Letters

 
Published: Saturday 15 January 1994

The case for pugging

As a strong supporter of the pugging method of counting tigers, I protest the caustic remark on the method by K Ullas Karanth in Where's the science? (Crosscurrents, November 30, 1993). I, too, was critical about the method in the 1970s, when I did not know it intimately. I know better now because I have been implementing the pugging method of tiger census at the Simlipal Tiger Reserve since 1987.

In order to get a better insight into the method, the census is carried out every year in Simlipal and there have been several changes in standardisation. Interpretation of field data is extremely rigorous: only about 25 male tiger territories are taken into account out of 400-600 tracings of pugs.

Commenting on a method without suggesting alternatives cannot do good to either wildlife or wildlife management. I can never hope to have 45 trained wildlife post-graduates for a census season -- and there are 19 tiger reserves in the country. I am not aware of any other method employed anywhere in the world to carry out such a massive census operation.

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Correction

Bandipur National Park is in Karnataka and not Madhya Pradesh as mentioned in my article on wildlife management (November 30, 1993). Also, I am a trained wildlife biologist working on a research project for the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and not just a freelance writer.

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How low is low?

Your effort to highlight alternative agricultural methods (Where science and tradition join hands, Grassroots, November 30, 1993) is laudable. More farmers in the country need to be made aware of new scientific techniques that are environmentally sound.

However, the labelling of these alternatives as low external input and sustainable agriculture (a term perhaps inspired by the Centre for Low External Inputs and Sustainable Agriculture at Leusden in the Netherlands) raises some questions: What precisely is meant by low external input? Would recycling of organic matter or the use of synthetic fertilisers in minimal doses be considered low external inputs? Doesn't the term sustainable agriculture mean the inclusion of low external inputs?

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Bagasse for cattle feed

This is in reference to Bagasse power (In Brief, November 30, 1993), which points out the energy potential of bagasse. However, we should realise the importance of bagasse as cattle feed. Population pressure for habitats has led to diminishing pastures and a subsequent shortage of cattle fodder.

Experiments have proved that when bagasse is treated with steam at low pressure and mixed with additives such as molasses, it becomes good cattle feed. The National Sugar Institute has even made a fine powder from bagasse. Surplus bagasse should first be used as food for domestic animals and not to generate power. Moreover, as most of the sugar mills are located in rural areas, it will be the villages that will be benefitted.

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Save Nicobar

The idea of converting the Great Nicobar island -- the last piece of relatively intact Indian rain forest -- to a free port has resurfaced. We had protested the proposal when it was mooted two years ago. At that time, Goa and Pondicherry were the optimum choices for a free port. Now the new Lt Governor had dragged out the issue yet again -- never mind the water scarcity and environmental factors.

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An open affair

This is with reference to your cover story on sandalwood smuggling, An open affair (November 30, 1993). A few years ago, while I was on a bus going out of Hogenakal in Karnataka, the driver stopped for a person with a bundle of sandalwood. The driver explained to the person that he had not stopped for him on an earlier trip because the checkpoint was manned. The nexus continues.

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Tanzania calling

Women in Tanzania face the problem of getting energy for cooking. The Itili Women's Training Centre has been training women to make improved stoves that burn on wood, waste or charcoal. In 1994, the centre will promote solar cooking and the use of insulated cookers.

One of the main difficulties in our effort has been obtaining up-to-date information and technical advice about stoves. I would request your readers to send us material that would help us in this regard.

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