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India Gazette
7 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary holds meeting ahead of Kanwar Yatra
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], June 27 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan held a meeting of the Interstate Coordination Committee in Haridwar's CCR Auditorium to ensure smooth, pleasant and safe conduct of the upcoming Kanwar Mela. Senior officials from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan participated in the meeting through both offline and online mediums. On this occasion, Chief Secretary Bardhan stated that the Kanwar Mela is a significant festival of faith and devotion. He said that the district administration, police and other related departments should ensure tight arrangements to ensure the safe nd successful completion of the Kanwar Yatra. He also discussed sharing real-time coordination and data with all the states. All necessary inputs should be shared from a security point of view. The Chief Secretary emphasised the maximum use of modern technology in the arrangements of the Kanwar Mela. He said that all preparations should be made with the upcoming Kumbh Mela in mind so that the experiences of the fair are also beneficial during Kumbh. The Chief Secretary said that tight arrangements should be ensured for law and order and traffic management during the Kanwar fair. He also instructed the district administration to use BHEL parking if required. Safety standards should be followed in the dhabas and hotels located on the Yatra route, and rate lists should be mandatorily displayed. DGP Deepam Seth said that every event presents new challenges. He said that to ensure this fair of faith and devotion is conducted in a safe manner, real-time information should be shared, and any kind of rumour should be uniformly denied. Only those workers who are proficient in their work should be sent to each other state. He said that information about 'what to do and what not to do' for Kanwariyas and devotees should be mandatorily displayed on the Yatra routes. The expectations of inter-state coordination should be fulfilled, and the fair should be conducted peacefully. In the meeting, Home Secretary Shailesh Bagauli stated that devotees participating in the yatra should not encounter any problems, the traffic system should be simple, easy, and safe, and all preparations should be made with the devotees' convenience in mind. District Magistrate Mayur Dixit and SSP Pramod Singh Dobal gave detailed information about the preparations being made for the Kanwar Yatra, including the duration of the Kanwar Yatra, the percentage of devotees coming from different states, traffic management plan, social media monitoring through a PowerPoint presentation. On behalf of Uttar Pradesh, DIG Abhishek gave detailed information about the ongoing preparations, including the travel plan. It was decided in the meeting that all the necessary information and inputs should be shared in real-time from a security point of view, social media should be monitored, and links for strict action against those spreading rumours should also be shared. The Kanwars should not be more than 10 feet in height. The SOP related to liquor and meat should be strictly followed. All identified DJ operators should be bound off by giving notice as per the rules. Uttarakhand should inform Uttar Pradesh about the parking situation in Haridwar from time to time. ADJ Bhanu Bhaskar from Uttar Pradesh, Home Secretary Mohit Gupta, Commissioner Meerut Division Rishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, Commissioner Bareilly Saumya Aggarwal, Commissioner Saharanpur AK Rai, DIG Saharanpur Abhishek Singh, IG RPF Pankaj Gangwar, IG Nilesh Anand Bharane from Uttarakhand, NS Napalchal, DIG Dhirendra Gunjyal, SSP Dehradun Ajay Singh, Mela Adhikari Sonika, and senior officials of the five states were present in the meeting. (ANI)
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Elephant census concludes in South Karnataka; incessant rains affect final day exercise
The three-day elephant census as a mandate prescribed by the Interstate Coordination Committee (ICC) charter concluded on Sunday, and the results are expected to indicate the elephant population trends in South Karnataka region. The census commenced on May 23 with block sampling or direct count exercise followed by line transect exercise on Saturday. On Sunday, it was waterhole count exercise to assess sex distribution and age. However, incessant rains across the region affected the exercise on the final day. As rains pounded the forests, waterhole was not the only source for elephants. A senior official in Nagarahole who visited multiple sites said not a single elephant had visited the waterhole as rain had ensured water availability everywhere. However, this will not drastically affect the robustness of data collected on the first two days which will help in assessing population estimation and density, the official added. Ramesh Kumar, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve said as the elephant census are being held regularly from three years, the sex-ratio will not be drastically different. The data collected on the first-two days are more important, he added. The census was part of a synchronised exercised carried out across south India. In Karnataka, it was held simultaneously in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, BRT Tiger Reserve, Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Cauvery Wildlife, M.M. Hills, Madikeri Territorial, Madikeri Wildlife, Virajpet, Bannerghatta National Park, Kolar, Chikkamagalur and Shivamogga Wildlife Divisions. The census exercise was mandated by the ICC charter to generate and share the database of elephant population in a bid to resolve human-elephant conflicts that are on an upward trend, especially in forests bordering the three south Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In addition, parts of south interior Karnataka – as in Hassan and Chikkamagalur – too experience conflict resulting in deaths of both humans and elephants. Kolar, which shares border with both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, has also been witnessing a rise in conflict. Incidentally, a larger nation-wide synchronised census used to be conducted once in five years to estimate elephant population trends. But it has not been taken up since 2017. Besides, south India harbours the most number of elephants – 11,960 out of 27,312 in the entire country – as per the Synchronised Elephant Population Estimation India 2017 Report - and a majority of them are in a contiguous landscape. Hence, the officials of these States took the initiative to conduct the census on a landscape basis and maintain a database for their conservation and study the population dynamics. In 2022, the Centre had decided to conduct a joint census entailing both tigers and elephants but sources said it was not prudent as elephants will also be found in areas where tigers will not be found. Even within Karnataka, which reported 6,395 elephants in the 2023 enumeration, more than 95% are in southern parts of the State. Hence the population trends in Dandeli Elephant Reserve, was not part of the just-concluded census exercise.
