The incident has taken place in the jurisdiction of Belgaum taluk panchayat about 20 km from here on Saturday. But the animal husbandry department is yet to announce measures it has been taking to cull stray dogs or sterilize them.

The menace is not confined to the rural areas, but is more in the urban areas. In the city, at least one case of biting by stray dogs is reported, but official records give a different picture as people prefer to get treatment from private hospitals and doctors.

Stray dog menace is one of the major problems and matters become worse during night times for pedestrians with the canines pouncing on them and attacking them. Even the Belgaum City Corporation is yet to announce measures it has been taking to sterilse or cull the stray dogs. Late last week, stray dogs attacked a girl at Gandhinagar, but she was lucky to survive as passersby and neighbours succeeded in rescuing her.

Sanitation is one of the major problems here and the BCC has turned a blind eye to the problem of garbage resulting in stray dogs crowding around uncleared garbage bins. Owners of mutton and chicken shops also dump animal waste in the drains which attracts the stray canines.

Four held for poaching

Times of India, Wednesday, January 17, 2007

MYSORE: In a joint operation, police and forest officials have arrested four persons, in connection with two elephant poaching cases on Male Mahadeshwara Hills recently. They have recovered a single barrel gun, four bullets and 200 gm of gun powder.

The arrested are Santhre Madaiah, Belulli Madaiah and Kumara, residents of Ramagondanahalli and Karana Belligondana Halli, near Poonachi village on Mahadeshwara Hills.

Kollegal forest range division and Madikeri division police forest cell arrested the four at their respective villages, based on information. The officials confirmed that all four belong to the Soliga community. They said another person, Chinnari alias Basamma, is absconding.

She allegedly helped the four in carrying out the crime. During interrogation, the four revealed that so far, they have killed four tusker elephants on the Hills, over a span of seven to eight years. In the past 10 days, the culprits have killed two elephants.Kollegal range DCF Kumar Pushkar and forest cell SP Jawahar headed the teams.

Restoration of missing water bodies not possible

Times of India, Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Pankaj Shah

LUCKNOW: The government is unlikely to get the water bodies across the state restored to their 1950s status as per the directions of the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court. Instead, there is a clear possibility of the authorities coming up with a proposal for providing alternate sites for creating water bodies.

Sources in the district administration and Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) confirmed that nothing can be done in the case of buildings which have been built on water bodies as many of them have come up under the authorised land acquisition drive. The LDA itself has been accused of acquiring around 30 hectares of the total 368 hectares of water bodies which existed in 1950s.

LDA vice-chairman BB Singh too has reportedly told the high court that for a planned development, the entire area has to be taken into account which at times include water bodies. He has also said that no water body can be left in between two colonies as “it might get contaminated and pose threat to the population in the vicinity”.

“The department of urban development had always acquired water bodies for allocating plots. But that continued only till 2001 when the Supreme Court intervened in the matter and asked to stop it,” a reliable source said.

Perhaps the only solution to this problem, said a senior official with the department of land acquisition at the LDA, is that of “providing alternate sites for creating water bodies. We are presently doing that.”

LDA officials are also quick to point out the number of people affected if authorities go on a demolition spree.