Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
DINESH Rama of Sathvadi village in Karnataka is 12, and typical of the youngsters in rural South Kanara district, who migrate in large numbers to Bangalore, Madras and even Delhi, in search of a livelihood. Long-exploited by the Shettys (landlords), Dinesh and his friends would normally have resigned themselves to …
SCIENTISTS at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore have successfully used viruses to control pests. Mass production units are now being set up to meet the rapidly increasing demand for these viruses, says P C Sundara Babu, head of the entomology department at TNAU. TNAU scientists are using …
Many springs changed colour and flow after the earthquake. The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology says a large number of springs became completely dry, but some began to discharge murky water with a burnt smell. In other places, discharge levels recorded perceptible increases -- about eight times the normal flow …
A report by a scientist claiming Indian chocolates are deliciously dangerous because they contain excessive cancer-causing nickel has sent the manufacturers to court and set off a panic among consumers. Not surprisingly, in the nasty slanging match that has followed, the manufacturers and M C Saxena. seem to be quoting …
A WORLDWIDE study of fertility research says men today have just about half the sperm count of men 50 years ago and there has also been an appreciable drop in the average volume of seminal fluid. These findings raise worries that male reproductive organs may be getting adversely affected by …
GROWING piles of garbage in the mountains have led the Himalayan Environment Trust to release a code of conduct for climbers. With the rise in the number of Himalayan expeditions, Jarge amounts of waste that are left on mountain slopes are becoming a major source of pollution. The new code …
SCIENTISTS D S J Choy and P Altman working at the Investigative Cardiology Laboratory attached to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, USA, have turned their attention to dinosaur hearts (The Lancet, volume 340, number 8818). Intrigued by the sheer size of the Barosaurus, a long-necked dinosaur that …
A GERALAN ship carrying a load of the dual-use chemical trimethyl phosphate (TMP) exported from India to Syria is now stuck in Cyprus after Germany refused to allow the cargo to be offloaded for onward shipment. The USA is said to have asked the German authorities to stop the shipment …
European Space Agency (ESA) officials are heaving a sigh of relief following a report from the US National Research Council that says probes landing on Mars need not be sterilised if they are not conducting extraterrestrial biological experiments (Nature, Vol 358 No 6389). ESA was worried that stringent planet protection …
THE FISH and the fishermen are both in trouble. To prevent a total collapse of fish stocks and the fishing industry, a drastic reduction in the European Community's (EC) fishing fleet has been proposed under the Sea Fish (Conservation) Bill. The critically low fish stock includes cod and haddock. The …
The Bedti hydro-electric project in Karnataka is in the midst of another controversy. The project, which was scrapped in the early 1980s following protests from farmers and environmentalists, is being considered by the state afresh. Environmentalists had won the first round when, under immense pressure, the Karnataka Power Corporation (KPQ …
Calcutta's wetlands (bheris) have got a new lease of life. The Calcutta High Court has ordered the West Bengal government to stop reclaiming the wetlands. The court also directed the Calcutta Municipal Corporation to use the Town and Country Planning Act's provisions to prevent any private organisation from encroaching on …
Women are prescribed twice more psychotropic drugs than men, a discovery that has led to much debate in Britain. Is it because women tend to consult psychiatrists whereas men pour their hearts out to their favourite bartenders? Are women more forthcoming than men to doctors? Data suggests men are less …
Bamboo roofs, floors, and even doors: that's the style of houses in the northeastern states, home to more than 50 per cent of the genetic resources of Indian bamboo. Of the nearly 100 species belonging to 19 genera in the country, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam together account for 16 …
Scientists have successfully used tiny wasps and an invisible fungus disease to battle pests destroying cassava crops in Africa and South America. Cassava, a starchy root crop native to Latin America, was taken across the Atlantic by Portuguese traders four centuries ago and is now a major food for more …
THE VILLAGERS of Pali, 30 km from Delhi in Faridabad, are up ip arms over a move to set up 300 stone- crushing units on panchayat land that was once theirs and have gone to court to get a stay. The Faridabad Complex Administration (FCA), acting on a Supreme Court …
The climate over parts of Turkey was severely affected in 1991-92 by heavy smoke billowing from Kuwaiti oil-wells set ablaze in the Gulf War. Hunay Evliya, a chemistry professor in the southern Turkish town of Adana, said the smoke led to black rain and the winter was the coldest recorded …
COMMERCIAL felling of trees and forest management techniques are threatening birds that nest in cavities of tree trunks. Such birds prefer diseased, dying or dead trees because it is easier to find or excavate' cavities in such trees. However, forest management requires the removal of all dead and diseased trees …
SOME interesting programmes on indigenous science and technology are lined up in the coming months in various parts of the country. The Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha-92, inaugurated in New Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2), will continue till National Science Day, February 28. The objective is to involve voluntary groups, …
RAIN IN the hills usually evokes romantic images. But in the Himalaya, the monsoon often becomes macabre. It had been raining incessantly through the evening of September 2 and the inhabitants of the seven villages in the Angoth gram sabha of Chamoli district were getting ready to sleep. In nearby …
