Latest census shows that vultures are making a comeback in Tamil Nadu

Vultures play an important role in keeping the ecosystems healthy because they are basically scavengers and feed on the carcasses of dead animals. The corrosive acid in their stomach saves the surroundings from the effects of decomposing carcasses infected with a variety of diseases like anthrax, cholera, botulinum toxin and rabies. In the opinion of ecologists, vultures are a species that we need for survival.
However, out of nine species found in India, most are in danger of extinction. An example is the white-rumped vulture (Gyps Bengalensis) - up to the 1980s there were 80 million in India. Today there are hardly a few thousand left.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 April 2016.

This species has had the fastest population collapse of any bird species in recorded history. This is usually attributed to the rampant of two types of insecticides that are lethal to these birds. One of these is endosulfan (India is the largest producer of the toxin) and the other, the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac which is used mainly for veterinary purposes.
A two-day vulture census in Tamil Nadu in the Nilgiris North Forest division and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) has revealed that there has been a marginal increase in the population of three vulture species. In the course of a headcount, teams of foresters and birders recorded 120 white-rumped vultures, 20 long-billed vultures and a dozen red-headed or king vultures at both sites. A similar census conducted last year had put the total number for all three species at 140.
The census was carried out by foresters in February last year and in April this year.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Moody’s policy – love thy neighbor (satire)

Lord Shiva wants to be the King of good times (satire)

Narad queers the pitch for Didi & Co (satire)


France continues to attract tourists despite the terror attacks

Summer sees high occupancy rates in Kanpur cinema halls

Five killed in sightseeing helicopter crash near Great Smokey Mountains National Park


ISIS still holding 30 workers out of 300 kidnapped from cement factory in Dumeir

Another Bangladeshi blogger killed in Dhaka because of his views on religion

Florida hunters bag a 15-foot 800-pound massive alligator


Indonesian pop star dies after being bitten by a cobra on stage

Tom Hiddleston denies that he would be next James Bond

“Sicario 2” - Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro will team up again

Tamil Nadu to enforce dress code in temples from 1 January 2016

Madras High Court has issued directives on dress-codes for temples situated in Tamil Nadu and this will have to adhered to with effect from 1 January 2016. Therefore, several important shrines have already put up notice boards highlighting this aspect.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 31 December 2015.

As indicated on a notice board outside the Palani temple, male devotees have been advised to wear dhoti, shirt, pyjama or pant and shirt. The women and girls should wear saris or churidhar or 'pavadai' with half-sari. Devotees wearing lungi, bermudas, jeans and tight-leggings would not be allowed to enter.
Other major shrines like the Rameswaram and Meenakshi temples have also put up similar notices.
The Madras High court bench here had on December 1 directed the state government and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to implement dress code for devotees coming to offer worship in temples to enhance spiritual ambiance.
Disposing of a petition, Justice S Vaidyanathan had observed that - "we should dress for public worship in a way that is generally considered appropriate. ... for men dhoti or pyjamas with upper cloth or formal pants and shirts and for women saree or half saree with blouse, churidhars with upper cloth. For children any fully covered dress.

Some more interesting links -

Moody on climate change – promote bullock carts and tonga (satire)

Baba Someday to use gobar gas and yoga for space flights (satire)

Momo and sushi gear up to dislodge jilebi and pedhas (satire)


Winterline carnival in Mussourie - enjoy hot air balloon rides

Mamata Banerjee visits Digha sea beach and outlines her plans

Elon Musk finally gets it right - SpaceX rocket lands back on Earth vertically


'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' takes the world by storm - set to break records

Batman Ben Affleck, the Dark Knight, speaks up

When Bollywood film stars fall in love with Kolkata


British Muslim family not allowed to travel to Disneyland from Gatwick airport

ISIS chooses jungles of Philippines as its training camp

Terror attacks in Paris makes the US issue global alert for its citizens

Rains play havoc in Tamil Nadu - leaves at least 31 dead

At least 31 people have lost their lives in the past two days in rain related incidents. There was extensive flooding in Tamil Nadu as the North East Monsoon continued to be active in several parts of the state. The worst affected were the Cuddalore District which itself accounted for 27 deaths due to drowning. There was also serious disruption in the basic infrastructure, including power supply. This has prompted Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to depute a team of ministers and officials to look after and supervise the relief work. This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 12 November 2015.

Tamil Nadu usually receives 440 mm of rains during the North East monsoon season between October and December. But, in the present case, it has received 300 mm of rainfall in the past three days due to a deep depression. Of course, Cuddalore district gets an average of 697 mm rain and, so far, it has received 500 mm of rain. The Chief Minister has said that as part of relief work in Cuddalore district, common kitchens have been set up and 29,000 people housed in safe locations. the administration has also taken measures to prevent spread of infectious diseases for which 37 mobile medical camps have been put in operation and 90 veterinary medical teams are on the job. Moreover, damaged roads are being rebuilt by the Highways Department. Many fishing boats (vallam) have been washed away into the sea due to floods in Gedilam river in Cuddalore district and some of these have been located with Coast Guard support.

(Image source wikimediacommons.org)

Moody wants ODIs in Silicon Valley (satire)

Fight fire with fire - have ‘Award Return Festivals’(satire)

Moody in the mute mood (satire)


Mad rush for tourists stranded in Egypt to return home

Study reveals that online shopping is good for health

Inmates use mouse to carry drugs between cells in Brazil prison


Amitabh Bachchan to inaugurate 21st edition of Kolkata Film Festival

Sandra Bullock planning an all-female version of Ocean's Eleven

Horror Museum in Colorado could be a money spinner


Bomb in Airbus A321 responsible for Sinai Peninsula crash and 224 deaths

Two Russian TU-142 Bear aircraft shooed off from USS Ronald Reagan

Iran has already executed 700 this year and the figure could cross 1000 by year end

Eradicating the evil of child beggars – Bangalore takes a lead

The Bengaluru Police deserve kudos for undertaking a special drive against infant and child beggars and have managed to rescue 164 children in the crackdown. But, as the police admit, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It seems some of the children were hardly two years of age and some were as young as eight months.
The Bengaluru Police and child rights workers have rounded up 264 beggars in a joint operation and 164 of them were children and 25 were infants. They usually operated at traffic junctions, or beg on the streets to get the sympathy of passers-by.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 8 August 2015.

As revealed by the police – the beggars are mostly from Andhra, few are from other states like Tamil Nadu. Doctors are carrying out health checks to find out if anyone was drugged or any child has been harmed physically, or abused. DNA tests are also being done.
Roping in children for begging has been going for ages in India and, it is believed to be a well-organized mechanism for goons to mint money – they exploit the children who are forced into this trade.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Gold smuggling route to India via London - courtesy airline staff

Rat inside Air India’s Dreamliner forces it to abort flight to Milan and return to Delhi

How to improve digestion through proper food items


Ajay Devgn - new look in Drishyam

Salman Khan’s ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’ is the talk of the town – the cash box is ringing

Jena Malone to appear in the role of Batgirl in Batman v Superman


Gun battle in Multan – Pakistan police eliminate Sunni militant leader and 13 others

Man of Agra kills four minor girls to cure his mentally ill wife on advice of tantrik

ISIS targets Indians in Libya – four teachers returning to India kidnapped


Influence of Bengali culture on Hindi movies

Prawns are the prized catch of the kitchen

How green is our Indian food menu

Goa and Kerala losing out to Tamil Nadu and UP as hot tourist destinations

No record lasts forever – and, hot tourist destinations are no exceptions. Well known destinations like Goa and Kerala are losing their popularity to Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Goa has dropped out from the top 10 states in 2014. It has seen a little more than half a million foreign tourist visitors. This is in spite of a rise in the number of foreign tourists visiting the beach destination – that figure has gone up from 0.49 million in 2013 to 0.51 million in 2014.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 July 2015.

Kerala, known as ‘God’s own country’ is one of India's best known international destinations but, it now stands at seventh position with 0.92 million visitors.
As per data released by the Union tourism ministry, there has been an overall increase in the number of foreign tourists to India – it has increased to 22.57 million in 2014 as compared to 19.95 million in 2013.
The five states that have topped the charts are Tamil Nadu (4.66 million), Maharashtra (4.39 million), Uttar Pradesh (2.91 million), Delhi (2.32 million) and Rajasthan (1.53 million visitors).
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
You don’t need wads of money to travel like the moneyed – use an Uber-style phone app

Role reversal in Delhi - woman passenger tries to seduce auto driver

Gardeners and sweepers of NDMC will go to Singapore or Shanghai for training

Controversy over water cannons procured for London Police by Boris Johnson

FAO Schwarz, America’s oldest toy store, closes its doors in Manhattan


Egypt unsafe for British tourists – ISIS attacks patrol ship off coast of Sinai

Chinese police shoot dead three knife wielding Xinjiang terrorists

Police foil al-Qaeda terror plot in Britain – hold three men


Grandmothers doubled up as baby sitters and chaperons

Some Prime Ministers ride to office on bicycles, why not we?