Reports

A conservationist, just recognised for his untiring efforts in saving the biodiversity-rich and ecologically-important Bhadra-Kudremuch landscape, says 'low-impact tourism' is the need of the hour. DV Girish, a coffee grower from Chikmagalur, has just been awarded the 'Protect the Tiger' award under the RBS Earth Heroes Award for 2013. Girish has been working closely with forest officials in the Bhadra Tiger Reserve area, and has emerged as an influential community leader in protecting the...

Scientists have reported on the world’s first confirmed case of human infection with a wild avian influenza A H6N1 virus. A genetic analysis of the virus identified in a Taiwanese woman shows that this virus has evolved the ability to target a receptor called SAa-2,6 found in the human upper respiratory tract, potentially enabling adaptation of the virus to human cells. The woman from central Taiwan presented to a hospital with flu-like symptoms and shortness of breath in May this year. She...

For parents with differently-abled children, things are better than they were a few years ago, but challenges remain. Maybe because perceptions haven't changed yet. To start with, things have to change at the policy level. "Making play spaces inclusive is not a matter of BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike) policy. Those are still seen as 'special projects'. They (BBMP officials) 'agree' to do so because a bunch of us request/ demand them to," says Kavitha Krishnamoorthy, managing trustee...

For a leading sportswear brand that thinks Bangalore to be a 'fit' city, the launch of Reebok India's first Fit Hub concept store might appear to have come a bit late in the day. That's because more than 30 such stores have already been opened across the country in the last four months. But that contention might miss the point. Reebok has been rolling out these stores in phases, and it is only now that Bangalore's chance has come. And the size does matter here. Erick Haskell, managing director...

It took the Lokayukta more than six years to pass orders based on a complaint against the illegal widening of roads inside the boundaries of the Devarayanadurga State Forest, among the oldest reserve forests of India. It was on October 16, 2007 that a complaint was lodged with the Karnataka Lokayukta against "maladministration and looting of public wealth" in the Devarayanadurga State Forest. After hearing the respondents and taking in the complainant's responses to the objections of the...

The standard of students entering the IT sector at the entry level in India is well below the industry requirements, especially when it comes to testing of softwares being developed by IT majors. Now, Hewlett-Packard wants to bridge this gap with a software university, one that will make students industry-ready. Explaining the rationale, Michael Garrett, vice-president of WW Software Professional Services, HP, said, "We are seeing a big demand for skills in the application space. Clients are not...

Life for Amol Palekar may soon come a full circle. The actor-filmmaker is contemplating returning to the profession he had started from — that of painting. Interacting with journalists at an informal gathering here on Monday, Palekar announced, "I am seriously thinking of going back to painting. I started my creative journey as a painter (in the late 1960s). I have had seven one-man shows to my credit. But that aspect of my life had been put on the back-burner. Now I am very serious about...

If insects are to be taken as a vital sign indicating a city's environmental health, there's not much to worry for Bangalore. That is, not yet. A recent study conducted by researchers from the Ashoka Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) has recorded a large number of insects — 2,185 insects from 10 orders, of which ants, bugs, beetles and flies were the most common. They also found 25 species of trees and 117 species of herbs and shrubs in the 50 sampled domestic...

Buzzwords often keep changing, sometimes for the better. The newest one is 'cricket for sustainable development'. To borrow a cliche, this is one with a difference. That's because this is a project that comes with an in-built campaign component. This is the Green Wicket project of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) which seeks not only to establish it as a seal of approval for eco-friendly and resource-efficient stadia, but also promote eco-friendly practices among fans and the...

One of the common refrains that proponents of the controversial Challakere projects had been resorting to so far was that the ecologically-fragile grasslands was not a critical wildlife habitat. But now, the bluff has been called. The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has filed an affidavit with the National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone) insisting that the Amrit Mahal Kaval grassland ecosystems indeed constitute a critical habitat for the Great Indian Bustard, which it noted is...