New tree park honoring Salumarada Thimmakka to be built in North Bengaluru: Eshwar Khandre
Bengaluru: Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre stated that a stone laying ceremony would soon be held for 'Salumarada Thimmakka Sasyodyana' in the model of Cubbon Park at the 153-acre forest land in Madappanahalli near Yelahanka RTO office. This would aid in remedying the lack of 'lung space' in the northern part of Bengaluru city, he said. He was addressing the valedictory ceremony of 'Wildlife week' at Aranya Bhavana in Bengaluru on Monday.
"The 153-acre forest land had been leased to the State Forest Development Corporation. As the contract period is over now, the forest department will develop a Cubbon Park style tree park, with the aid of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund. Bengaluru has grown far and wide around Yelahanka. So if we build the Salumarada Thimmakka Tree Park here to benefit people, this will be a top level attraction", he said.
Citing a recent Indian Forest Survey report, Khandre said that Bengaluru, the third largest city in India, had about 89 sq. km of forest which amounted to 6.81% tree cover. However, around 5 sq. km of tree cover was lost in the last ten years, he said.
"The fast growing Bengaluru city needs to reclaim its legacy of being a 'garden city'. The department must collaborate with the public to conduct more and more tree planting events. Along with this, we need to recover the encroached forest land in the capital city", Khandre stated.
Referring to how people throng zoos and jungle safaris to be enchanted by the wildlife in weekends, the Minister for Ecology said that all of us had the responsibility to protect and conserve these wonderful creatures which made us happy. This was why the department conducted a wildlife week from October 2 to 8 of every year, he said.
School children who won various competitions held during the Wildlife Week were awarded prizes during the occasion. A wild life photography and postal stamps exhibition was also held at the event.
Forest Department Additional Chief Secretary Manjunath Prasad, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Task Force Brijesh Kumar Dixit, Chief Wildlife Warden Subhash Malkhede and others were present.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
