Sanctuary | Readers’ Forum
Readers’ Forum
The wetlands at Uran in
Navi Mumbai teem with life,
but unfortunately, they are
being destroyed by various
government and private
agencies for development
projects. Nobody seems to
be bothered.
Nandakumar Pawar,
Mumbai
Construction of buildings,
roads, housing complexes,
mega markets, shopping
malls, expressways, fl yovers,
subways, bridges, airports,
factories, industries, bus
and train terminals are
a common sight today.
However, such development
should be in harmony with
nature. Thank you for
publishing such excellent
photographs and spreading
a valuable message.
Soumitra Roy,
Agartala
STOP THE KILLER
HIGHWAY THROUGH
CORBETT
Sanctuary readers wrote
to Trivendra Singh Rawat,
Honourable Chief Minister
of Uttarakhand.OF FOLDED HANDS
AND FORKED
PENISES
Stronger steps must be
taken by the government
to reduce wildlife crime,
perhaps through the Central
Bureau of Investigation. We
also need special operations
teams in every state,
trained in jungle warfare, to
neutralise poaching.
Shibnath Banerjee,
Kolkata
CONSERVATION
PHOTOGRAPHY?
We had around eight to
10 people with high-end
cameras on what was a full
bus safari. We spotted a
black panther at a distance
of about 12 m. and a tigress
at a distance of about three
metres during the safari.
What followed was total
mayhem. People rushed to
the windows, screaming at
the driver to move so better
images could be obtained
and generally behaving as if
their camera and photos took
precedence over everyone
and everything else.
They had no regard
for others on the bus, who
just wanted to observe
the cats, no respect forthe sanctity of the forest
and no common sense.
Everyone had taken out as
much time and paid just as
much for the experience.
A photograph has its
signifi cance, but it does
not take precedence over
another person’s right to
experience the joy of being
in the wilderness.
The wild animals were
on their best natural
behaviour, humans, on
the other hand, displayed
disgraceful behaviour.
Shruthi Shankar,
Dubai
I’ve seen some really bad
behaviour from tourists,
forest offi cials and guides.
A big part of the problem
is tourists won’t listen to
guides and guides want tips
to supplement their income.
Melissa Fitzgerald,
Dubai
It is vital to orient tourists
before entering any wildlife
area. Accidents can happen
anytime, both to humans
and animals. Rules should be
enforced to penalise tourists,
who don’t follow instructions.
Somak Sengupta,
GurgaonI really don’t recommend
open vehicles for wildlife
tourism where large animals
such as tigers, lions, leopards
and elephants are around. I
have been there and I feel it
is a dangerous practice.
Payo Tai,
Itanagar
I have seen two videos in
the last six months, where
big cats got frightfully
close to vehicles. Mercifully,
nothing untoward
happened.
Prasenjit Guha,
Mumbai
ARE HUMANS
REALLY
INTELLIGENT?
Gifted the most
complicated brains in the
world, we humans seem
to have been denied the
foresight to ward off the
dire consequences of
choking our biosphere with
disposable plastics.
Moncy M. Thomas,
Thiruvanathapuram
We have always been
undermining the service that
biodiverse wetlands provide.SAMYAK KANINDE