G’nY SINCE 2001 Vol. 18, ISSuE 106, 2018 `100
Science bolSteringbol theeconomy GEoGraphYandYou technovation vironment mAgAzineA Development AnD environment preparedness waste plastic Rural India’s newrefrigerator Funding forscience S tering digvlet uebowse Adding value tojutebio-waste Cage culture forfisheries Tiles forhomesfrom t he economy Glow paintfor PARIStrengthening Democracy PARLIAMENTARY & ADMINISTRATIVE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
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LIGHTS, Research Foundation An Educational NOT-for-Profit organisation 604, Bhikaji Cama Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi -110066 Tel: +91-11-40159058, 46014233, Please contact Amit Kumar, Mobile: 7678491255 Website: www.pariparliament.org | E-mail : [email protected] G’nY SINCE 2001 a dEvElopmENt aNd GEoGraphYaNdYou.Com GeoGraphy and you ENvIroNmENt maGazINE VOL. 18 ISSUE 106 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018
OPINION 4 Funding for science: Where do we stand? Rasik Ravindra
CONCePt COuNter 14 Warming Trends & Global Sea Surface Temperature
18 Upper Atmosphere Cooling & Climate Human innova- Change tions and the end user—retrofitted MarINe POllutION houseboats with all 24 Toxic Oceans & Waste Plastic modern amenities in Alleppey, Kerala. teChNOvatION 28 Waste Plastic: Liability to Sustainability
34 Revisiting Jute: Adding value to biowaste
40 Green Cooling: Solid State Refrigerators for Rural India
46 Glow Paint: A tool for Preparedness
52 Fish Farming & Cage Culture
SPaCe teChNOlOgy 56 Powering India’s Eyes in the Sky
INdIa OutdOOrS 60 Khajjiar to Kalatop N Prasad
IN BrIEf 2 Letters 3 Editor’s Note 10 Indian Science News 13 Term power 51 Term power rating 64 Book/Website Photo : Prasad
Expert Panel Prithvish Nag B Meenakumari Ajit Tyagi B Sengupta Vice Chancellor, Chairperson, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Former Member Secretary, MG Kashi Vidyapeeth, National Biodiversity Former DG, IMD, Central Pollution Control Varanasi. Authority, Chennai. New Delhi. Board, New Delhi. Rasik Ravindra Sachidanand Sinha Saraswati Raju D Mukhopadhyay Former Director, Professor, CSRD, Professor, CSRD, General Manager NCAOR, Goa. Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru Biz Strategy and University, New Delhi. University, New Delhi. Innovation november-december 2017 Issue: The G’nY issue on Glacier Meltdown is very informative as it discussed the scientific findings related to glaciations in the backdrop of the Fourth Conference of Science and GeoGraphy and you Geopolitics of Himalayas, Arctic and Antarctic. The articles about edITor climate change and its effects on the glacial realm are interesting. Sulagna Chattopadhyay Disasters and exclusion from education throws light on how children legal advIsor in disaster prone areas lose access to schooling. I liked the article KriShnendu datta revisiting traditional gender identities in disaster prone areas. It sponsored secTIon depicts the changing role of women in disaster response. I thank thiS iSSue iS partially G’nY team for such a good effort.—K SHARMA via website. SponSored by CSir- national phySiCal For more details log on to our website www.geographyandyou.com laboratory, new delhi. I am a regular reader of g’nY. Currently g’nY’s blog about creation of GIS project cover phoTo I am pursuing graduation from Patna and its use in the era of digitisation is quite teChnovation and the University. I request you to include articles informative.—Sagar Bhatia via Facebook Common man—Still a diStant dream by praSad. on zoogeography so that students like me are also benefitted. I enjoy reading g’nY Is doIng an amazIng Work. The content is phoTo the G’nY articles and hope that in future authentic and deeply researched. It is very praSad, m vinod readers get to read more such informative useful for researchers and academicians correspondence/ articles.—ShaShwat Shekhar via Facebook. —amit riyar via Facebook edITorIal offIce 707, bhiKaji Cama bhawan, rK puram, I am a regular reader of the magazine and g’nY publIshes hIgh QualITY research material. new delhi - 110066 find it very interesting and informative. I It is easy to understand hence it becomes phone: +91-11-46014233; +91-11-26186350 appreciate the team for the good work. easier to interpret. The magazine is well For new SubSCriptionS, —aldrin via mail. structured and provides readers best quality renewalS, enquirieS authentic data available with its analysis. I pleaSe ContaCt CirCulation manager The conTenT of g’nY magazIne is appreciable. am grateful to the G’nY team for such a good e-mail: info@ I request the team to kindly allow readers effort.—diVya PrakaSh via Facebook geographyandyou.com to download copies. The Glacier Meltdown pleaSe viSit our Site at www.geographyandyou.com issue is informative and well-organised. I found a g’nY posT abouT what is GIS, very For Further inFormation. —SaShi BhuShan Singh via Facebook. useful. Please make further presentations
©IrIs publIcaTIon on the application of GIS in the fields pvT. lTd. The onlIne posT abouT landslide dangers is of agriculture, urban development, all rightS reServed well written. Thank you G’nY team, your environment, disaster, transportation and throughout the world. reproduCtion in any work is quite impressive.—Jyoti Verma water. —kumar gautaum via Facebook manner, part or whole, via Facebook iS prohibited. printed, I read a g’nY posT on NRDMS village pond publiShed and owned by Sulagna Chattopadhyay. saghaa 2017 vIdeo youtube uploads are rejuvenation. It is really a need of the hour delightful. It allows the viewers to access to recharge ground water. The post is quite prInTed aT india graphiC SyStemS the accumulated knowledge of the informative as it talks about diminishing pvt. ltd. F-23, oKhla conference and discussion which they ground water. —arShad lone via Facebook induStrial area, phaSe-i, were not a part of. The session by Dr A new delhi - 110020. P Dimri wherein a preliminary analysis of g’nY posT abouT Blood Moon—the historic publIshed aT Indus river basin was discussed was very event where lunar eclipse, super moon and iriS publiCation pvt. informative. The impact of climate on water blue moon all occurred on a single day, was ltd. geography and you doeS not taKe any budget was discussed allowing viewers to engaging. I am fond of astronomical events reSponSibility For know many facts and figures which are not and would request more such coverage. returning unSoliCited riShu raJ via Facebook. rauShan Jha via Facebook publiCation material. easily accessible.— —
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2 January - February 2018 . GeoGraphy and you 106 issue A road to Pukhri with lush green forests paving the way to a beautiful mountainous village.
By N Prasad KHAJJIAR to KALAtoP Khajjiar hill station is situated in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, at an elevation of about 6,500m and encompasses breathtaking locations and new adventures for travellers.
GeoGraphy and you . January-February 2018 61 ‘Unforgettable Himachal’- the slogan bestowed we were in the driveway of our hotel, a small upon India’s mountainous state captures its state-run establishment situated in the greens charm and beauty. Himachal is gifted with that provided the basic necessities. The first day numerous beauteous landscapes, in both dis- ended with shades of travel fatigue and a small covered and offbeat. A trip to Khajjiar and Ka- dinner in the hotel, as we geared up for a long latop, a quiet hamlet tucked away in the arms day tomorrow. of Chamba district with a couple of mini-treks Day 2 began with a walk around Khajjiar thrown in for good measure, proved to be a de- lake, made famous by the iconic Hindi movie light. Often referred to as the mini-Switzerland ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. Situated at a height of of India—a title concurred in 1992 by Willy almost 2,000 m the lake is surrounded by ce- Blazer, the Vice Counselor and Head of Chan- dar forest and the shadows of the Himalayas. cery of Switzerland, Khajjiar is a 14 hour road Although once voluminous, the lake now flows journey of over 570 km from Delhi. weak and frail. The trees and the mountains We embarked on the journey at 6 am, pass- compensated for the lake, offering a peace- ing through a total of four states before we ful and exquisite background. Excluding the reached our final frontier. The flurry of dha- natural beauty, travellers can partake in ad- bas—roadside eateries, in Murthal, a village in venture activities including paragliding, horse- Sonepat, Haryana, about two hours away from riding and zorbing. While suspended high in Delhi, is famous for its dhabas and restaurants. the air and circumambulating slowly towards We decided to make our first pit stop and curb the ground, paragliding bestows upon you the the hunger chiming in. The piping hot stuffed chance to view a piece of heaven on Earth. As paranthas and tea were a perfect start to the you land on wobbly feet, you long for another journey. chance to be back up there, between the clouds The National Expressway 2 was busy, and with wind stroking your face while you breathe signboards started directing us in English, in the beauty with all your heart. Hindi and Punjabi—the land of the five rivers As we were about to leave, a young boy came had begun. With lush and bountiful fields on running up with a basket full of bunnies. While either side and an endless tar ribbon in front, we gazed at his basket, he prattled about his we completed over half our journey before we unique business of renting out his bunnies for stopped for an authentic Punjabi lunch. With petting or photographs. His persuasive pow- huge dollops of fresh white butter and butter- ers got the better of us and before we knew milk to wash down the spicy parathas, we were it, he was promising to take us for a trek to a as radiant as the afternoon sun. small village Pukhri, that offered, he claimed, a We then took the road to our destination, breathtaking view of the Chamera dam. swerving onto the National Highway 154 from Next day we sought Vineet out, as he was Pathankot. Since it wasn’t my turn to drive, I named, to embark on the mini-trek of just took the opportunity to browse the internet to about 3 km, to Pukhri. We packed a sumptu- learn that the hill station gets its name from ous lunch of parathas, fresh apples and coffee, Khaji Naag, an ancient idol which is still wor- and set out with Vineet. Not many people know shipped by the locals. The beauty of Khajjiar at- about Pukhri, we learnt and the beauty it offers. tracted many, including the Rajputs who ruled The little sheltered hamlet was a delight. With a the area in the 6th century. Since then the baton sprinkling of about ten odd homes, Pukhri of- of the area was passed on to the Mughals, the fers a breathtaking view of the Chamera dam, Sikhs, the British. which began operations in 1997. The edge of the The air turned cool as we hit the mountains village that overlooked the valley was precipi- and we rolled down our windows at the ascend. tous and buffeted by strong winds. Although Situated at 6,500 feet above sea level, Khajjiar the fresh air felt delightful on our sun-warmed requires some expert driving to reach. The faces, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would tricky and steep turns are a nightmare for trav- be like during bad weather. ellers, but they were a breeze for my colleague, Collecting a handful of fauna to keepsake, who was a seasoned driver. At around 8.30 pm I asked about our next destination when the
62 January-February 2018 . GeoGraphy and you 106 issue 1 4
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name Kalatop popped up. Intrigued, we drove to the forest bungalow that was built at the bot- tom of the densely vegetated mountain. A small eatery at the premises offered the ubiquitous in- stant noodles, which we devoured with delight. As the sun reached its zenith, we clambered up the Kalatop, to reach its peak in about an 3 hours time. The trek upward is trifle steep at places, but mostly easy. The beauty of the wilderness is mesmerising. Bordered by pic- turesque tall pines, Kalatop received its name from the thick dark forests situated all along its slopes. The forests are home to distinctive birds—Monal and Pheasants, while the young boys who accompanied us claimed the presence of bears and leopards as well. Back at the hotel, we prepared for a long night of travel back to Delhi. We were happy to have discovered these tiny pearls where the moun- Vineet, the bunny basket boy, on a wooden tains stood tall, where the blue boldly met the bridge over the Khajjiar lake (Fig. 1); green and where the heart was at peace. As the zorbing at the Khajjiar grounds (Fig. 2); para- stars twinkled and winked, we bade a smiling gliding above the pine forests (Fig. 3); village farewell to the pines and the wind and rammed Pukhri where time slows down (Fig. 4). PHOTO: PrasadPHOTO: up the ignition.
GeoGraphy and you . January-February 2018 63 Website employment Guarantee programme and dynamics of rural Conseil européen pour la Transformation in india recherche nucléaire (Cern) By M. bhattarai (ed.), p. K. www.home.cern/ Viswanathan (ed.), r. n. Mishra At CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear (ed.), C. bantilan (ed.) Research, physicists and Cover: Hardcover engineers use the world’s isbn: 9789811062612 largest and most complex published: 2018 scientific instruments to publisher: Springer Singapore study the basic constituents pages: 360 of matter—the fundamental price: 89.99 USD particles. The particles are made to collide together his book offers an impacts at different at close to the speed of light. The process gives the Tassessment of the scales, almost a decade physicists clues about how performance, impact, after its implementation. the particles interact, and and welfare implications Adopting inter-disciplinary provides insights into the of the world’s largest perspectives in analysing fundamental laws of nature. employment guarantee these issues, this unique programme, the Mahatma book uses a judicious mix indian institute of Gandhi National Rural of methods—integrating astrophysics Employment Guarantee Act quantitative and www.iiap.res.in/ (MGNREGA). The book qualitative tools. It will The Indian Institute of presents various micro-level be an invaluable resource Astrophysics is a premier analyses of the programme for analysts, NGOs, institute devoted to and its heterogeneous policymakers etc. research in astronomy, astrophysics and related physics. Supported by the solid Waste Global Change in Department of Science and Management in Marine systems: societal and Technology, the institute rural areas Governing responses ranks as a premier institution By Florin-Constantin devoted to research and By patrice Mihai (ed.) Guillotreau (ed.), education of astronomy Cover: Hardcover and physics in India. The alida bundy (ed.), r. isbn: 9789535134855 ian perry (ed.) main observing facilities published: 2017 Cover: Hardcover of the institute are located publisher: InTech isbn: 9781138059221 at Kodaikanal, Kavalur, pages: 200 published: 2017 Gauribidanur and Hanle. price: 125 USD publisher: Routledge pages: 348 price: £105 national innovation Foundation (niF) india agricultural systems: rural Mechanisation: www.nif.org.in/ agroecology and a driver in The National Innovation rural innovation for agricultural development Change and rural Foundation (NIF) – India development was set up in March 2000 By sieglinde snapp (ed.), barry By M.a. sattar with the assistance of the Mandal (ed.), Department of Science pound (ed.) stephen d. biggs (ed.), scott e. and Technology, GoI. It is Cover: Hardcover Justice (ed.) India’s national initiative isbn: 9780128020708 Cover: Hardcover to strengthen grassroots published: 2017 isbn: 9789843422538 technological innovations publisher: Elsevier published: 2017 publisher: IIFD and outstanding traditional pages: 558 price: 63.71 USD pages: 276 knowledge. price: 25 USD
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