Nature / Environment – Page 3

Bengaluru through the nose

City-based artist and author Indu Antony’s book Vasané, takes readers on an olfactory journey of Bengaluru.

You must have heard that scents are more closely linked to our memories than pictures or sounds. The smell of the filter coffee you shared with your friends after an exhausting lecture, remembering the perfume your first love interest wore, or remembering home every time you smell your mother’s signature dish being cooked, all trigger memories. It’s not only our fondest memories that are drenched by smells, but so is our city.

In her book Vasané (smell in Kannada), artist and author Indu Antony captures the many smells that make up the city of Bengaluru.

“Every city has its distinct smell. Mumbai, Goa, all these cities have smells that characterise them, but with Bengaluru, there are so many smells that make up this city,” says Antony about her 70-page book. “Because of Covid, our sense of smell was lost. Not just by those who had it, but wearing masks also restricted our ability to smell things around us,” says the author.

According to Antony, this project published by Mazhi Books, connects with the city beyond the visual, about associating smells with the city. She collaborated with Avinandan, a perfumer whose family business, Sathyanarayana Traders, is a wholesale retailer of sandal, oud, and musk perfumes. Together, the duo created 12 unique smells in 1 ml bottles each, which readers get with the book, so that they can apply them to the pages and experience the city through the olfactory sense.

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Human milk bank comes up at SDM Hospital in Dharwad

Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari inaugurates Amruta to cater to the needy in North Karnataka

The twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad have got their first human milk bank in the form of “Amruta-SDM Rotary Human Milk Bank” set up on the premises of SDM Hospital at Sattur in Dharwad.

On Wednesday, Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade inaugurated the human milk bank that will cater to the needs of needy patients in the North Karnataka region.

Inaugurating the human milk bank, Veerendra Heggade said that mother’s breast milk is crucial for the proper growth of the child. “Giving breast milk to another woman’s child is not a phenomenon. Such a practice has been in existence for time immemorial. Suppose one mother in a family fell sick, another lactating mother will breast feed such a child. Now, with technological advancements, human milk banks are being established,” he said.

The human milk bank has been set up by SDM Hospital with assistance from Karnataka Vikas Grameena (KVG) Bank and Rotary Club of Seven Hills which have extended help under the Rotary Foundation of the Rotary International Global Grant (Ph: 2232708). Thanking them for the support, Veerendra Heggade felicitated Rotary District Governor Gaurish Dhond, President of Rotary Club of Seven Hills Pallavi Deshpande, Secretary Gauri Madalabhavi and Chairman of KVG Bank P. Gopi Krishna on the occasion.

The human milk bank has been set up on a space of 1,000 sq m and the plan is to extend and add further services in the coming days. In addition to children getting treated at the hospital, the service will be extended to children in need from other hospitals and places.

Vice-Chancellor of SDM University Niranjan Kumar, Principal of SDM College of Medical Sciences Ratnamala M. Desai, Director of Administration Saket Shetty, Vice-Principal Vijay Kulkarni and others were present.

Farmers celebrate Mannettina Amavasye with great reverence

Mannettina Amavasye, which is considered a farmer festival, was celebrated across Yadgir district by the farming community.

Farmers brought bullocks made of mud and offered a special puja to them and kept them on the top of their roof.

“Farmers believe that they will get sufficient rainfall if they observe this amavasye. They clean and plough the land in the summer to sow seeds in the monsoon. The bullocks play an important role and help farmers in tilling land and growing crops. Thus, they treat them as god,” Mallikarjun Satyampet, a farmer leader and State convener of Rajya Raitha Sangh, said.

The farmers offer puja to every farming equipment before they use it for agriculture activities. But, here, they offer puja to bullocks made of mud, which they treat as live bullocks, to seek sufficient rainfall for their crops.

“We worship mud-made bullocks with great reverence as we offer puja to live bullocks which are the most useful for us and we feel happy in celebrating every festival that is connected to farmers,” he added.

State’s first exclusive park for specially-abled children opens

On Saturday, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated the State’s first disabled-friendly park in Jawaharlal Bal Bhavan (JBB), Cubbon Park, built for children with disabilities by Mindtree and Bal Bhavan Society.

Built at a cost of ₹3 crore under the guidance of health and child development experts, the park provides a safe, inclusive, and physiotherapeutic place where children with multiple forms of special abilities can play uninhibited by their mobility aids or the risk of accidents, officials said.

Designed in the shape of a turtle, the park consists of different zones for a wide range of physical, mental, therapeutic, and touch and feel activities. The park has a specially designed sand table for children on wheelchairs and a special swing. Tactile pathways make it easier for visually-challenged children to navigate their way around the park. To mitigate injuries from falls, all playing surfaces are made of a synthetic, non-toxic, and skid-proof rubber called EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer).

Karnataka’s first wild orchidarium to come up at Kali Tiger Reserve

In an effort to conserve the wild orchid varieties of Karnataka, the forest department is all set to establish an orchidarium in Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Uttara Kannada district.

In an effort to conserve the wild orchid varieties of Karnataka, the forest department is all set to establish an orchidarium in Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Uttara Kannada district. The orchidarium is being constructed at Nujji vilage of Joida (Supa) taluk of the district and soon, it will be open for nature enthusiasts and visitors.

The building work has been completed and about 40 varieties of wild orchids that are found in KTR are being grown in the orchidarium. In the coming days, most of the orchid varieties found in the Western Ghats will be added, said Sachin Anil Punekar, Conservation Biologist and Founder of Biospheres-Ecosphere who has been helping the KRT set up the orchidarium project. The Western Ghats is home for a rich orchid population and a majority of them are found in the Kali Tiger Reserve, especially in the Anshi region of Uttara Kannada district. “Out of 170 orchid species that are found in Karnataka, 80 species are from the Anashi region alone. Nearly 20 wild orchids are endemic to this region only. The orchidarium will act as a rescue and rehab site for wild orchids,” Punekar said.

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Bidar farmer achieves what is considered impossible

A farmer hailing from Ghatboral village of Humnabad taluk in Bidar district has achieved that which is considered impossible for many of his peers. Apparao D. Bhosle has successfully created his own apple orchard on three acres of land.

Bhosle knew that Humnabad taluk is no Kashmir Valley but he was determined to prove that anything can be grown if there is fertile soil.

While the apple trees of this variety usually bear fruit in about four-five years in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the saplings planted on his land started flowering and bearing fruit within two years. The trees bore 20 to 25 fruits and the yield is expected to be better in the second harvest. Though the fruits are small, they are tasty. The trees have grown 10 ft to 12 ft in height, Bhosle said.

This doctor has been healing Kalaburagi’s green cover

Nagnath V. Yadgir, an Ayurveda doctor by profession and environmentalist by passion, has created a green cover in Kalaburagi city by planting 18,000 saplings in the last seven years.

Mr. Yadgir said that the first tree he planted in 2015 was in his compound. He brought some 30 saplings from the Forest Department and planted them in different places near his locality.

His team has planted 7,000 saplings at Sharan Sirasagi village on the outskirts of the city and 3,000 plantations on a single patch of barren land at Belur Cross. The team focuses on school compounds, community parks, and even graveyards, Mr. Yadgir added.

The ones most commonly planted are pongame oil (Millettia pinnata), neem, custard apple, bassora tragacanth, gulmohar, samanea saman, melia dubia, mango, banyan, sheesham, drumstick, guava, tamarind, and ashwatha trees. During the lockdown, even the school students joined him. He taught them the process ofmaking a nursery and educated them on the importance of trees.

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Rare Records : Outstanding returns: 2,000 coconuts on one tree in Karwar

Generally 100 to 200 coconuts are seen on a single coconut tree. However, one coconut tree at Hosalkuli of Honnavar taluk has created a record by giving 2,000 to 3,000 coconuts. Many agricultural lovers visit this place, just to see this tree.

This tree is from a rare species which gives an enormous number of coconuts. This unique coconut sapling was planted 12 years ago at Subraya Parameshwara Shetty’s house, a resident of Hamsaramakki in Hosakuli village. Within three years of planting itself, this tree began giving an excellent yield. One bunch holds around 300 to 400 coconuts. Once in every two months, the crops are cut and it is giving good returns to the owner.

The species of the coconut tree is not known yet. The Horticultural department officials have informed that they will inspect and let the owner know. In the meantime, many people have taken the plants that are grown from the coconuts of the said tree. Some have even ordered 500 plants to be made ready.

** Vet services at the doorstep of livestock owners

Now Karnataka farmers can call toll-free number 1962 for availing emergency veterinary ambulance services

The State Government on Saturday flagged off 70 veterinary mobile ambulances to provide emergency services to domestic animals at the doorsteps of farmers.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai launched the facility.

Minister for Animal Husbandry Prabhu Chavan said 275 animal ambulances would be rolled out. In the first phase, 70 ambulances have been delivered. The State has 290 lakh domestic animals and on average one ambulance would provide services to one lakh animals.

** Indian environmental scientist elected to U.S. National Academy of Sciences

Conservation biologist Kamal Bawa has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Kamal Bawa is president of the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) as well as an elected fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the American Philosophical Society.

“The election is a reaffirmation of our important work on the ecology, conservation, and management of tropical forests that are declining all over the world but are critical to humanity’s well-being,” said Dr. Bawa.

A few years ago, Dr. Bawa brought together scientists from India’s leading institutions to develop the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing under the banner of the Biodiversity Collaborative. The effort was supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and is currently funded by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.