...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 >
Karnataka: With a steady increase in the tiger population at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka's Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre has directed officials to begin the process of declaring the region a tiger reserve. He emphasized the need to first collect public opinion from the local communities before proceeding with formal proposals. Chairing a high-level meeting with senior forest officials, including the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, at Vikasa Soudha today, Minister Khandre instructed the depar ...Read More >
KURNOOL: Once feared as one of the ferocious predators roaming the hill tracts of Rayalaseema, wolves appear to have vanished from across Andhra Pradesh. Sources in the Forest department reveal that there have been no sightings or evidence of wolves in any district of AP for over a decade and a half. The department had carried out intense surveillance and deployed special teams in select forest zones. But there has been no trace of the elusive carnivore. Traditionally, wolves have thrived in the forest landscapes of Lankamala, Nallamala, and Seshachalam, as well as the scrub forests of Anant ...Read More >
Nizamabad: Residents along the Nizamabad and Rajanna Sircilla district border are on edge after repeated sightings of a tiger, identified by its pugmarks as "S12." The forest department has stepped up efforts to track the animal's movements, deploying additional camera traps deep inside the reserve forests. On Thursday, a calf was found dead in Pakala village of Sirikonda mandal, prompting fears of another tiger attack. However, following an onsite inspection, district forest officer B. Nikitha and divisional forest officers Bhavani Shanker and Ramakrishna confirmed the kill was made by a leo ...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 >
Puri: Despite travel uncertainties due to recent conflicts in some parts of the world, people from Europe and elsewhere have reached Puri to witness the annual Ratha Yatra of the sibling deities.As non-Hindus are not allowed inside the 12th-century Jagannath Temple, the Ratha Yatra provides a rare opportunity for devotees across the world to see the deities in their full glory atop their majestic wooden chariots."Back home, we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear. But here, I found peace. I came because this is my only chance to see Lord Jagannath. He comes out for the whole world. This is v ...Read More >
Pune: Passengers on board a Goa to Pune SpiceJet flight (SG-1080) had a scare on Tuesday evening when a window panel was found dislodged while the plane was mid-air.The airline played down the incident, saying the window part that had come off was "a non-structural trim component, fitted onto the window for the purpose of shade".But a person on board the plane -- a Bombardier Q400 -- told TOI the incident triggered anxiety among the passengers. "Two to three layers of the window panel just came off," said Aatish Mishra, the passenger."There was no depressurization, but this shouldn't have happ ...Read More >
Mysuru: After the death of five tigers, including four cubs, at MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, forest officials are closely monitoring conflict zones near forest borders. Field officers have been instructed to intensify patrolling in the border areas.Foresters, however, admit there is a shortage of staff for patrolling in tiger reserves across Karnataka. PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden of Karnataka, Prabhash Chandra Ray, said he will review the situation to check any slackness in patrolling practices.The death of five tigers in a single day has added to the tiger mortality in Karnataka ...Read More >
Rishikesh, Feb 3 (PTI) The compilation of data for the tiger census in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar Forest Division, adjoining the Corbett Tiger Reserve, is in its final stages, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Digant Nayak said. The collected data is being compiled into a database, which will be sent to the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand, he said. In the 2022 tiger census, 67 tigers were recorded in the Ramnagar Forest Division -- the highest number reported in any forest division outside a designated tiger reserve in the country, he added. The latest census figures will be released soon, a ...Read More >
India has launched an investigation after an endangered tigress and her four cubs were found dead in a protected forest in the southern state of Karnataka, an official said Friday. State forest minister Eshwar Khandre said the "unnatural" deaths were "extremely tragic and distressing" and that an investigation team had been formed. Local media reports said forest officials suspected poisoning. The tigress had reportedly killed a cow days earlier, and poison may have been laced into the carcass ...Read More >
Chennai: Madras high court has clarified that private self-financing medical colleges are required to pay only a stipend, and not a full salary, to in-service govt doctors pursuing postgraduate or super-specialty courses under the govt quota.A division bench of Justice R Subramanian and Justice K Surender passed the order while partly allowing a batch of appeals moved by Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College and others. They challenged a single judge's order that directed private colleges to pay salaries to in-service doctors studying in their institutions.The appeals were moved based on a GO dated ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: In a first, college and school students will participate in the upcoming All India Tiger Estimation 2025-26 at Odisha's Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary scheduled to begin in the second week of November. A total of 46 students from Dunguri College, Kamgaon College and Lakhanpur High School are currently undergoing training for the national-level census. "The students are being trained in sampling techniques, data gathering, recognising herbivores and carnivores, and detecting indicators like pugmarks, footprints, scrape marks, scent markings, and calls," said Divisional Forest Office ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary on Friday recorded an increase of 129 Indian bison in the summer census in just a few months, bringing their total count to 788. In the winter census, their number was 659.This time, Debrigarh, the lone sanctuary in the state with a rich bison density, recorded 60 herds, compared to 52 herds in the last census.The 788 gaurs include 315 juveniles (less than two years old) and 128 newborns (less than three months old). The juveniles constitute 40% of the total population."Due to the increase in population, herds keep drifting, with female adults leading ...Read More >
Pune, July 15 (PTI) As many as 14 deer have died over the last four to five days in the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Pune due to unidentified reasons, officials said on Tuesday. A Pune Municipal Corporation veterinary officer said authorities are examining various possibilities including infection through the deer feed to identify the cause behind the fatalities. He said medical reports are awaited to understand the details. "Bucks are drying every day since the last four to five days. On Tuesday, no fresh fatality was reported. The death toll so far is 14," a civic official said without ...Read More >
Bengaluru, August 4: A shocking incident has come to light from Karnataka, where the deaths of 20 peacocks have rocked a village. It is reported that carcasses of three male and 17 female peacocks were allegedly found in Hanumanthapura village. Notably, the carcasses were found near a stream by local farmers and were allegedly scattered across a farmland this morning, August 4. That said, the cause of the death of the peacocks, the country's national bird, is yet to be ascertained. According to a report in NDTV, forest officials reached the spot after being alerted about the incident. They in ...Read More >
Ramnagar, Uttarakhand: The wilderness of Corbett Tiger Reserve may be testaments to tales of majestic tigers and thriving biodiversity, but for the women living around its periphery, these greens echo concerns about privacy and freedom. Their lives, long intertwined with the forest, are under constant vigil of unrelenting gaze. Surveillance cameras, once meant only for tigers, now seem to watch them too! Trishant Simlai, a researcher from University of Cambridge who conducted a gargantuan study on the easy gaze of technology on women, sheds light on the unintended consequence of conservation ...Read More >
BENGALURU: Karnataka's Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister, Eshwar B Khandre, has recommended the suspension of three forest officials in connection with the death of a tigress and her four cubs due to poisoning in the Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. The officials are accused of gross dereliction of duty, which allegedly contributed to the tragic deaths. The officials named are Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Y Chakrapani, Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Hanur wildlife range, Gajanna Hegde, and Range Forest Officer-cum-Surveyor of the Hoogyam Wildlife Range, ...Read More >
Guwahati, Jul 14 (PTI) Over 40 bird species, including a critically endangered and two endangered ones, have been recorded in the first-ever grassland survey in Assam's Kaziranga National Park, a state minister said on Monday. "Thrilled to share that @kaziranga_'s first-ever grassland survey has recorded 43 grassland bird species - including 1 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, and 6 Vulnerable species, plus several regional endemics," Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said in a post on X. The Brahmaputra floodplain ecosystem boasts the highest diversity of grassland obligate birds in ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Indian government Tuesday said it has added the 57th tiger reserve to its tally. According to India's federal ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the latest to join the list is Ratapani Tiger Reserve in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. "We continue to make great strides in conserving our tigers ... The latest to join the list is Ratapani Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh," federal minister of environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav said in a statement. "As a country of nature lovers and worshippers, India offers the best h ...Read More >
MYSURU/BENGALURU: A tigress and her four cubs were found dead on Thursday in Hoogyam forest range of Karnataka's Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, in what officials called the state's worst single-day tiger death toll at a single location. Preliminary suspicion: poisoning.Forest officials said that the tigress had killed a cow days earlier. Poison is believed to have been laced into the carcass - bait that may have killed the tigress and her cubs after they fed on it. An autopsy is scheduled Friday to confirm the cause.State forest minister Eshwar Khandre called the deaths "unnatural ...Read More >
Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday called for a response from central and state authorities in a petition challenging permissions, approvals, and work orders issued for the construction of a tourist resort on the Surla plateau in the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, which is to be notified as a tiger reserve. In July 2023, the court directed state to notify the sanctuary and adjacent sanctuaries as a tiger reserve following recommendations from the national tiger conservation authority under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Goa Foundation submitted to the high court.The land design ...Read More >
Pilibhit (UP), Jul 15 (PTI) A day after a farmer was killed by a tiger in Fulhar village of Pilibhit district, forest officials said on Tuesday that their team was tracking the animal and it would be captured as soon as the conditions are favourable. Dayaram, 39, was mauled to death by the tiger in his field in Bari Phulhar village, the sixth tiger attack in two months in the region. According to the forest team engaged in tracking the tiger, the animal also attempted to attack its personnel, though fortunately no serious injuries occurred. The tiger was last spotted near Auraiya village, l ...Read More >