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10 hours ago
- General
- Scroll.in
The return of endangered turtles in the Ganga
The red-crowned roofed turtle or batagur kachuga, which was almost on the verge of extinction in the Ganga river, has made a comeback after 30 years. In April, 20 turtles were translocated from the Garheta Turtle Conservation Centre – located within and under the supervision of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh – and released at the Haiderpur wetland, a Ramsar site located in the state, part of river Ganga. In collaboration with Namami Gange – the Ganga conservation mission by the Indian government, the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, and the India Turtle Conservation Program, the critically endangered red-crowned turtles have been released and these turtles have been tagged with sonic devices to monitor their safety and migration. Rehabilitation Red-crowned roofed turtles were once found in the Ganges river and its tributaries. But in the past 30 years, their numbers have decreased due to excessive hunting, illegal trade, loss of habitat and change in the flow of the river. The turtle is endemic to India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is also found in the Brahmaputra river region. Now, the only place in the country where a good number of these turtles are left is the National Chambal Sanctuary. And now, this area which is its natural home, is also in danger. It is estimated that less than 500 female turtles are left here. In May 2021, a resident of Duhri, a village in UP's Hapur district spotted a large turtle. When experts examined it, they found that it was the same Batagur kachuga which had not been seen in the Ganga river for 30 years. Then, in March 2023, two nests were found in another village nearby, where 21 babies were born and released into the river after rearing. This was a clear indication that some turtles are still alive in the Ganges. For the rehabilitation process, the turtles were divided into two groups – one group was released above a barrage at the Haiderpur wetland, while the other group was released into the mainstream of the Ganga river. The aim was to determine which method is the most effective for the rehabilitation of turtles. There are 12 species of turtles found in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, of which four are part of conservation efforts. 'Our effort is to conserve flagship species in the Ganga such as gharials, dolphins and turtles,' Rajesh Kumar, former Divisional Forest Officer of Meerut Forest Division, told Mongabay India. 'Twenty red-crowned roofed turtles were brought from Chambal and divided into two groups. Out of this, five males and five females were released in the Haiderpur Barrage and the same number of pairs were released in the (mainstream) Ganga river,' he added. Telemetry study 'This study is the first telemetry-based monitoring effort of these turtles in the Ganga river,' said Pawan Shantiprakash Pareek, a researcher with the Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India, who is coordinating the project and monitoring the movement of turtles. Explaining the technology to Mongabay India, he said, 'The transmitter fitted on each turtle gives information to the scientists about which direction the turtle is moving in, which place it is adopting to and how it is behaving. From this data, it will be analysed how this species is adapting itself to the circumstances after entering the Ganga and what threats it is facing.' The turtles that were released were carefully selected based on health, sex and body parameters. Scientific procedures such as rehydration, stress reduction, and transporting during the night to avoid heat, were followed during the translocation. Elaborating on the precautions taken in attaching the transmitter, Pareek said, 'It has plates made of keratin on its back, which are similar in structure to human nails, making it easier to attach the tag. Our team, very carefully, glued these transmitters in a way that the turtle does not suffer any injury or discomfort. We ensured that the device is well attached and the chances of any kind of harm are minimal.' The acoustic tags used in this study were attached externally to the back (dorsal carapace) of these turtles which essentially are hard-shelled freshwater turtles. He explained, 'Conservation work on three turtle species in the Ganga has been going on with the World Wide Fund for Nature-India since 2010. Earlier, we used to do soft release – turtles were released into the water from time to time.' He added, 'Apart from Meerut, a hatchery has also been built in Bulandshahr for three species of turtles. However, this time, the Batagur (kachuga) turtle will be monitored with the help of technology, which will help in conservation.' Real-time monitoring All turtles have been fitted with a transmitter that emits signals at a specific frequency. This has made it possible to identify each turtle individually and track its activities. 'This system allows us to continuously monitor each turtle's movement, habitat choice and behavioural patterns,' explains Pareek. 'This process will help understand how the turtles are responding after their reintroduction, adapting to the new environment, and dealing with ecological challenges. Future conservation and management strategies will be formulated based on these data,' he added. A special team is monitoring these turtles daily to understand how many turtles are alive and how they are spreading in the new environment. This monitoring focuses particularly on the turtles' habitat preferences, their movement patterns, and potential threats that may affect their survival and movement. 'This information will help us plan for the future and understand what is working and what is not while rehabilitating these turtles,' says Pareek. Today, human activities as well as climate change are emerging as the biggest threats to these turtles. Pareek elaborates, 'In all turtles, the sex is determined by the temperature of the eggs. If the temperature is high, then more of the same sex, ie, females will be born. This can disturb the balance of the entire population.' Additionally, changes such as unseasonal rains and sudden water releases can destroy nests and disrupt the breeding cycle. Public participation Sadhus and saints living on the banks of the Ganga have also been included in conservation efforts. 'People listen to these sadhus. If they say that the turtles are sacred, people will stop fishing and hunting. Currently, more than 20 sadhus are helping in this work. Illegal activities have reduced considerably in the areas around their ashram,' says Pareek. Kumar says, 'There is a lot of awareness among the local people about these aquatic creatures. Our efforts with WWF-India involve creating awareness among farmers to save turtle eggs in the fields. Farmers are so aware that they have started protecting turtle nests. Sadhus, saints and school children are also cooperating in this effort.' 'AI cameras and drones are also used for monitoring, but sonar technology is very effective for underwater creatures. These were also used in the dolphin surveys,' Kumar said. Raman Kant Tyagi, a river expert and the director of Neer Foundation that works on grassroots level activities for environmental awareness, told Mongabay India, 'The return of the red-crowned roofed turtle to the Ganga after 30 years is not just a biological event, but it is a sign of the success of river conservation efforts. The health of any river can be judged by the aquatic life living in it.' He added, 'Thanks to government efforts like Namami Gange, crocodiles and turtles are being released. Sewage Treatment Plants are being built, biodiversity parks and awareness campaigns are also being initiated. However, the impact of these efforts on the ground is limited because there is a lack of proper engagement with society. There is a need to encourage the participation of saints and students.' He elaborated and said, 'Organisations such as the Bhartiya Nadi Parishad are acting as a bridge between society and the government. In the future, obstacles like corruption, bureaucracy and lack of public participation will have to be overcome to make river rejuvenation successful at the grassroots level.' Commenting on the quality of the water in Ganga, Kumar said that since Meerut is a rural area, there is less pollution in the river here. 'Cities like Banaras have the problem of sewage but here, the water of Kali river, a tributary of Ganga, is received indirectly. This area is protected, so sewage is not received directly.' He added, 'Two sewage treatment plants of 220 megalitres per day and 65 MLD are proposed in the city, due to which, in the near future, the drain water will reach the Ganga river only after being cleaned.'
The Wire
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
Remembering Jim Masselos, the Australian Scholar of Bombay's Social History
James Cosmas Masselos (1940-2025) studied and wrote about Bombay/Mumbai for six decades. He was a pioneer in the study of the history of urban South Asia, held in great esteem and affection by generations of scholars who regard his work as foundational to their own. Jim was at the tail end of a generation of Australians who made a global impact on London in the 1960s such as Germaine Greer, Robert Hughes and Barry Humphries. However, after graduating from the University of Sydney, Jim headed not to London but instead made the journey by sea to Bombay (as it was) on a studentship funded by the Indian government under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan. Supervised by Professor William Coelho at the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, St Xavier's College, Jim submitted his doctoral thesis to the University of Bombay in 1964. This was a study of the origins of nationalist associations in late 19th century Bombay and Poona. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jim wrote a series of essays which laid the foundations for a new kind of urban social history. He explored how 19th-century Bombay was made from below by a range of social actors. These writings traversed a range of themes: the world of the urban mohalla, crowds and popular culture, and the changing rhythms of everyday life in the city. In the 1980s, Jim began his work on Congress' efforts at popular mobilisation in inter-war Bombay, then in the early 1990s, he looked at how other visions of the political that threatened to undercut its secular fabric. Thus, shortly after the 1992-93 riots in Mumbai, he published an essay that examined the first Hindu-Muslim riots in the city a century earlier. Professor Prashant Kidambi quotes an essay of Jim's from 1992: 'Bombay was always an Indian city; even in the days of the Raj Bombay was never merely a white enclave surrounded by an Asiatic universe.' It was a view that stood in stark contrast to prevailing notions of the so-called 'colonial city', which regarded it as a largely European construct in whose fashioning Indians had little or no role. Jim drew on empirical and archival material using strong analytical frameworks. He underlined the shaping of Bombay by the dynamic between the formally 'defined city' and the informally inhabited 'effective city'. Again Kidambi quotes Jim: 'The city defies the intentions of its masters to impose an orderly planned pattern upon it. The contrast between the habitation wishes of its population and the plans of those who formally control the shape of the city remains a constant tension in the structure of the relationships which create the urban complex.' Kidambi notes four major themes in Jim's work: 'First, he has documented the ways in which urban communities, far from being manifestations of primordial cultural identities, were historically reconstituted in the modern city. Second, he has shown a remarkably keen and prescient awareness of the centrality of space in the making and unmaking of these communities. Third, he has highlighted how diverse forms of power, operating at different scales, have structured social relations in the city. And finally, he has also been concerned with how one form of power, that expressed in the discursive practices of nationalism, sought to acquire and exercise hegemony in the city.' Bombay before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos, edited by Prashant Kidambi, Manjiri Kamat, and Rachel Dwyer. Using these four divisions, Kidambi structured the book of papers that was co-edited by him, Professor Manjiri Kamat of Mumbai University and myself that were published in the UK (Hurst Publishers), India (Penguin) and the USA (Oxford University Press) as Bombay before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos (2019). These drew from presentations made at a conference held in his honour at the Department of History, University of Mumbai, in 2017. Many urban historians and colleagues remembered him when he passed away. Manjari Kamat wrote to me and said: 'Jim Masselos, an alumnus of University of Mumbai and former Honorary Reader in History at the University of Sydney can be seen as a pioneer among the urban historians of Bombay." "His later writings, particularly his seminal article, The Power in the Bombay Moholla which appeared in the journal, South Asia in 1976 and the articles he published thereafter on crowd events in the city during the nationalist movement inspired historians to shift their attention to neighbourhood networks and popular movements to understand India's urban modernity and the unfolding of the nationalist movement in Bombay. "It was Jim's constant endeavour to connect the present to the past as in the case of his article on the1993 riots juxtaposed with a study of the riots of 1893 that set him apart and reflected his deep engagement with the changes and continuities in his beloved city of Bombay.' Jim's colleague in the University of Sydney, professor Robert Aldrich said: 'Jim was a much loved teacher of courses in Indian history, Southeast Asian history and other fields, his classes always enriched by his sojourns in Asia and his deep appreciation of Asian art, film and culture in general. Jim shared his passion for history and for South Asia. Just last year, a colleague told me how he had just met and chatted with a group of undergraduates whom she was taking to Mumbai for a summer course – and how excited the students were to see one of Jim's books on a display table in a bookshop when they were there. Jim was immensely kind and generous with his students, many of whom became lifelong friends (and some them distinguished scholars in their own right), and they have now been remembering him with great fondness and sadness at his passing.' There is a consensus about Jim that he was not only a fine scholar but a great friend, a supportive mentor, a generous sharer of his time. My husband and I were lucky to get to know Jim over many years, first meeting during the riots in Bombay of December 1992. My husband was unwell, so Jim and I went to wonderful parties hosted by journalists and writers. He introduced me to many film makers including Shyam Benegal and Mani Kaul. I remember walking back from a party on Malabar Hill along Marine Drive talking and laughing uproariously. I kept wondering why my new acquaintances kept saying Michael (now well) looked much younger and better. It was only when he was asked why he'd shaved off his beard I realised they meant Jim which led to much more laughter and wondering if Greek Australians and British Irishmen looked the same. I was a doctoral student when I met Jim and he set me the example of never talking down to people. He talked to everyone with respect and kindness. He had three sisters of whom he was very fond and he occasionally talked about growing up in Sydney of Greek heritage. He used to get me to try to say 'Dimitri' (his Greek name) correctly and laughed at my hopelessly romantic Hellenophilia. Jim certainly had the famous Greek xenophilia – love of foreign people and cultures, the opposite of xenophobia. He had many friends in India from royalty to the ordinary person. He wasn't interested in money or status at all and was happy to tramp around the streets although allowing himself more comfort in retirement. Jim was also extraordinarily hospitable at home, throwing parties and dinners for us, making our way to his kitchen through the books and papers that had spread from his study and were taking over his whole house. He always took time out when we visited to show us around Sydney, his other favourite city. Jim often worked with Jackie Menzies, the Head of the Asian Art at the Art Gallery Gallery of New South Wales, holding conferences there and leaving them most of his enormous collection of Indian artefacts. He was an immensely cultured man and loved art and cinema (though I never persuaded him to like 'Bollywood'). The four of us met several times in Australia and in London and ate at restaurants and drank good wine, creating lifelong memories. One time Jim, Michael and I went to a very fancy restaurant – then the most famous – in Sydney where Jim was allowed to bring some special bottles from his cellar. The waves at Bondi Beach were much louder than usual the next day. Jim had not been in good health for a while and was very ill over the last few months. I had hoped that I would get to see him one last time but it wasn't to be. Perhaps it's best to remember him as he was with his jhola and his cigarette, always smiling and full of great conversation. Eonia i mnimi – eternal memory.
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Business Standard
17-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Vadra skips ED summons again, cites court's permission to travel abroad
Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, skipped his scheduled deposition before the Enforcement Directorate for the second time in a money laundering case linked to UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, official sources said on Tuesday. Vadra's lawyer said his client was travelling abroad with the "prior" permission of the court to attend his daughter's graduation ceremony. He was asked to appear on Tuesday (June 17) after he failed to do so on June 10. The federal probe agency may issue him a fresh date after examining his reply. The permission to travel (on June 17) was obtained well before the service of the latest summons and an intimation has been sent to the ED also, advocate Suman Jyoti Khaitan said. "Mr Vadra has repeatedly stated that he is available to extend his fullest cooperation with the ED as he has done on all prior occasions, both upon his return from abroad and also for recording his statement through video conference during his stay abroad if required by them," he said. The businessman had skipped the June 10 summons saying he had flu-like symptoms on June 9 and had undertaken a Covid test as per protocol. The agency is understood to be summoning Vadra to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and subsequently file a charge sheet in the case. The federal probe agency had questioned the businessman for three consecutive days in April in a separate money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a 2008 land deal in Haryana. He is being investigated in three money laundering cases by the ED. Bhandari (63), an alleged associate of Vadra, fled to London in 2016, soon after the Income Tax Department raided him in Delhi. A UK court earlier this month refused an application filed by the Indian government seeking permission to appeal in Britain's Supreme Court against the discharge of Bhandari in an extradition case, virtually ruling out chances of him being brought to the country to face the law. The ED filed a charge sheet in this case in 2023, alleging that Bhandari acquired the 12, Bryanston Square house in London in 2009 and got it renovated "as per the directions of Robert Vadra, who provided the funds for the renovation". Vadra has denied that he owns any London property directly or indirectly. Terming the charges a "political witch hunt", Vadra said he was being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. The ED is also investigating Vadra in a separate money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in a land deal in Rajasthan's Bikaner.
DW
12-06-2025
- Business
- DW
Air India: What you need to know after crash – DW – 06/12/2025
A crash involving an Air India jet comes as the flag carrier undergoes a major revamp under the Tata Group's ownership. An Air India passenger plane with over 240 people on board crashed Thursday in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. It's one of the worst aviation disasters in the South Asian nation's history. The accident comes as the airline's owner, the Tata Group, is working to revamp the carrier. Airline with a rich history Founded in 1932 as Tata Airlines by Indian business tycoon J. R. D. Tata, Air India was once a national icon. The Indian government took over and nationalized the airline in 1953. Years of mismanagement and government interference in business operations turned the then national carrier into an inefficient, money-losing enterprise. After India opened up the civil aviation sector to private players in the 1990s, Air India struggled further with rising competition, particularly in the low-cost segment, leading to ballooning debts. Air India returns to the Tatas The Indian government's initial attempts to privatize Air India yielded no results due to the carrier's heavy debt burden. New Delhi also wanted to keep a share in the airline. No apparent survivors in Air India plane crash To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As it struggled to find a buyer, the government ultimately gave up on retaining a stake and also settled for the buyer covering only a fraction of the airline's debts. Then, in 2022, India's largest and oldest conglomerate, the Tata Group, bought Air India for roughly $2.4 billion, marking the carrier's return to the Tata fold nearly seven decades after it was nationalized. How big is Air India? Prior to acquiring Air India, Tata had been operating two other airlines of its own, the budget carrier AirAsia India with Malaysian airline AirAsia Berhad, and full-service carrier Vistara, in a partnership with Singapore airlines. Last year, the company consolidated all the different airlines under its ownership into a combined Air India Group, which is currently the second-biggest airline in the South Asian nation in terms of passenger numbers, trailing only IndiGo in that respect. It commands a roughly 30% share of India's domestic traffic and accounts for 56% of international passengers among the country's airlines. The group has a fleet of about 300 aircraft, both narrow- and wide-body models from both Airbus and Boeing, and carried a total of 45.8 million domestic air passengers in 2024, according to Business Standard, an Indian daily. Air India's global network spans 31 countries across five continents, connecting India with destinations in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. What did the Tatas do to revamp Air India? After the Tata Group purchased Air India, many hoped it would swiftly revive the airline's fortunes. The conglomerate has since sought to turn around the ailing carrier by ordering new jets and upgrading its existing fleet. It placed a major order for new planes — 470 in total — from Airbus and Boeing in February 2023. Last December, the airline announced it would buy a further 100 jets from Airbus. And Reuters news agency reported earlier in June that Air India was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a major new aircraft deal including some 200 extra single-aisle planes. Air India flight crashes more withthan 240 people on board To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The company also unveiled a new logo and branding in mid-2023, in addition to plans to modernize its aircraft interiors, among other measures. In September 2024, Air India kicked off a $400 million (€345 million) refit program to revamp some legacy aircraft in its fleet. Some operational and internal issues related to the airlines' merger, however, are still being ironed out. What's the state of India's aviation market? India's aviation sector has witnessed rapid growth over the past decade amid robust economic expansion and people's rising disposable incomes. The industry is projected to maintain its growth path in the coming years, with more passengers, aircraft and airports. At present, India is the world's fourth-largest air market, including both domestic and international travel. The International Air Transport Association projects that it will become the third biggest over the next decade. The Indian government is also pumping billions into building new airports, as well as expanding and modernizing existing ones, earmarking around $11 billion for the purpose. It wants to increase the number of airports to between 350 and 400 by 2047, the centenary of India's independence. Additionally, India has become the world's largest aircraft purchaser after the US and China, with its fleet size set to grow from 713 to upwards of 2,000 over the next decade. Edited by: Wesley Rahn
DW
12-06-2025
- Business
- DW
What you need to know about Air India – DW – 06/12/2025
A crash involving an Air India jet comes as the flag-carrier undergoes a major revamp under the Tata Group's ownership. An Air India passenger plane with over 240 people on board crashed Thursday in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. It's one of the worst aviation disasters in the South Asian nation's history. The accident comes as the airline's owner, the Tata Group, is working to revamp the carrier. Airline with a rich history Founded in 1932 as Tata Airlines by Indian business tycoon J. R. D. Tata, Air India was once a national icon. The Indian government took over and nationalized the airline in 1953. Years of mismanagement and government interference in business operations turned the then national carrier into an inefficient, money-losing enterprise. After India opened up the civil aviation sector to private players in the 1990s, Air India struggled further with rising competition, particularly in the low-cost segment, leading to ballooning debts. No apparent survivors in Air India plane crash To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Air India returns to the Tatas The Indian government's initial attempts to privatize Air India yielded no results due to the carrier's heavy debt burden. New Delhi also wanted to keep a share in the airline. As it struggled to find a buyer, the government ultimately gave up on retaining a stake and also settled for the buyer covering only a fraction of the airline's debts. Then, in 2022, India's largest and oldest conglomerate, the Tata Group, bought Air India for roughly $2.4 billion, marking the carrier's return to the Tata fold nearly seven decades after it was nationalized. How big is Air India? Prior to acquiring Air India, Tata had been operating two other airlines of its own, the budget carrier AirAsia India with Malaysian airline AirAsia Berhad, and full-service carrier Vistara in a partnership with Singapore airlines. Last year, the company consolidated all the different airlines under its ownership into a combined Air India Group, which is currently the second-biggest airline in the South Asian nation in terms of passenger numbers, next only to IndiGo. It commands a roughly 30% share of India's domestic traffic and accounts for 56% of international passengers among the country's airlines. The group has a fleet of about 300 aircraft, both narrow- and wide-body models from both Airbus and Boeing, and carried a total of 45.8 million domestic air passengers in 2024, according to Business Standard, an Indian daily. Air India's global network spans 31 countries across five continents, connecting India with destinations in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. What did the Tatas do to revamp Air India? After the Tata Group purchased Air India, many hoped it would swiftly revive the airline's fortunes. The conglomerate has since sought to turn around the ailing carrier by ordering new jets and upgrading its existing fleet. It placed a major order for new planes — 470 in total — from Airbus and Boeing in February 2023. Last December, the airline announced it would buy a further 100 jets from Airbus. And Reuters news agency reported earlier in June that Air India was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a major new aircraft deal including some 200 extra single-aisle planes. The company also unveiled a new logo and branding in mid-2023, in addition to plans to modernize its aircraft interiors, among other measures. In September 2024, Air India kicked off a $400 million refit program to revamp some legacy aircraft in its fleet. Some operational and internal issues related to the airlines' merger, however, are still being ironed out. What's the state of India's aviation market? India's aviation sector has witnessed rapid growth over the past decade amid robust economic expansion and people's rising disposable incomes. The industry is projected to maintain its growth path in the coming years, with more passengers, aircraft and airports. At present, India is the world's fourth-largest air market, including both domestic and international travel. The International Air Transport Association projects that it will become the third biggest over the next decade. The Indian government is also pumping billions into building new airports, as well as expanding and modernizing existing ones, earmarking around $11 billion for the purpose. It wants to increase the number of airports to between 350 and 400 by 2047, the centenary of India's independence. Additionally, India has become the world's largest aircraft purchaser after the US and China, with its fleet size set to grow from 713 to upwards of 2,000 over the next decade. Edited by: Wesley Rahn
