Conservation organization Save The Frogs, USA recently declared April 28th as the first annual 'Save The Frogs Day'. The goal is to raise awareness of the rapid disappearance of frog species worldwide. Save The Frogs Day events are planned in several places , including Assam.
In recognition of Save The Frogs Day, Peoples' Science Activists of worldwide will deliver presentations about the amphibian extinction crisis to local schools, zoos and community groups this April 28th. Teachers and students will focus on amphibian conservation, learning about threats to frogs and discussing ways to contribute to conservation efforts. Events for schools also include participating in frog art and frog poetry contests.
According to Mowsam Hazarika, Peoples' Science Activist of Assam , nearly one-third of the world's 6,485 amphibian species are threatened with extinction, and at least 150 species have completely disappeared since 1980. Habitat destruction is the primary threat to frogs in lowland areas. . Millions of frogs are shipped worldwide each year for use as pets or food, and few regulations exist to prevent the transport of infected individuals. Sick frogs inevitably escape into the wild and introduce their disease to places where the native frogs have no evolved defenses. To make matters worse, pesticides and global warming weaken frogs' immune systems, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases.
The amphibian extinction crisis has received very little attention, so Peoples' Science Activists hopes that Save The Frogs Day will dramatically increase frog awareness on a global scale. This is one of the most significant environmental issues of the 21st century. Hazarika informed that , unless we act quickly, amphibian species will continue to disappear, resulting in irreversible consequences to Earth's ecosystems and to humans.
PermalinkSubmitted by Dr. Anirudha Giri on Fri, 12/06/2009 - 00:46
It is great to know that we in Assam have started thinking seriously in this regard.
My special thanks to Mowsam Hazarika and Peoples' Science Activist of Assam for taking the lead in this direction.
Rajya Sabha member Birendra Prasad Baishya on Wednesday sought Centre’s assistance help to modernize ferries in Assam two days after around 250 people were believed to have met watery grave when an overloaded boat capsized on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri.
Raising the issue in the zero hour session of parliament, Baishya expressed grief over the accident. He called it one of the worst disastes in the country. He said that there was an urgent need to modernise these ferries.
He said that the ill-fated boat had sold 350 tickets and around 400 passengers were expected to be on board when it was struck by a storm in the Brahmaputra river.
BSF officials are set to hold a crucial meet with their Bangladesh counterparts to discuss the recovery of the victims on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri.
A flag-meeting would be held on the Indo-Bangladesh border somewhere along the Indo-Bangla border. Besides officials of the BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh, the meeting would be attended by the District Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Dhubri and their counterparts of Bangladesh.
The Centre has been in touch with the Bangladesh government to recover bodies of victims of the Brahmaputra boat tragedy that may have been washed downstream to the neighbouring country.
Over 3,700 bottles of Phensedyl, a cough syrup, valued at Rs 3 lakh were today seized from the possession of a person at Guwahati railway station on Wednesday.
Acting on a tip off, the police arrested one Sanjay Singh, who was travelling in the Awadh-Assam Express, and recovered the cough syrup bottles from his posession which were being illegally brought into the state. Singh hails from Katihar in Bihar and was bringing the phensedyl for selling.
The Assam government pulls up its sleeves to modernize the ferry services.
Opening the conference of DCs and SPs in Dispur on Wednesday, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi admitted that the boat tragedy in Dhubri took place because of an old ferry service. He said that the government would lay emphasis on development of river transport to check recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Addressing the DCs and SPs, Gogoi said emphasis has to be given on developing river transport in a big way.
He urged the DCs and SPs to take strong action against those who carry excess load in boats and buses beyond their permissible limits.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi visited Medartary on Wednesday two days after the tragic boat mishap claimed over 200 lives.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and APCC president Bhubneswar Kalita, the AICC general secretary took stock of the search operation. During his stock-taking visit, Gandhi talked conveyed his deep sympathies to the bereaved family members. He further instructed the authorities to expedite the search operation on the river Brahmaputra where over 200 people were believed to have met watery grave when an overloaded boat capsized on Monday.
Earlier, the AICC general secretary landed at the Gopinath Bordoloi International...
Bodies of three more children were fished out of the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri early in the morning on Wednesday.
BSF and NDRF jawans are still on the search operation on the river bed two days after an overloaded boat sank in Dhubri. Over 150 people are believed to have been remaining traceless.
According to police, the search operation would continue through the day and did not rule out the possibility of many bodies being washed downstream to Bangladesh.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, along with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi the mishap site on Wednesday afternoon and took stock of the situation.
Assam on Wednesday approached Bangladesh to help the state trace the bodies of Monday’s boat mishap on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri.
According to official sources, the neighbouring country has received the message for help even as BSF and NDRF jawans resumed search operations for the third day on Wednesday.
It was widely believed that strong river currents may have washed away the bodies of over 100 victims downstream to Bangladesh.
The number of casualty is yet to be ascertained although it is estimated that about 270 died in the worst ever boat mishap.
According to information available with the district administration, there were about 350 people on board and only...
Bodies of three more children were fished out of the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri early in the morning on Wednesday.
BSF and NDRF jawans are still on the search operation on the river bed two days after an overloaded boat sank in Dhubri. Over 150 people are believed to have been remaining traceless.
According to police, the search operation would continue through the day and did not rule out the possibility of many bodies being washed downstream to Bangladesh.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, along with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi the mishap site on Wednesday afternoon and took stock of the situation.
Tezpur Central University will get the Srimanta Sankaradeva Chair. The University Grants Commission has cleared the establishment of the Chair in the varsity to familiarize students with the values of secularism and non-violence expounded by the saint-scholar.
The confirmation came from DONeR minister Paban Singh Ghatowar who called it a matter of immense pleasure.
SK Srivastava on Tuesday has taken over as the chairman cum managing director with the Oil India Limited.
The upstream petroleum professional with experience and expertise in exploration, drilling and production in oil and gas sector.
He joined OIL in 1977 and has since served in various capacities.
Before taking up his current position, Srivastava was holding the position of Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbon, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.
Comments
Pages
Add new comment