Deepa's Jottings

 Tree Felling in Kanataka is governed by the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976. Section 8 (1) of the act states: With effect on and from the appointed day, notwithstanding any custom, usage, contract or law for the time being in force, no person shall fell any tree or cause any tree to be felled in any land, whether in his ownership or occupancy or otherwise, except with the previous permission of the Tree Officer Thus, whether the tree is in private land or government land, the permission of the Tree Officer is essential before a tree is cut. On what grounds can…

Dr M B Krishna writes:   The birthday of Dr Joseph George who started the group birdwatching activities in Bangalore falls on the first of October. It is now over two years since his demise. So it was thought to have a memorial talk for theoccasion. Since Dr George did so much to show that non full time professionals too could be contributing to our knowledge of birds, it was thought Shyamal would be the best person to give the talk for the day. Especially so since Shyamal's recent visits to the museums in London and Tring have given him new perspectives and hearing bits and…

My friend Vandana Murthy writes: "My son has to go to school tomorrow 5th September, 2014)  from 12.30 noon to 6.30 pm. It is compulsory to attend...to hear the PM's speech!!! Even their test has been postponed. This is unprecedented political marrketing/brainwashing...Orwellian!"   How is it that schools are taking this kind of political mandate to the students? They have not given parents any time to protest, either. There should be a protest against such tactics by the schools, and the government that mandates it.

Frog Identification Workshop hosted by Eco-Edu Date: August 9th and 10th  We will meet the participants at the turning towards the farm on Kanakapura Main Road at 5 PM on the 9th of August and proceed to the farm. The workshop will come to a close at 9 AM on the 10th of August 2014. Venue: Ravagodlu, on Kanakapura Road. The course will be held within the premises of a private farm and its surroundings. The Suvarnamukhi River, which takes birth in Bannerghatta National Park, flows close to the farm. It is also surrounded by agricultural fields and forms an…

The second Sunday outing of the Bird Watchers' Field Club(BWFC) in Lalbagh had an unexpected event, with a happy ending. U Harish Kumar writes: On Sunday, the 13th July 2014, at our usual 2nd Sunday Birdwatching outing at Lalbagh, an incident happened. A Flying Fox got entangled to a strong thread (probably that of a kite) - and it was dangling down from a top branch of Bottle Brush Tree by a strong thread. It was struggling to get itself free. Just then, the birdwatchers group was passing by. They stopped, and for a change, they stopped looking at the…

Once in a while, instead of attending intense, issue-based plays, it's good to go and have an evening of pure, unadulterated fun in the theatre! And so it proved, when I went to watch "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged by Rangbaaz Group, in association with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms.     A scene from the play, "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged at Ranga Shankara on 7 and 8 June 2014   Directed by Imran Rasheed (who also essayed the role of Mir Saheb), the play is an adaptation of Shauqat Tanvi's novel "Budhbas", written in a lighter vein in Urdu. Thanvi's sure touch…

Does it move? Kill it! Does it sting? Squash it! Does it grow? Cut it down! Done with it? Throw it out of your window! Need to go somewhere? Take the car! Have some money? Consume more!     Then, have plastic posters printed, saying, "World Environment Day", with the photos of prominent pols, put it up in a public place, and feel happy that a praiseworthy effort has been taken.

I found three street vendors selling honey "fresh from the hive"....they had large pieces of the hive on their two-wheelers, and promised to filter the "honey" through and put it in old mineral water bottles for those who wanted to buy it. The rate quoted was Rs.300 per kilo.     I took a taste of the honey, and it was suspiciously like jaggery syrup. I realized that these vendors were probably pouring the jaggery syrup over the hives and then selling it as "fresh" honey. Beware of such street vendors. Buy your honey from accredited outlets or buy good…

  When I returned from Delhi by the Karnataka Exp (train no. 12628) on the 30th of May, 2014, I left behind the cordless headset that I use for my laptop, packed in a brown cardboard box, probably between the bedsheets on my berth (Bogey H-1, Coupe "G", Berth21, A/C 1st Class). I realized this only when I was unpacking at home, and after wasting a little time trying to locate a number where I could file a report, I went back to the City Railway Station. Mr Manjunath, the Addl Station Manager, was quite helpful, and directed me to…

It was very nice indeed to use the new escalator in use at the City Railway Station, yesterday. This escalator is on the side opposite the underground passage, and takes visitors up to the overbridge spanning all the platforms.   Several escalators are also under construction at some of the platforms. Though large pieces of luggage cannot be taken on them, strolleys and smaller bags can be comfortably taken. This will ease the lot of several visitors and passengers at the station.   There are also lifts at the underground passage area, but at least one of them was not…