The Elephant Task Force (ETF), set up by the ministry of forests & environment (MoEF) has recommended the setting up of a National Elephant Conservation Authority (NECA) along the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Submitting its report to environment minister Jairam Ramesh titled, “Securing the Future for Elephants in India”, the ETF stressed that elephants need to be given the same degree of importance as is being given to the tiger. The population of wild elephants was down to 26,000 while there were presently 2,600 captive elephants in the country.
While the ETF has recommended that the 32 elephant reserves be continued with, they have emphasised the formation of contiguous reserves in adjacent states in order to form a unified Elephant Landscape (EL).
Some of the ELs recommended include the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong-Intaki the Kameng-Sonitpur, the Brahmagiri-Nilgiri-Eastern Ghats and Periyar-Agasthyamalai.
Elephants Reserves, the ETF stressed, must be brought under the Environment Protection Act. While the protected areas within the ELs need a strict level of protection, the areas that lie outside need a more community-based model of conservation.
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Indian missions concerned over dengue in Delhi
New Delhi : The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that some Indian missions abroad have expressed concern over the dengue “epidemic” in Delhi before the Commonwealth Games and have asked the government to take adequate steps to control and check it.
Contending that widespread digging due to Games-related construction in the capital and the heavy rains have led to the outbreak of dengue, health secretary Sujatha Rao said, “There were concerns expressed by Indian missions abroad to control and check the situation”.
—PTI