IT IS a January afternoon, but it feels like peak summer. A mild breeze makes up for the shards of winter, caressing the face as the eyes narrow under the glare of the sun. Birds chirp in the trees, and as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but a few hundred camels happily grazing away on the thorny bushes in the Degrai oran, a sacred grove, in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The windmills, visible at a distance, tower over everything else in the vicinity.
“This is the largest and one of the last orans in the area,” says Masinga Ram, a camel handler from Sanwata village, adjoining the oran. For centuries, the trees in the oran, spread over 60,000 bighas (approximately 100 sq km), have remained untouched by the people in the villages. “It is more than 600 years old and was declared a protected area by ruler Vikramdev in the 15 th century. Felling of trees is forbidden in the area. We just collect the dead branches on the ground and pluck ripened fruits for ourselves, the rest is all for the animals and birds,” says Shivdan Singh Bhati, a farmer and a member of the Degrai Mata Trust, which looks after the temple inside the oran. It is in the middle of a 13,000 sq km wide biodiversity-rich land that is among the last natural habitats of Rajasthan's state bird, the great Indian bustard (gib), listed under the “critically endangered” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2011 (see 'Net loss', p46).
An open stretch of land with long hours of sunlight, high-speed winds and large plains, the area has become a hub of green energy. Windmills and solar plants are a part of the landscape. More solar plants and transmission towers are under construction.
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra February 01, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara