Friday, July 6, 2012
THREE SPORTS BIKES COMING SOON TO INDIA
The Rs 2-3 lakh segment performance bikes has tremendous untapped potential
Superbikes and sportsbikes aren’t to be confused with each other. While superbikes look gorgeous, when it comes to sportsbikes it all comes down to performance. We've selected three sportsbikes that will be launched in the near future. Start saving now for them.
2012 Hyosung GT250R
South Korean motorcycle maker Hyosung has collaborated with Garware to bring a range of affordable sportsbikes to India. While the more powerful 600cc ones were launched last year, the next big seller from Garware-Hyosung will be the GT250R. An entry-level sportsbike, this 250cc oil cooled, V-Twin comes as a DOHC eight-valve layout. The engine produces a peak power of 27PS at 10,000 rpm and a peak torque of 21Nm at 6,750rpm. The GT250R will be assembled in India through CKD kits arriving from South Korea. The motorcycle is quite substantial in size with the chassis being a lift off from the bigger 650cc GT650R model. There are meaty upside-down front forks and a monoshock rear. Expect to fork out about Rs 2.5 lakhs for this baby expected to reach here later this month.
South Korean motorcycle maker Hyosung has collaborated with Garware to bring a range of affordable sportsbikes to India. While the more powerful 600cc ones were launched last year, the next big seller from Garware-Hyosung will be the GT250R. An entry-level sportsbike, this 250cc oil cooled, V-Twin comes as a DOHC eight-valve layout. The engine produces a peak power of 27PS at 10,000 rpm and a peak torque of 21Nm at 6,750rpm. The GT250R will be assembled in India through CKD kits arriving from South Korea. The motorcycle is quite substantial in size with the chassis being a lift off from the bigger 650cc GT650R model. There are meaty upside-down front forks and a monoshock rear. Expect to fork out about Rs 2.5 lakhs for this baby expected to reach here later this month.
2013 KTM Duke 350
Bajaj Auto holds over 40% stake in Austrian motorcycle maker KTM, and this stake has brought forth many synergies. One such synergy is the recently launched KTM Duke 200 streetfighter motorcycle and already has Indian motorcyclists drooling at the thought of reaching here soon. Even as the Duke 200 captivates enthusiasts' hearts with a delectable blend of performance, handling and affordability, Bajaj Auto and KTM are already setting their sights on something much bigger, and we hope, much better. Early 2013 will herald the KTM Duke 350, a 350cc variant of the Duke 200. Styling is expected to be similar. I they do successfully produce a 35bhp-30 Nm motorcycle that weighs under 140kgs, they would have managed to break into an untapped segment with vast potential. In true Bajaj tradition, expect the Duke 350 to be launched at under Rs 2 lakhs.
Bajaj Auto holds over 40% stake in Austrian motorcycle maker KTM, and this stake has brought forth many synergies. One such synergy is the recently launched KTM Duke 200 streetfighter motorcycle and already has Indian motorcyclists drooling at the thought of reaching here soon. Even as the Duke 200 captivates enthusiasts' hearts with a delectable blend of performance, handling and affordability, Bajaj Auto and KTM are already setting their sights on something much bigger, and we hope, much better. Early 2013 will herald the KTM Duke 350, a 350cc variant of the Duke 200. Styling is expected to be similar. I they do successfully produce a 35bhp-30 Nm motorcycle that weighs under 140kgs, they would have managed to break into an untapped segment with vast potential. In true Bajaj tradition, expect the Duke 350 to be launched at under Rs 2 lakhs.
2012 Hyosung GV250 Cruiser.
If relaxed cruising is your cup of tea, but you find a Harley too expensive, the Hyosung GV250 could be a great alternative. The cruiser is a low slung 250cc V-Twin with plenty of chrome that you can spend all day polishing. This motorcycle is expected to be launched in India by August features a detuned engine from the GT250R. Along with the detuned 25bhp-24 Nm, engine that will be mapped to deliver more torque than outright power, the motorcycle will come with a five-speed manual gearbox. Incidentally, Garware-Hyosung launching the GV250 in India is a kind of second coming for this motorcycle, which was also sold in India many years ago, when the ertswhile Kinetic Engineering imported it as the Aquila 250 cruiser. This motorcycle's pricing should be approximately Rs 2.5-3 lakhs
Monday, June 25, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
BEAUTY OF NATURE IN SIKKIM
Conservation of the
geographically diverse and bilogically rich state has become an
ecological imperative.
RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM IS the first of the rhododendron species to flower in the Sikkim Himalaya. In the background is the plateau Tso Lhamo, at 5,490 metres.
IN the summer of 2007, I was helping the Sikkim Programme Office of WWF-India conduct a three-day training programme for officers and other staff of the Sikkim Forest Department on field methods to assess the status of the red panda ( Ailurus fulgens). The red panda is a cute-looking carnivore of the eastern Himalaya and south-western China. It is also the State animal of Sikkim.
On June 1, 2007, as part of the training programme, a young forest officer by the name of Karma Legshey led us on a visit to the rugged and beautiful Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary (KAS, 30 square kilometres). Kyongnosla is about 30 km from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. We started our walk at an altitude of 3,300 metres from the bridge across the Rongchu (chu means stream) on the Gangtok-Nathula road. The Rongchu gushed merrily down a shallow valley, its water snow-white in the rapids and emerald-green in the pools. The far-off mountains stood shrouded in mist and the sky was laden with patches of dark rain clouds indicating that the south-west monsoon was imminent. We walked along the right bank of the river for about half a kilometre, went up the mountain slope along a stream and, after attaining an altitude of nearly 3,500 m, turned back to the road along the steep, rhododendron-draped slope. That was the second of my three visits to Sikkim (in April 2006, May-June 2007 and March 2011) which have together helped me understand the conservation situation in the State.
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian State nestled in the eastern Himalayas. Spread below Mount Khangchendzonga (about 8,585 m), the third highest mountain peak in the world, this thumb-shaped State has borders with Nepal in the west, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and east, Bhutan to its south-east and West Bengal to its south. It is the second smallest State (7,096 sq km) after Goa (3,702 sq km) and one of the least populous States in the country. Despite its tiny size, Sikkim is geographically diverse because of its location in the Himalaya. The climate ranges from the subtropical (300 m) to that of the snowbound peaks of the Khangchendzonga range.
RHODODENDRON GRIFFITHIANUM, WHICH flowers in May-June.
Sikkim has become one of India's most visited States owing to its reputation for cleanliness, scenic beauty and political stability. The Teesta and its tributary, the Rangeet, are the major rivers and they join at Teesta Bazaar on the border with West Bengal.
Protected areas
A major problem for this small State is the small sizes of its protected areas. The total area covered by the eight protected areas is about 2,183 sq km (31 per cent of the total geographic area, and the highest of any State in India). Among them the largest is the Khangchendzonga National Park (1,784 sq km). The area coming under the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve is 836 sq km and the total area coming under conservation is 2,620 sq km. In India, biosphere reserves do not have legal status.
PRIMULA SPECIES OF herbs that grow in areas that are snowbound in winter.
The average size of the other protected areas is about 57 sq km, which is too small for the conservation of large mammals, which are already decimated by heavy hunting in the past. In fact, the sambar deer is extinct in Sikkim, in contrast to adjacent Bhutan where it is found in broad-leaved forests even at 3,500-4,000 m, thus enabling the tiger to occur at these high altitudes. For that matter, even other mammals such as the barking deer, the goral and the serow seem to be extremely rare in spite of the availability of splendid habitats. The tiger no longer occurs within the geographical limit of Sikkim, and conflict reports indicate that the clouded leopard may be much more common than the common leopard. Problem species such as the black bear and the wild pig seem to be common if data on conflict are any indication.
FLOWERS OF MAGNOLIA campbellii.
The KAS, one of the eight protected areas in Sikkim, was established in 1984. It is on the right, or western, bank of the Kyongnosla river valley, which was ravaged by massive timber extraction for defence needs during India's border conflict with China in 1962. The credit for restoring the KAS to its present glory goes to the late Chezung Lachungpa, an officer of the Indian Forest Service. He had several decades of experience across Sikkim, and in the 1980s he undertook intensive plantation of various tree species, with a special focus on the rhododendron species.
TIGER PAINTING BELOW Kupub on the Sherathang-Rhenock road. In the past, possibly tigers were common at the tri-junction of Sikkim-Bhutan-north Bengal.
The altitude of the KAS ranges from 3,300 m to 4,100 m, and it is part of a much larger mountainous landscape that extends to the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary in the north to the Gangtok Zoological Gardens in the south-west and to the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in the south. Interestingly, this stretch of mountains was used by tigers in the past as there was report between 1978 and 1981 of a tiger killing cattle near Lacheng village, not far from the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. The tiger disappeared thereafter.
SAVITA RAO
THE RED PANDA, the State animal of Sikkim, is arboreal. When it descends to the ground it is extremely vulnerable to predation.
The KAS is small, but it harbours 14 species of the rhododendron, including Rhododendron niveum, the State tree of Sikkim. It is home to birds such as the monal pheasant, the blood pheasant (State bird of Sikkim), the satyr tragopan and the Tibetan snowcock and mammals such as the pika, the marmot, the goral, the serow, the musk deer, the barking deer, the Tibetan fox, the red panda, the black bear, and possibly the snow leopard in winter. During our short walk in June 2007, I saw signs of the goral and the musk deer, and one of the Forest Department staff saw a pair of blood pheasants with four chicks.
During the three visits I made to Sikkim, I also visited the Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary (52 sq km), closer to Gangtok, the Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary (35 sq km) in south Sikkim, the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary (104 sq km), which is contiguous with the Singalila National Park in West Bengal, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary in the north and the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (124 sq km) in the east. Twice I drove down from Sherathang, near Nathula, to Rhenock, and somewhere below Kupub village I saw a golden yellow tiger painting on a rock. I thought it might have been commissioned by the Army. Walking in these protected areas gave me the opportunity to understand the problems and potential of Sikkim, particularly for the conservation of large Himalayan mammals that occur here.
THE HIMALAYAN TAHR. Ernest Schaffer, a German biologist, made an expedition to north Sikkim in 1930 and discovered this distinct variety in Sikkim.
It is unfortunate that in spite of the efforts by the State government, garbage is still a problem here. It is more so in the countryside. The only large mammal I saw during my visits was a group of Himalayan langur, looking beautiful in their winter coats, near the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. As a result of extensive road construction, even in areas where it should never have been considered in the first place, landslides are a major problem. During my last trip in March 2011, Forest Officer Monee Ram Rai showed me several places where the problem of landslides had been addressed effectively with suitable eco-restoration measures.
RHODODENDRON HODGSONII IS one of the beautiful rhododendron species in the Himalaya.
The magnificent Teesta river is being tamed for the construction of six power plants. In addition, there are proposals for several micro-hydel projects. Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of the State, who was presented the Down To Earth Greenest Chief Minister award in 1998 and has been reigning for the past two decades, believes that when the hydel projects are completed, Sikkim, with excess power to sell, will be economically prosperous.
Hooker's journals
The Sikkim Himalaya, comprising the present State of Sikkim and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council of West Bengal, covers 12,700 sq km of extremely mountainous terrain. Much of the credit for drawing the attention of the scientific community to the biological richness of this region goes to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, an eminent Victorian botanist (1817-1911) and a friend of Charles Darwin. Darwin writes of Hooker as the one soul from whom he unfailingly received support when he expostulated his ideas on natural selection.
RHODODENDRON THOMSONII FLOWERS start wilting in early May.
In 1848-49, Hooker braved ticks, mosquitoes, fleas, leeches, inclement weather, high-altitude sickness, irregular supplies of basic provisions and the hostility of the powerful Diwan (Prime Minister) of Sikkim (the aging King was an ineffective ruler) to survey up to about 6,000 m, venturing well into Tibet.
RHODODENDRON FALCONERI. THE large leaves that are rufous on the ventral side help in its identification.
On a subsequent longer expedition in Sikkim, he and his friend, Archibald Campbell, representative of the British East India Company at Darjeeling, were both arrested as they travelled towards Chola Pass in Tibet. Even so, he managed to collect 6,000-7,000 plant specimens which he then deposited at the Kew Botanical Gardens, of which his father was then director. Hooker too eventually became the director of the Kew Botanical Gardens. His monograph Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya describes all the 36 species of Sikkim. His report brought this genus of trees with its showy flowers importance as a horticulture species.
TREVESIA PALMATA, ONE of the most attractive plants seen in the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary.
S.T. Lachungpa, a fourth-generation forester in Sikkim, believes that there could be more than 40 species of the rhododendron in Sikkim. He also makes keen observations on the visible impact of climate change in Sikkim. For instance, mosquitoes, previously unknown here, are now invading north Sikkim because of the warming weather. Similarly, a very valuable tree species, Alnus nepalensis (Nepalese Alder), originally confined to the 1,500-2,000-m belt, is now found at higher altitudes. Local people find that preserving yak meat is a challenge now because temperatures do not stay low enough in winter for the meat to be properly frozen.
CHAMPAK, OR MICHELIA excelsa. It requires greater protection and propagation.
Interesting information on large mammals emerges from Hooker's two-volume book Himalayan Journals, which is dedicated to Charles Darwin, whom he describes as an affectionate friend. Hunting was a way of life in those days, and Hooker frequently obtained meat from the mountains. He writes that the flesh of musk deer females and young males is delicious, but the flesh of adult males is unpalatable because of the odour of the strong musk that they produce. In his writings he mentions the Tibetan woolly hare, the Tibetan antelope, the Tibetan gazelle, the bharal (the blue sheep), and the argali ( Ovis ammon), a wild species of sheep that sports magnificent horns and is a relative of the big-horn sheep ( Ovis canadensis) of North America. Interestingly, nowhere does he mention the goral, the Himalayan tahr, the serow, the leopard, the snow leopard, the black bear or the dhole (wild dog). The credit for discovering the Himalayan tahr in the Sikkim Himalaya goes to Dr Ernest Schaffer, who did this during his expedition to Tibet from Sikkim in 1930. He and his small team were turned back by the Tibetans because he was a Nazi German.
FALLEN BLOOD-RED FRUITS of Sterculia villosa, which are common in early May in lower Sikkim.
In the Himalayan Journals, Volume II, Hooker provides a drawing of an antler of the Sikkim stag ( Cervus elaphus wallichii, now reported to be extinct in Sikkim), which measured 54 inches in length. Hooker reported the deer to be a native of the Choombi (Chumbi) valley in Tibet, where the sub-species of this deer is still in existence. During that time, Choombi valley was part of Sikkim. Once, Hooker's dogs caught an ungulate at an altitude of 2,760 m. He called it the “Regean” and describes it as half goat, half deer, dark and lean, its flesh as rather good and tender. My surmise is that it may have been a young serow.
In the past, both the Teesta and the Rangeet were famous for the golden mahseer, but now the status of this extremely beautiful and immensely valuable fish remains bleak as a result of overfishing, construction of dams and siltation in the rivers. The decline of snowfall over the decades in Sikkim Himalaya has affected the glacial lakes in the north-eastern part of Sikkim, which also suffer as a result of siltation, and could be a threat to the introduced population of rainbow trout and brown trout which can be a great asset for promoting ecotourism.
YOUNG LEAVES OF Rhododendron arboreum in the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary in early May.
Several ideas for the conservation of large mammals in Sikkim come to my mind. The high Himalayas still have populations of the Himalayan tahr, the wild ass, the bharal, the argali and the snow leopard which are possibly connected to the other populations in the Himalayas. Recently, Pranay Chanchani, a young student from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, spent nearly six months in the Tso Lhamo plateau (over 4,300 m) studying the conflict between livestock and wild ungulates (the Tibetan argali, the Tibetan gazelle and the Tibetan wild ass) and concluded that wild ungulates survive here only because of the non-hunting tradition of the local people and the seasonal absence of grazing by yak and sheep. There is a lesson in this for large mammal conservation in other parts of Sikkim too: no hunting (which also includes snaring), no grazing in the wildlife habitats and no free-ranging dogs. Dogs can be a great threat to all forms of wildlife, particularly to the less-agile red panda.
The Gangtok Zoological Garden can be used for breeding the sambar for reintroduction. Efforts should be made to protect the golden mahseer, wherever possible, in the Teesta and the Rangeet. There is an urgent need to create the tri-junction peace park encompassing the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (Sikkim), the Neora Valley National Park (West Bengal) and the Torsa Strict Nature Reserve (Bhutan), as a collaborative project with West Bengal and Bhutan, to bring the tiger back to Sikkim.
COLOURFUL FLAGS WELCOMING visitors to north Sikkim. Sikkim has become one of India's most visited States owing to its reputation for cleanliness, scenic beauty and political stability.
The gaur will then eventually find a permanent home here. Much greater importance should be given to the propagation and protection of various species of oaks, Campbell's magnolia ( Magnolia campbellii) and Champak ( Michelia excelsa).
It should be ensured that the pharmaceutical factories on the banks of the Teesta do not release untreated effluents into the river. All road and dam construction works should be concluded as early as possible and the ugly scars on the landscapes caused by these constructions covered by adequate eco-restoration programmes, enabling Sikkim to rediscover its unmatched scenic beauty.
RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM IS the first of the rhododendron species to flower in the Sikkim Himalaya. In the background is the plateau Tso Lhamo, at 5,490 metres.
IN the summer of 2007, I was helping the Sikkim Programme Office of WWF-India conduct a three-day training programme for officers and other staff of the Sikkim Forest Department on field methods to assess the status of the red panda ( Ailurus fulgens). The red panda is a cute-looking carnivore of the eastern Himalaya and south-western China. It is also the State animal of Sikkim.
On June 1, 2007, as part of the training programme, a young forest officer by the name of Karma Legshey led us on a visit to the rugged and beautiful Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary (KAS, 30 square kilometres). Kyongnosla is about 30 km from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. We started our walk at an altitude of 3,300 metres from the bridge across the Rongchu (chu means stream) on the Gangtok-Nathula road. The Rongchu gushed merrily down a shallow valley, its water snow-white in the rapids and emerald-green in the pools. The far-off mountains stood shrouded in mist and the sky was laden with patches of dark rain clouds indicating that the south-west monsoon was imminent. We walked along the right bank of the river for about half a kilometre, went up the mountain slope along a stream and, after attaining an altitude of nearly 3,500 m, turned back to the road along the steep, rhododendron-draped slope. That was the second of my three visits to Sikkim (in April 2006, May-June 2007 and March 2011) which have together helped me understand the conservation situation in the State.
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian State nestled in the eastern Himalayas. Spread below Mount Khangchendzonga (about 8,585 m), the third highest mountain peak in the world, this thumb-shaped State has borders with Nepal in the west, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and east, Bhutan to its south-east and West Bengal to its south. It is the second smallest State (7,096 sq km) after Goa (3,702 sq km) and one of the least populous States in the country. Despite its tiny size, Sikkim is geographically diverse because of its location in the Himalaya. The climate ranges from the subtropical (300 m) to that of the snowbound peaks of the Khangchendzonga range.
RHODODENDRON GRIFFITHIANUM, WHICH flowers in May-June.
Sikkim has become one of India's most visited States owing to its reputation for cleanliness, scenic beauty and political stability. The Teesta and its tributary, the Rangeet, are the major rivers and they join at Teesta Bazaar on the border with West Bengal.
Protected areas
A major problem for this small State is the small sizes of its protected areas. The total area covered by the eight protected areas is about 2,183 sq km (31 per cent of the total geographic area, and the highest of any State in India). Among them the largest is the Khangchendzonga National Park (1,784 sq km). The area coming under the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve is 836 sq km and the total area coming under conservation is 2,620 sq km. In India, biosphere reserves do not have legal status.
PRIMULA SPECIES OF herbs that grow in areas that are snowbound in winter.
The average size of the other protected areas is about 57 sq km, which is too small for the conservation of large mammals, which are already decimated by heavy hunting in the past. In fact, the sambar deer is extinct in Sikkim, in contrast to adjacent Bhutan where it is found in broad-leaved forests even at 3,500-4,000 m, thus enabling the tiger to occur at these high altitudes. For that matter, even other mammals such as the barking deer, the goral and the serow seem to be extremely rare in spite of the availability of splendid habitats. The tiger no longer occurs within the geographical limit of Sikkim, and conflict reports indicate that the clouded leopard may be much more common than the common leopard. Problem species such as the black bear and the wild pig seem to be common if data on conflict are any indication.
FLOWERS OF MAGNOLIA campbellii.
The KAS, one of the eight protected areas in Sikkim, was established in 1984. It is on the right, or western, bank of the Kyongnosla river valley, which was ravaged by massive timber extraction for defence needs during India's border conflict with China in 1962. The credit for restoring the KAS to its present glory goes to the late Chezung Lachungpa, an officer of the Indian Forest Service. He had several decades of experience across Sikkim, and in the 1980s he undertook intensive plantation of various tree species, with a special focus on the rhododendron species.
TIGER PAINTING BELOW Kupub on the Sherathang-Rhenock road. In the past, possibly tigers were common at the tri-junction of Sikkim-Bhutan-north Bengal.
The altitude of the KAS ranges from 3,300 m to 4,100 m, and it is part of a much larger mountainous landscape that extends to the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary in the north to the Gangtok Zoological Gardens in the south-west and to the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in the south. Interestingly, this stretch of mountains was used by tigers in the past as there was report between 1978 and 1981 of a tiger killing cattle near Lacheng village, not far from the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. The tiger disappeared thereafter.
THE RED PANDA, the State animal of Sikkim, is arboreal. When it descends to the ground it is extremely vulnerable to predation.
The KAS is small, but it harbours 14 species of the rhododendron, including Rhododendron niveum, the State tree of Sikkim. It is home to birds such as the monal pheasant, the blood pheasant (State bird of Sikkim), the satyr tragopan and the Tibetan snowcock and mammals such as the pika, the marmot, the goral, the serow, the musk deer, the barking deer, the Tibetan fox, the red panda, the black bear, and possibly the snow leopard in winter. During our short walk in June 2007, I saw signs of the goral and the musk deer, and one of the Forest Department staff saw a pair of blood pheasants with four chicks.
During the three visits I made to Sikkim, I also visited the Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary (52 sq km), closer to Gangtok, the Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary (35 sq km) in south Sikkim, the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary (104 sq km), which is contiguous with the Singalila National Park in West Bengal, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary in the north and the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (124 sq km) in the east. Twice I drove down from Sherathang, near Nathula, to Rhenock, and somewhere below Kupub village I saw a golden yellow tiger painting on a rock. I thought it might have been commissioned by the Army. Walking in these protected areas gave me the opportunity to understand the problems and potential of Sikkim, particularly for the conservation of large Himalayan mammals that occur here.
THE HIMALAYAN TAHR. Ernest Schaffer, a German biologist, made an expedition to north Sikkim in 1930 and discovered this distinct variety in Sikkim.
It is unfortunate that in spite of the efforts by the State government, garbage is still a problem here. It is more so in the countryside. The only large mammal I saw during my visits was a group of Himalayan langur, looking beautiful in their winter coats, near the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. As a result of extensive road construction, even in areas where it should never have been considered in the first place, landslides are a major problem. During my last trip in March 2011, Forest Officer Monee Ram Rai showed me several places where the problem of landslides had been addressed effectively with suitable eco-restoration measures.
RHODODENDRON HODGSONII IS one of the beautiful rhododendron species in the Himalaya.
The magnificent Teesta river is being tamed for the construction of six power plants. In addition, there are proposals for several micro-hydel projects. Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of the State, who was presented the Down To Earth Greenest Chief Minister award in 1998 and has been reigning for the past two decades, believes that when the hydel projects are completed, Sikkim, with excess power to sell, will be economically prosperous.
Hooker's journals
The Sikkim Himalaya, comprising the present State of Sikkim and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council of West Bengal, covers 12,700 sq km of extremely mountainous terrain. Much of the credit for drawing the attention of the scientific community to the biological richness of this region goes to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, an eminent Victorian botanist (1817-1911) and a friend of Charles Darwin. Darwin writes of Hooker as the one soul from whom he unfailingly received support when he expostulated his ideas on natural selection.
RHODODENDRON THOMSONII FLOWERS start wilting in early May.
In 1848-49, Hooker braved ticks, mosquitoes, fleas, leeches, inclement weather, high-altitude sickness, irregular supplies of basic provisions and the hostility of the powerful Diwan (Prime Minister) of Sikkim (the aging King was an ineffective ruler) to survey up to about 6,000 m, venturing well into Tibet.
RHODODENDRON FALCONERI. THE large leaves that are rufous on the ventral side help in its identification.
On a subsequent longer expedition in Sikkim, he and his friend, Archibald Campbell, representative of the British East India Company at Darjeeling, were both arrested as they travelled towards Chola Pass in Tibet. Even so, he managed to collect 6,000-7,000 plant specimens which he then deposited at the Kew Botanical Gardens, of which his father was then director. Hooker too eventually became the director of the Kew Botanical Gardens. His monograph Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya describes all the 36 species of Sikkim. His report brought this genus of trees with its showy flowers importance as a horticulture species.
TREVESIA PALMATA, ONE of the most attractive plants seen in the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary.
S.T. Lachungpa, a fourth-generation forester in Sikkim, believes that there could be more than 40 species of the rhododendron in Sikkim. He also makes keen observations on the visible impact of climate change in Sikkim. For instance, mosquitoes, previously unknown here, are now invading north Sikkim because of the warming weather. Similarly, a very valuable tree species, Alnus nepalensis (Nepalese Alder), originally confined to the 1,500-2,000-m belt, is now found at higher altitudes. Local people find that preserving yak meat is a challenge now because temperatures do not stay low enough in winter for the meat to be properly frozen.
CHAMPAK, OR MICHELIA excelsa. It requires greater protection and propagation.
Interesting information on large mammals emerges from Hooker's two-volume book Himalayan Journals, which is dedicated to Charles Darwin, whom he describes as an affectionate friend. Hunting was a way of life in those days, and Hooker frequently obtained meat from the mountains. He writes that the flesh of musk deer females and young males is delicious, but the flesh of adult males is unpalatable because of the odour of the strong musk that they produce. In his writings he mentions the Tibetan woolly hare, the Tibetan antelope, the Tibetan gazelle, the bharal (the blue sheep), and the argali ( Ovis ammon), a wild species of sheep that sports magnificent horns and is a relative of the big-horn sheep ( Ovis canadensis) of North America. Interestingly, nowhere does he mention the goral, the Himalayan tahr, the serow, the leopard, the snow leopard, the black bear or the dhole (wild dog). The credit for discovering the Himalayan tahr in the Sikkim Himalaya goes to Dr Ernest Schaffer, who did this during his expedition to Tibet from Sikkim in 1930. He and his small team were turned back by the Tibetans because he was a Nazi German.
FALLEN BLOOD-RED FRUITS of Sterculia villosa, which are common in early May in lower Sikkim.
In the Himalayan Journals, Volume II, Hooker provides a drawing of an antler of the Sikkim stag ( Cervus elaphus wallichii, now reported to be extinct in Sikkim), which measured 54 inches in length. Hooker reported the deer to be a native of the Choombi (Chumbi) valley in Tibet, where the sub-species of this deer is still in existence. During that time, Choombi valley was part of Sikkim. Once, Hooker's dogs caught an ungulate at an altitude of 2,760 m. He called it the “Regean” and describes it as half goat, half deer, dark and lean, its flesh as rather good and tender. My surmise is that it may have been a young serow.
In the past, both the Teesta and the Rangeet were famous for the golden mahseer, but now the status of this extremely beautiful and immensely valuable fish remains bleak as a result of overfishing, construction of dams and siltation in the rivers. The decline of snowfall over the decades in Sikkim Himalaya has affected the glacial lakes in the north-eastern part of Sikkim, which also suffer as a result of siltation, and could be a threat to the introduced population of rainbow trout and brown trout which can be a great asset for promoting ecotourism.
YOUNG LEAVES OF Rhododendron arboreum in the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary in early May.
Several ideas for the conservation of large mammals in Sikkim come to my mind. The high Himalayas still have populations of the Himalayan tahr, the wild ass, the bharal, the argali and the snow leopard which are possibly connected to the other populations in the Himalayas. Recently, Pranay Chanchani, a young student from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, spent nearly six months in the Tso Lhamo plateau (over 4,300 m) studying the conflict between livestock and wild ungulates (the Tibetan argali, the Tibetan gazelle and the Tibetan wild ass) and concluded that wild ungulates survive here only because of the non-hunting tradition of the local people and the seasonal absence of grazing by yak and sheep. There is a lesson in this for large mammal conservation in other parts of Sikkim too: no hunting (which also includes snaring), no grazing in the wildlife habitats and no free-ranging dogs. Dogs can be a great threat to all forms of wildlife, particularly to the less-agile red panda.
The Gangtok Zoological Garden can be used for breeding the sambar for reintroduction. Efforts should be made to protect the golden mahseer, wherever possible, in the Teesta and the Rangeet. There is an urgent need to create the tri-junction peace park encompassing the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (Sikkim), the Neora Valley National Park (West Bengal) and the Torsa Strict Nature Reserve (Bhutan), as a collaborative project with West Bengal and Bhutan, to bring the tiger back to Sikkim.
COLOURFUL FLAGS WELCOMING visitors to north Sikkim. Sikkim has become one of India's most visited States owing to its reputation for cleanliness, scenic beauty and political stability.
The gaur will then eventually find a permanent home here. Much greater importance should be given to the propagation and protection of various species of oaks, Campbell's magnolia ( Magnolia campbellii) and Champak ( Michelia excelsa).
It should be ensured that the pharmaceutical factories on the banks of the Teesta do not release untreated effluents into the river. All road and dam construction works should be concluded as early as possible and the ugly scars on the landscapes caused by these constructions covered by adequate eco-restoration programmes, enabling Sikkim to rediscover its unmatched scenic beauty.
Tourism in jharkhand
The newly formed state of Jharkhand is situated on the Chhotanagpur
Plateau and is known for its wild life, waterfalls, flora, fauna and
National Parks. One of the three newly found states of India, the
extremely mineral-rich state of Jharkhand has the potential to be the
economic powerhouse of India in no time. As major Travel Agents for
India we offer you unmatched travel and tour services to facilitate your
travel experience here.
TOURISTS ATTRACTIONS
Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand is a picturesque hill station still full of old world colonial charm. It is of special interest to those who are interested in anthropology for the Tribal Research Institute and museum is located here. It is well worth a visit for those who want to know more about the tribal life of Jharkhand.
On the outskirts of Ranchi lies the famous Tagore Hill, which is named after the distinguished poet Rabindranath Tagore. It is believed that he wrote a part of his famous literary work Gitanjali, and some other poems here.
The Kanke Dam is a delightful tourist spot that is regularly frequented by tourists. A few kilometers from it lies the famous 17th century Jagannath Temple.
Another interesting site is the War Cemetery, the smallest 'concentration' cemetery in India with a total of 708 burials. Located on the Ranchi - Hazaribagh road, it includes a soldier of the army of undivided India. The graves are well classified and deserve attention for some of the poignant epitaphs like "may some gentle hand in the far off land lay down a flower for us."
Mc Cluskieganj is a small village near Ranchi that evokes nostalgia as one gradually discovers that it was once popular with the Anglo-Indian community. It is a charming mix of the gauche and sophisticated.
The Betla National Park at Palamau is where the world's first tiger-census was conducted in 1932. The best time to visit it is between February and April. Wild animals like the sloth bear, wolf, wild boar, panther, tiger, gaur, Indian porcupine, chinkara, sambar, mouse deer, dhole (wild dogs), and pangolin can be spotted here as one drives through the dense sal and bamboo forests.
The Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary is another important site in Uttarakhand. It is vying for a place in the international heritage list for its recent findings of rock paintings, caves, stone age tools and smelted iron slag that show a much early advent of the Iron Age than the theorized Chalcolithic age. Wild boar, sambar, nilgai, cheetal, and kakar can be sighted near waterholes at dusk here.
Netarhat is a beautiful sunset and sunrise point, a couple of hours from Betla. Rajrappa is famous for the "Ma Chhina Mastika" temple, where the River Bhera joins the Damodar, forming a 20 feet high waterfall. Boating facilities are available here.
Parasnath - the highest hill in Jharkhand, lies on the eastern margin of the Hazaribagh plateau. A site of religious significance, 20 out of 24 Jain tirthankaras or saints (including Parsvanatha) are believed to have attained salvation in the Sammeta Shikhar here. Several beautiful Swetambara and Digambara Jain can be found on the hills here.
Deoghar or Baidyanathdham is the most important Hindu pilgrimage site
for the people of Jharkhand as well as Bihar. Lakhs of pilgrims visit
this place on foot traveling for around 100 km during the month of
Shravan to pay their reverence to Lord Shiva.
Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand is a picturesque hill station still full of old world colonial charm. It is of special interest to those who are interested in anthropology for the Tribal Research Institute and museum is located here. It is well worth a visit for those who want to know more about the tribal life of Jharkhand.
On the outskirts of Ranchi lies the famous Tagore Hill, which is named after the distinguished poet Rabindranath Tagore. It is believed that he wrote a part of his famous literary work Gitanjali, and some other poems here.
The Kanke Dam is a delightful tourist spot that is regularly frequented by tourists. A few kilometers from it lies the famous 17th century Jagannath Temple.
Another interesting site is the War Cemetery, the smallest 'concentration' cemetery in India with a total of 708 burials. Located on the Ranchi - Hazaribagh road, it includes a soldier of the army of undivided India. The graves are well classified and deserve attention for some of the poignant epitaphs like "may some gentle hand in the far off land lay down a flower for us."
Mc Cluskieganj is a small village near Ranchi that evokes nostalgia as one gradually discovers that it was once popular with the Anglo-Indian community. It is a charming mix of the gauche and sophisticated.
The Betla National Park at Palamau is where the world's first tiger-census was conducted in 1932. The best time to visit it is between February and April. Wild animals like the sloth bear, wolf, wild boar, panther, tiger, gaur, Indian porcupine, chinkara, sambar, mouse deer, dhole (wild dogs), and pangolin can be spotted here as one drives through the dense sal and bamboo forests.
The Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary is another important site in Uttarakhand. It is vying for a place in the international heritage list for its recent findings of rock paintings, caves, stone age tools and smelted iron slag that show a much early advent of the Iron Age than the theorized Chalcolithic age. Wild boar, sambar, nilgai, cheetal, and kakar can be sighted near waterholes at dusk here.
Netarhat is a beautiful sunset and sunrise point, a couple of hours from Betla. Rajrappa is famous for the "Ma Chhina Mastika" temple, where the River Bhera joins the Damodar, forming a 20 feet high waterfall. Boating facilities are available here.
Parasnath - the highest hill in Jharkhand, lies on the eastern margin of the Hazaribagh plateau. A site of religious significance, 20 out of 24 Jain tirthankaras or saints (including Parsvanatha) are believed to have attained salvation in the Sammeta Shikhar here. Several beautiful Swetambara and Digambara Jain can be found on the hills here.
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