Spread before me is a grassland — a seemingly unending sea of golden grasses gently swaying in the wind, looking not unlike waves rising and falling to the rhythm of the wind. Out of this azure landscape, something, a bird, shoots straight up in the air some two metres high, but before I can catch and ‘paint’ the picture in my mind’s eye, it’s gone…then, a few furlongs ahead, another one emerges, leaps, a hen-sized bird–shimmering black body, silvery white … Read More
Frontline of a New War: Environmentalists Under Threat
‘Amit Jethwa shot dead’ read the SMS received at about 9 pm on July 21st. I did not know him personally, but I knew Amit, activist, and warrior for any ecological cause — be it the case of an elephant being treated cruelly in a circus or illegal mining in Kodinar bordering Gir or protesting against a shipyard that would impact the nesting of olive ridley turtles. It was a sleepless night, and I spent most of it trying to … Read More
RTI activist Amit Jethwa shot dead in Gujarat
Ahmedabad: A prominent (Right to Information) RTI activist and ‘green crusader’ Amit Jethwa was shot dead near the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday evening.
Jethwa was campaigning against alleged illegal mining in the Gir Sanctuary areas in Saurashtra region, which is allegedly backed by some politicians. He was shot at by unidentified assailants. Joint Commissioner of police, Satish Sharma “Amit Jethwa was killed in firing by two assailants who came on a motorcycle. The murder happened in the evening between … Read More
Gujarat’s pride in way of Asiatic lion translocation
It’s almost official. Madhya Pradesh is not getting Asiatic Lions from Gujarat because the latter has linked the proposed translocation to its “Gujarat Asmita (Gujarat’s pride)”. “I wrote to Chief Minister Narendra Modi twice but the state has refused to part with its lions,” Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday.
A meeting of the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) will be held in Delhi on September 16, 2009. Ramesh, who will chair … Read More