Dissapearing near you.

From car seat covers to credit cards, thats what was found at the bottom of Pune's Mula Mutha river the volunteers of the Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) found while cleaning up the banks. This is the state of India's water resources and I'm not even mentioned the 'nullah' better known as the Mithi river.

The state of the river banks in Pune can be gauged from the fact that the
volunteers collected more than 8,500 kg of garbage on a single day. In fact, the
JN Petit School team, who were assigned a stretch near Bund Garden bridge,
collected 250 kg of garbage in just half-an-hour. The 800 volunteers filled up
more than 850 garbage bags during the clean-up operation

[Pune Newline]

The environment is often the first causuality of non-goverance. All the ominous signs already flash before us if we only would stop and listen .

Here are some warning signs in Pune.

According to a Paper by S. S. Kharat and Neelesh Dahanukar [ FRESH-WATER FISH DECLINE OF PUNE URBAN AREA ], there where once 114 species from 47 genera and 22 families in Pune's rivers. But in a study carried out in 1995, 18 fish species appear locally extinct form folk perceptions and habitat quality, 30 fish species are too rare and 6 species appear to be in decline.

[Note: this paper was made available by RANVA]

You want to look at Animal Extinction ? Don't head to your nearest Natural Museum - look in you're own back yard.

You don't need to go far to hear about the almost extinct vultures of India. The sad thing they've already become part of grandfather tales. I was happy to see a lone specimen of the great Indian vulture recently at the Pune Snake Park [at Katraj]. He stood there perched up high in his cage, a huge rellic of a bird. He was old in an almost ironic way, an metaphor for his species -his feathers were plucked and his eyes were cloudy with cataract, absolutely saddening.

Question : Have you in the recent past woken up in the morning to the chirping of a sparrows, rather than the usal cawing of crows of the fluttering pigeons on you're Air Conditioning vent ?

I think not.

Question : Have you seen a sparrow recently ?



The answer is that they've seem to become critically endangered in a span of a decade. Inditogether explores the issue .

Apparently this is a global phenomenon - "Disappearance of toads, frogs has some scientists worried"

Here another paper from some Pune Zoologists - AMPHIBIAN DECLINE IN PUNE CITY

I wake up each morning and am amazed at the number of things we kill. I appear to be in a good mood today.