India's plant and animal species,
particularly in the global biodiversity hotspots of Himalayas, Western
Ghats, Northeast and the Nicobar Islands, are under severe threat due to
overexploitation, forest fires and climate change, says an official
report. The Environment Ministry report, came out in the midst of
raging debate between environmental protection and industrial growth,
rings alarm bells over destruction of forest and biodiversity in the
country, which is home to 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of
animals. In a candid admission, the Ministry says that it has diverted
an estimated over 1.7 million hectares of forest land for executing
more than 23,000 developmental projects since the enactment of Forest
Conservation Act in 1980. The report says that "a considerable area of
forests in the country is under low fragmentation (49.63 per cent of the
total geographic area of the country), 21.89 per cent under medium
while 5.16 per cent was under high fragmentation. The Fifth National
Report to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), a copy of which is with
PTI, was developed prior to CBD's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity
2011-2020. "Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation through
conversion of land use through agriculture, urbanisation and industrial
development, invasive alien species and over exploitation of natural
resources, including plants and animals, are amongst the major threats
faced by biodiversity globally and in India," says the report. Mining
and quarrying caused habitat loss and degradation, with severe
consequences for the ecology of areas such as the Aravalli range and the
Western Ghats. Considering the outstanding universal values and
exceptionally high levels of endemism in the Western Ghats, 39 sites in
the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012.
Legendary playback singer Manna Dey, who mesmerised generations of listeners with his inimitable voice for over five decades with hits like 'ay mere pyara watan', 'laaga chunri me daag' and 'poocho na kaise', died at a hospital here today at the age of 94 after prolonged illness. Dey, who was in and out of Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in the last five months for respiratory and renal problems, died of cardiac arrest with his daughter Shumita Deb and son-in-law Jnanranjan Deb by his bedside when the end came at 3.50 AM. The condition of Dey, who had made Bangalore his home for the last many years, deteriorated since yesterday afternoon, hospital spokesman Vasuki said. With the demise of Dey, the void has become complete in the famous quartet of singers Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar, who dominated the Hindi music industry from 1950s to 1970s. The mortal remains of Dey, whose unique voice lent a rare dimension to his persona, were cremate...
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