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Tag: Maharaja

  • Introduced in 1840’s by Maharaja for hunting; Wild boars stage massive comeback in Kashmir

    Introduced in 1840’s by Maharaja for hunting; Wild boars stage massive comeback in Kashmir

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    Umaisar Gull Ganie

    Srinagar, Apr 04: Brought to Kashmir for hunting purpose in 1840’s by the then Maharaja Gulab Singh, Wild boars have staged a massive comeback across the Valley after vanishing in mid-80’s completely. Even though experts believe global warming may be the reason for resurgence of the wild animal, they sounded alarm stating the boars can affect the Hangul’s habitat besides damaging the crops of every nature.

    Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Wildlife warden Shopain Intisaar Suhail, who has co-authored a publication on wild-boars, are not the native animal. “It was introduced in some areas of Kashmir like Dachigam by the then Maharaja for hunting. Then it started to decline and in mid 80’s it became a rare specie. In 2015, it was again sighted. We had found a dead specimen at north Kashmir’s area and in South Kashmir, we rescued one.”

    Suhail said that the boars are getting revived in Kashmir. “It’s revival can have beneficial as well as adverse impact which needs to be studied thoroughly. Firstly, it’s the prey for Leopards but at the same time this animal shares the habitat of Hangul. So how far it can affect the habitat of Hangul needs to be studied,” he said.

    He said that global warming may be the main reason for the animal’s revival in Kashmir.

    Aakib Hussain Paul, Project Associate of Research Study on Ecological Aspects of Wild Boars at Dachigam National Park, told KNO that the team led by him conducted a study on the ecological aspect of the Boar’s revival in the Park. “We studied the animals food habits and co-related the same with that of Hangul. Hangul and Boars share the same habitat and food. For us, this was an alien specie. In 2013, camera trap image of Boars were found in some parts of Kashmir. Today, we can say that Boar population is growing rapidly in Kashmir,” he said. “It was in 1840’s when the then Maharaja introduced Boars in Kashmir for hunting and fun purposes.”

    Paul said that Boars are considered a big threat for habitat degradation. “Our study is still in the process of publication as we haven’t covered all aspects so far. We started our study in October last and time period was for six months,” he said.

    Asked about whether the animal may prove dangerous for the Hangul and other crops in Kashmir, Paul said that Boar is a very dangerous animal and if comes out the park, it an dig up everything. “In apple orchards, it can dig up to the roots and in the open area, it can eat anything even saffron seeds etc. If the animal reaches the streets of Srinagar, it can tear apart everything as food remains littered on streets of the city,” he said. Pauls said that since Boars and Hangul share similar habitats that include food and shelter, Hanguls may face a threat from these animals, which, however,  needs to be studied further. He urged the government to allow to cover other aspects of the study as well. “It is not enough to cover every aspect in just six months. It needs some more to co-relative what we saw physically with what we see in the laboratory,” he said—(KNO)

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    #Introduced #1840s #Maharaja #hunting #Wild #boars #stage #massive #comeback #Kashmir

    ( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

  • Salary-deprived professors of DU’s Maharaja Agrasen College polish shoes

    Salary-deprived professors of DU’s Maharaja Agrasen College polish shoes

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    New Delhi: The professors of Maharaja Agrasen College affiliated to the Delhi University on Friday polished shoes on the footpath as a protest against the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government after not receiving their salaries for the last four months.

    A large number of students also participated in the shoe-polishing demonstration.

    The staff of Maharaja Agrasen college have been facing the problem of not receiving their salaries regularly.

    The professors alleged that the ad hoc teachers at the college had not yet received the arrears of the Seventh Pay Commission.

    Since the last three years, teachers had not received reimbursement of medical bills, payment of LTC facility and child education allowance.

    Notably, 12 colleges affiliated to DU are fully funded by the Delhi government and all of them have been facing financial problems.

    The professors said that there have been cases of shortfall and delay in receiving grants in these colleges in the last three years.

    Professor PK Sharma said that the teachers and employees of Maharaja Agrasen College have not received their salaries since four months which has led to them facing financial problems, including inability to pay their children’s school fees and the loan EMIs.

    Many staff and teachers faced the tragedy of family members falling ill during the pandemic and many cases of the staff seeking loans to perform the last rites of their deceased family members also came to light.

    The professors of Maharaja Agrasen College faced the issue of not receiving their salaries in the pandemic too.

    The teachers then took up the issue of irregular salaries with the principal of the college, the governing body of the college, the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), the vice-chancellor of Delhi University, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the Delhi government but to no avail as no permanent solution has been found so far.

    In this situation, the teachers have now decided to agitate in new and innovative ways to ensure that the government takes concrete steps in the matter.

    The teachers have demanded regular salary every month.

    In the demonstration, the professors polished the footwear of the people and their students on the road outside the college and mobilised support.

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    #Salarydeprived #professors #DUs #Maharaja #Agrasen #College #polish #shoes

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )