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Chennai, June1-The
UNESCO-acclaimed World
Heritage Nilgiris
Mountain Railway (NMR),
whose train featured in
the famous Chhaiyaa,
Chhaiyaa song, is all
set to get the much
needed facelift. The
metre-gauge train, which
chugs through the
beautiful terrain of the
Nilgiris mountains and
has won the hearts of
local and foreign
tourists for over a
century, requires
extensive repairs.
The Mettupalayam
Coonoor section of the
mountain railway was
thrown open to public on
June 15, 1899 and the
line was extended to
Udhagamandalam in 1908.
Southern Railway (SR)
has chalked out a two
pronged approach to
address both track and
locomotive issues for
the 46.61 km long metre
gauge rail line. “We
intend to complete track
renewal for close to 17
kms of track which have
been identified out of
the total section, along
with reconditioning of
steel sleepers,” SR
Spokesperson Neenu
Ittyerah told PTI.
She said tenders
would be floated very
shortly to choose the
contractors for the
facelift works of the
track. “New rack chairs,
which are an integral
part of this specialized
track structure, are
being manufactured in
our own workshops,” she
said. However, the
railway official said
there would not be any
additional coaches or
any modification to the
train on the route.
2nd
June 2009, Assam
Tribune
Heritage
buildings change with
time
Encroachment on land
belonging to the Delhi
Development authority (DDA)
is nothing new, but this
time round heritage
monuments have been
encroached on in
Mehrauli area.
Bagichi Masjid,
housing the Majar of Bab
Ajam Shah, in DDA’s
Mehrauli Complex will
soon be notified as a
protected monument by
the state archaeological
department. But when HT
visited the place, we
saw that a stone wall
had been painted over
white and green and the
insides have been turned
into living quarters
with nails for curtains
and electric wires
drilled inot the fabric
of the late Mughal era
structure.
One Imam Ibrahim
teaches 20 children
there. “This is a
madrassa. We are staying
here since the last 10
months. I am a salaried
employee of the Delhi
Waqf Board”, Ibrahim
said.
But Waqf Board
officials sought to
distance themselves.
Consultants to Delhi
Waqf Board Jamil Murtja
said, “We have asked
them only to offer namaz
and not to stay there.
We will take action if
we get any complaint”.
One more unprotected
monument-Takya of Kamli
Shah-in the
neighbourhood has met
the same fate. This
structure situated atop
a small hillock on the
outskirts of Mehrauli
village while going from
the Dadadham Jain temple
side, has been altered
drastically and only a
small stone arch remains
as evidence of the late
Mughal era structure.
Incidentally, both
the DDA and Delhi Waqf
Board have put up signs
side by side, claiming
‘trespassers would be
prosecuted”. In both
cases, DDA officials
hardly seem to be
bothered. “The Waqf
Board has laid claim on
the land and we are
getting it clarified
from the local revenue
records,” is all that a
DDA Horticulture
official said.
Concerned over the
degradation and the
increased encroachment
in the area, prominent
residents of the area-
photographer Raghu Rai
and his conservation
architect wife Gurmeet
Rai last month wrote to
Delhi Chief Minister
Sheila Dikshit.
“It is not just an
issue of encroachment
but damage to heritage
monuments. There are
other encroachments too,
like a temple on DDA
land. There is also this
problem of rubble
dumpled into our area,”
Rai said.
“The DDA is least
bothered about these
things. So we approached
the CM. she had assured
us that issue would be
looked into after the
elections are over,” Rai
told HT.
Another prominent
resident, a Muslim
gentleman, echoed the
sentiments. “I have
talked to these people
in the mosque. They are
not mullahs but just
land-grabbers. Like me,
there are many Muslims
in the area and all of
us are angry at the
development. Every
single government
department is involved
in this,” the resident,
who did not wish to be
named, said.
3rd
June 2009, Hindustan
Times
No
plastic cups at heritage
sites
Chandigarh: The Haryana
government on Wednesday
announced stiff fines on
plastic bags that don’t
conform to norms.
Claiming that all
regional offices of the
Haryana Pollution
Control Board had been
alerted, Haryana
environment minister
Kiran Choudhry said
strict implementation of
orders and deterrent
action against violators
was called for. ‘‘I’ve
asked officials to carry
out regular inspections
and send a monthly
report to the
headquarters. We should
have environment
soldiers at the district
level to spearhead the
antiplastic campaign,’’
she added.
Unhappy with the
latest directive,
Charanjiv Singh, a
leading trader of the
region, who has been
campaigning against the
ban on plastic said,
‘‘Such drastic measures
are uncalled for.
Instead of levying such
penalties, the
government should
educate the public on
use of polythene bags.’’
Haryana has also
banned the sale and use
of plastic plates, cups
, tumblers, spoons,
forks and straws in
areas of special
historical, religious
and ecological
significance which
include the municipality
limits of Thanesar and
Kurukshetra towns,
wildlife sanctuaries,
national parks and the
Morni panchayat.
4th
June 2009, Times of
India
Cash
flows into ‘culture
corners’
Some of the city’s
biggest landmarks have
just got richer. The
Union ministry of
culture has allotted to
them many more crores
than they were used to.
Better still, the
ministry, which
increased he budgets as
part of a “massive”
upgrade, has no plan to
stop being generous.
This year about RS 21
crore each has been
allotted to Victoria
Memorial and Asiatic
Society, four to five
times the amount they
got in previous years,
said culture secretary
Jawahar Sircar, in the
city on Wednesday.
National library has got
Rs 19.5 crore and Indian
Museum Rs 29 crore.
The money is meant for
“modernization” and
probably could be called
a revival package for
the city’s institutions;
through Sircar stressed
Calcutta was alive.
Asiatic Society plagued
by a number of problems,
including reports of
valuable artifacts, such
as copper plates from
the Pala age,
disappearing, has been
allotted the money to
added two floors to the
new building on Park
Street and change its
facade and for a new
building in Salt Lake.
Victoria Memorial, too,
has got the
“unprecedented” amount
to be more accessible.
“So far Victoria
Memorial has been
managed with curatorial
knowledge” said Sircar.
But five of its
galleries, designed by
the National Institute
of Design (NID), should
be state-of-the-art
places, with souvenir
shops, quality
publications, lights and
digitization of
artifacts.
National library has got
funds for the
“retro-conversion of
records”, which means
the conversion of
hand-written catalogue
cards into
machine-readable format.
“About Rs 9.49 crore has
been allotted for
retro-conversion,” said
Sircar. “Unaccessioned”
books, titles sent to
the library but not
registered, are being
catalogued. As there is
shortage of staff, new
books often pile up.
“The backlog of
‘unaccessioned’ books is
being worked on. In the
first phase, there are
2.5 lakh titles in
Indian languages and 20,
000 in English,” said
Sircar. The work has
been outsourced.
Funds were not really
the problem, Sircar
said. More funds could
follow depending on “the
capacity of the
professionals”.
There were other
problems with city
institutions, he
acknowledged, but said
that there were checks
in place.
On the CBI inquiry
against Chittaranjan
Panda, secretary and
curator, Victoris
Memorial, under the
scanner following
allegations of fake
works of art installed
at the memorial, Sircar
said the authorities
were waiting till the
probe was over. But he
added that he has spoken
to the CBI director on
the matter, stressing
that the image of the
memorial should not be
tarnished.
Sircar also allayed
fears about the
suggestion of installing
a mansard roof atop the
Indian Museum. Many feel
a sloping roof, like the
one at Writers’
Buildings, would be a
disaster for the museum.
Sircar said no decision
was taken yet; one would
be taken only after
public discourse and
ensuring that the
building can withstand
such an installation.
On the dissapearnace of
artifacts from Asiatic
Society, in which some
feel high-powered
insiders are involved,
Sircar said that the
institution, along with
a few others, has been
asked to go for “100
percent cataloguing”
after physical
verification, which
would record an item
only after it was found
to be physically on the
premises.
That way, he said, if a
Buddha head was in the
catalogue it would be
found within the
institution..
11th June 2009, The
Telegraph, Calcutta
Nagaon
NGO restores broken
Bishnu idol
Guwahati, June 20-A
Nagaon-based voluntary
organization Prakalpa
Sangrakshana, has
restored a
four-foot-tall Bishnu
idol unearthed on
Chaturbhuja Nagaon
Narowa Bali Satra
Campus. The idol, which
is stated to be the
largest of the Bishnu
idols found so far in
the satra institutions
of the State, was
unearthed at the Pura
Bheti of the Bali Satra
on February 24 last.
However, it was
recovered in innumerable
pieces.
Bijoy Bhuyan, a
Delhi-based artist and
art teacher, who has
been taking regular
trips to his homeland,
supervised the entire
restoration work. Three
sculptors of Nagaon
town, Biman Hazarika, a
lecturer-cum-researcher
of Neo Vaishanavite
Satra, Sattra
Parichalana Samiitee
assisted the restoration
work and finally
succeeded in giving it a
proper shap after seven
days of relentless and
tiresome work.
Prof Kesavananda Dev
Goswami, noted
Vaisnavite scholar
visited the site and
hoped that the restored
statue would throw some
light on undiscovered
facts of the Narowa
group of satras and neo-Vaisbavite
movement. This is
perhaps the first
restoration work of this
kind taken up by a
voluntarily body of the
state.
Bijoy Bhuyan and Biman
Hazarika have undertaken
a series of restoration
works in some fo the
most dilapidated stras,
which include Leteri
Salaguri, Kobaikota,
Patekibori, Balisatra,
Na-satra and Kuji and
the Srimanta
Sanakaradeva research
Centre, Barodowa since
2007.
A photographic
exhibition
highlightening the
activities of the
organization will be
held on June 21 at Hotel
Ambarish in the city
where the organizers
will share their
experiences with the
media and public, said a
press release here.
21st June 2009,
Assam Tribunee
Temple construction
halted in Hampi
Authorities cite
violation of Ancient
Monuments
Preservation Act
Hampi Development
Authority, the
Archaeological
Survey of India
(ASI) and the State
Archeological
Department have
stopped the
construction of a
Jain Theerthankara
temple at Ratnakoota
in Hampi on the
ground that the work
is in violation of
Ancient Monumnets
Preservation Act,
which provides for
provides for
preservation of
ancient monuments
and objects of
archaeological,
historical or
artistic interest
The Hampi World
Heritage Site is a
restricted are and
construction of any
new building in the
vicinity is strictly
prohibited.
Even the
modification and
reconstruction of
old buildings in the
area must be taken
up only after
obtaining permission
from the Authority,
the Archaeological
Survey of India and
Gram Panchayat
concerned.
Assertionn
However, the
Ramachandra Ashram
Seva Trust, run by
the local Jain
community, started
the temple
construction, which
had been stayed,
Hampi Development
Authority Commission
G N Shivamurthy
informed. In a
clarification,
managing trustee of
the Trust,
Gevarchand, has
objected to the stay
claiming that the
land on which he
temple was coming up
had been gifted to
the Trust by the
erstwhile Mysore
rulers. The Trust
had been in
possession of the
land since 1965 by
paying property tax,
he asserted.
22nd June 2009,
Deccan Herald
Centre assures all
help
Union Minister for
Environment and
Forest Jairam Ramesh
said here today that
40 per cent work of
the Rs 300-crore Dal
Lake cleaning
project had been
accomplished, while
the remaining part
would be completed
within the next two
years.
He was addressing a
press conference
along with Chief
Minister Omar
Abdullah on the
banks of the Dal
Lake here this
afternoon. They
agreed to work
proactively so that
projects taken up
for the conservation
of lakes and forests
in the state were
completed in a
time-bound manner.
The Union Minister
assured Omar of the
Centre’s full
support in
protecting the
state’s environment
and forests. He
disclosed that the
state government
would create a State
Compulsory
Afforestation
Management Authority
shortly so that it
was in a position to
utilize its share of
Rs 181 crore
collected by the
CAMPA for compulsory
afforestation
projects.
Jairam Ramesh, who
arrived here
yesterday, giving an
overview of the
prestigious Dal
restoration plan,
said after the joint
air survey of the
lake with the Chief
Minister and by
boat, he realized
that it was not only
a lake that needed
to be cleansed, but
an ecological and
social system that
embedded a large
number of wetlands
and nearly 10,000
families.
“In Phase I, the
Central government
has funded entire Rs
300 crore for
cleaning the
project. While
visiting the lake, I
have observed that
large sections of
the lake have been
cleaned. The state
government today
presented a
comprehensive
proposal of Rs 1,
100 crore to save
the ecosystem of the
Dal lake by cleaning
and rehabilitating
10, 000 families. We
need to find the
remaining Rs 800
crore for the
resettlement and
rehabilitation of
the Dal dwellers,
“he said.
Omar said the
government was
exploring an
extensive programme
to upgrade the
degraded forest
cover of the state.
“Extensive portions
of our forest area
are degraded. We are
examining ways and
means to implement a
project for
upgrading degraded
state forests,” he
said. He added Rs
181 crore deposited
with the CAMPA under
the state’s share
would be fully
utilized in this
direction.
Expressing concern
over the dwindling
of the Wullar lake,
which used to be
once the largest
freshwater lake in
Asia, Jairam said he
attached the highest
priority to the
restoration of the
Wullar Lake. “Wullar
is the other of all
lakes. The State
government has
submitted a proposal
to the Central
government worth Rs
386 crore to
conserve the lake,”
he said.
On the action plan
for cleaning of the
Jhelum, the Union
minister said the
plan was under
discussion and that
he would like to
take up the project
on the analogy of
the Ganga and the
Yamuna cleaning
plans.
Meanwhile, Jairam
Ramesh yesterday
visited major water
bodies along with
Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah. They
visited Dal, Nageen,
Khushalsar, Anchar,
Manasbal and Wullar
lakes as a part of
Centre’s review of
the projects under
execution for the
conservation of
water bodies in the
state.
An official
spokesman said they
discussed measures
to protect and
preserve water
bodies with special
reference to Dal and
other lakes and
Jairam Ramesh
highlighted the need
for protecting these
in the larger
interests of the
state.
Omer informed the
union minister that
his government had
already started a
massive development
plan to protect
these lakes under
which lakhs of
saplings had been
planted.
23rd June 2009,
The Tribune, New
Delhi
Rs
45 Crore for CP
renovation
New Delhi 22 June:
Delhi government
today allocated Rs
45 crore for the
current fiscal for
the ambitious
Connaught Place
redevelopment plan
under which the
landmark area will
be restored to its
original glory.
The Rs 253-crore
project, being
executed by New
Delhi Municipal
Corporation (NDMC),
has been approved as
the first City
Infrastructure
Development Project
under Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban
renewal Mission.
The first
installment of Rs 22
crore for the
project was released
last year, finance
minister A K Walia
said presenting the
budget.
The NDMC will undertake
façade restoration of
all the blocks of CP
under the redevelopment
project. The civic
agency had completed the
restoration of C Block
on pilot basis last
year, which was
subsequently approved by
the Delhi Urban Art
Commission. Work has now
started on A and E
blocks.
Originally the
entire redevelopment
project was to be
completed before the
start of the
Commonwealth Games
2010 but the civic
body has now decided
to complete only the
façade restoration
work before the
event.
The other components
like building of
underground service
ducts, centralized
air-conditioning
system and
construction of
underground parking
spaces will be taken
up later.
23rd June 2009,
Statesman
Greens see red over
DTC depot
New Delhi: A
temporary bus depot
being planned on the
Yamuna riverbed
close to the
Commonwealth Games
Village has met with
stiff resistance
from certain
environment groups.
Citing the L-G’s
moratorium on
further construction
activity on the
riverbed, the group
claimed that
allowing even
something temporary
will open the gates
for more such
projects to come up
on the floodplain.
The depot will be
developed by the
Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC) to
park around 300
buses meant
specially for the
Games on a 6-acre
area. It will be
allotted to it by
the Delhi
Development
Authority (DDA) on a
temporary basis and
will have to be
vacated within a
week of end of the
games. The project
strangely has been
cleared by the L-G,
through on the
condition that no
permanent
construction is
allowed at the site.
“Even though they
are saying that no
permanent structures
will come up, the
riverbed does not
have the type of
soil that will allow
parking unless it is
concretized. Once
the project is
cleared, anything
can be done there on
the pretext of the
Games. When there
are alternative
sites available in
and around the
Village, why is the
riverbed being
thrown open to this
kind of activity?
This will also set a
bad precedence for
other agencies who
will all rush for so
called temporary
set-ups on the
riverbed,” said
Manoj Misra,
convenore Yamuna
Jiye Abhiyan.
However, DTC
officials maintain
they will not be
deviating from the
conditions set out
for the depot.” It
is being allotted to
use on a temporary
basis so there is no
question of us not
vacating the place
after the Games.
Only bare minimum
work will take place
there that includes
compaction of ground
for parking,
bringing in a CNG
pipeline for
fuelling and some
temporary
structures,” said a
senior DTC official.
The conditions laid
out for the
temporary bus depot
include no permanent
construction. The
land will remain
with DDA and will
only be licensed to
DTC till a week
after the Games are
over.
Frequent flights
‘shake’ Qutab
New Delhi: Every two
minutes a plane
flies over the 13th
century Qutab Minar,
a fact that is
giving
Archaeological
Survey of India
(ASI) officials
sleepless nights.
They are worried
that the vibrations
from the aircraft
could affect the
foundation of the
monument, one of the
tallest in the world
and which is located
in a seismic zone.
The ASI has now
taken up the matter
with the civil
aviation ministry.
According to
sources, ASI has
expressed concern
over the frequent
flights over the
monument and has
written to the civil
aviation ministry
asking it to ensure
that low-flying
planes do not come
close to the 72.5-m
high monument..
Said ASI joint
director-general Dr.
B.R. Mani: “Ever since
the new runway was
inaurgrated last
September, Qutab Minar
has fallen in the
approach path and the
frequency of planes
flying over the monument
has increased
tremendously. We believe
that a plane flies over
the tower every two
minutes and the
vibrations from the
plane can affect the
minar’s foundation”. The
new runway is one of the
longest in Asia and ASI
is believed to have told
the civil aviation
ministry to change the
flight path of the
planes. Sources in the
civil aviation ministry
said they were looking
into the matter and if
necessary, a study would
be conducted.
ASI is no mood to
take any chances
with Qutab Minar.
The minar built by
Qutubuddin Aibak in
1173 was the first
monument in the
capital to be
awarded the world
heritage status by
UNESCO in 1993. It
is also the most
visited monument in
Delhi, followed
closely by Red Fort.
Sources say that
upto 10, 000 people
visit Qutab Minar on
a daily basis.
24th June 2009,
Times of India
Can’t clean up
Yamuna before the
Games, says Sheila
CHIEF Minister
Sheila Dikshit on
Tuesday accepted in
the assembly that
her government’s
Yamuna Action Plan
has been a failure
and that the
government will not
be able to clean the
river before the
Commonwealth Games
next October
Apologizing for the
failure, Dikshit
said the government
would need another
seven or eight years
to clean the river.
Till next year’s
Games, the
government will only
concentrate on
beautifying the
riverbanks, not the
river itself,
according to
Dikshit.
“Unfortunately,
complicated
technologies is
required for
cleaning the river”,
Dikshit said in the
Assembly. “We have
already spent
several crores in
the task (cleaning
the Yamuna). The
city’s population is
increasing at a
great sped and
several lakh heads
are added to the
population every
year, which also
worsens sanitation
condition and adds
burden on the
river.” Dikshit made
the comments while
replying to BJP MLA
from Karol Bagh S P
Ratawal.
In his speech, Ratawal
said, “Delhi is
responsible for
polluting 80 percent of
the river flows through
Delhi. The government
has spent Rs 2,800 crore
on cleaning it but there
has been no result as
yet. “He asked, “Will
the government be able
to clean the Yamuna
ahead of the
Commonwealth Games?”
The government had
earlier spent money
sending bureaucrats
to Paris and London
to study how those
cities keep the
Thames and Seine
Rivers,
respectively, clean.
But Dikshit said
both rivers are very
different from the
Yamuna. She said the
models used for
cleaning these
rivers cannot be
replicated for
Yamuna.
The government has
roped in Engineers
India Limited to
install interceptor
sewers along the
Yamuna but the
sewers are still
only in the planning
stage. The
government also
plans to construct
19 sewage treatment
plants to ensure
that the river gets
relatively clean
water.
Initiated by the Centre
in 1993, the Yamuna
Action Plan has been
under fire for not
cleaning even one cusec
(cubic foot per second)
water despite
expenditures of over Rs
1, 200 crore on the
project. After the first
clean-up plan did
precious little for
Yamuna, the government
developed Yamuna Action
Plan-II in December
2004. The second plan
identified a few new
cities in Uttar Pradesh
that are seen as
contributing to the
river’s pollution. The
project was scheduled
for a November 2009
completion.
DDA
razes illegal parts
of mosque, raises
local ire
A “REGULAR
anti-encroachment”
demolition drive by
the DDA has raised a
small storm in
Mehrauli.
The agency on Monday
evening demolished
parts of a mosque
that it claims was
illegally jutting
into a Lodhi-era
ruin of an arch at
Andheria More in
mehrauli. But
several locals
pelted stones at DDA
officials in
protest. Among the
protestors were
young students who
lived and studied in
the madarsa run by
the local imam, and
residents who said
they offer prayers
regularly at the
mosque.
The site is recorded
in conservation
panel INTACH’s list
of heritage
structures as the
ruin of an arch
dating back to the
Lodhi period. It is
said to have been a
complete arch till
1993, when a builder
demolished it
partially.
The imam and members
of the mosque, known
as Masjid Dibiya
Wali, said the land
was transferred to
the Delhi Wakf Board
in a notification
issued in 1970, and
that the wall and
the tin shed
demolished by the
DDA are part of the
mosque’s land.
DDA officials,
however, maintain it
was a “regular
drive” to remove
encroachment. “No
part of the heritage
structure or even
the mosque was
touched, “a DDA
official said. DDA’s
public relation
director Neemo Dhar
told Newsline:
“The mosque has not
been demolished.
Only a tin structure
adjoining the mosque
was being removed
when there was
resistance from
residents.”
But members of the
mosque’s managing
committee have
decided to seek
compensation for the
damage. Committee
president Moulana
Mohammad Talha said,
“Children studied
here and some of us
also lived here to
protect the mosque.
It is more than 150
years old.”
Committee members,
though, agreed the
mosque was not used
for prayers for
several decades
after Independence
and it was revised
only over the last
couple of moths.
Metro moved past it
Delhi Metro had a
couple of years ago
realigned its
Central Secretariat
to Gurgaon corridor,
which runs right
over the mosque, to
bypass the heritage
structure. The
realignment was done
after INTACH raised
objection that part
of the Metro stretch
obscured the Qutab
Minar’s view. INTACH
also sought to
protect several
small heritage
structures that fall
on the route.
A conservation
architect (name
withheld on request)
said the Lodhi-era
ruin has extensive
calligraphy on the
remaining part of
the arch. “it is in
a very poor state.”
The architect said,
“but can be restored
if the foundation is
excavated. The
remaining part of
the arch can also be
conserved.”
24th June 2009,
Indian Express
Residents’ crusade
to save water bodies
in Bakkarwala
To save four water
bodies in
Bakkarwala,
residents of
villages-Ranola,
Baapdola, Tilangpur
Kotla and Bakkarwala
along with those of
JJ clusters
(Gurdayal Vihar,
Chanchal Park, Akash
Vihar, Kotla Vihar
and Satyam Vihar)
have started a
desiltation and
plantation drive.
Environmentalists
believe the step
would encourage
others to work as
responsible citizens
and preserve nature.
At a time when the
country is battling
with water crises,
initiatives like
these from civil
society are
warranted to revive
the depleting water
tables and the
nature’s health.
The residents, who
are waiting for the
monsoon for
large-scale
plantation, feel
water bodies are
vital for sustaining
the hydrological
balance. It can also
relieve them of
water woes.
Earlier, they had
taken to the streets
against encroachment
by the Delhi
Transport
Corporation (DTC) to
protect the area’s
natural preserves.
In December last
year, the DTC had
been allotted
26-acre land in the
area on lease to
construct a
depot-cum-dump yard
so that more
low-floor buses
could be
accommodated, but
the locals have
thwarted all efforts
of the government.
Bhagat Singh, a
resident, said “When
we came to know that
the government had
been planning to
grab the land in the
name of development,
on February 12 we
wrote to various
government
authorities to shift
the prject. When no
response came, we
sent a reminder on
May 12.
Diwan Singh of
Natural Heritage
First said, “On
three occasions in
the past, the
administration tried
to acquire the land,
but received stiff
resistance from
locals. On May 11,
nearly 250 policemen
were deployed in the
area to take charge
of the situation but
to no avail.”
Vinod Jain of Tapas
NGO called for legal
protection of ponds,
irrespective of
their mention in
revenue records. He
said, “The Delhi
high court has
already directed the
state government to
protect water
bodies. Several
notices have been
issued to the state
government on the
same.”
According to
siurces, discussions
on reconsidering the
bus depot are going
on between Chief
Minister Sheila
Dikshit and area MP
Mahabal Mishra. It
is learnt the
government might
look out for an
alternative site,
probably in Kair
village, where a bus
depot is already
under-construction
on a five acre land
of the gram sabha.
Vikram Soni from
Natural Heritage
First, a research
scientist with
National physical
laboratory, has
praised the locals
who have dared to go
against the
government to
preserve natural
essences from being
swallowed by urban
sprawl.
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