Final day of second Test called off due to rain, India win series 1-0
Port of Spain (PTI): India won the two-match series 1-0 against the West Indies after heavy rain did not allow any play on the fifth and final day of the second Test here on Monday.
India, who won the first Test by an innings and 141 runs to take a 1-0 lead, had declared their second innings at 181 for 2 on day four to set the West Indies an imposing target of 365 runs to win the match and level the two-match series, which is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
However, torrential rain didn't allow any play on the fifth day as the Test was eventually called off.
After a rain-marred fourth day, the West Indies were 76 for two in their second innings.
Jermaine Blackwood (20) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (24) were out in the middle at the close of fourth day's play.
Brief Scores:
India: 438 and 181 for 2 in 24 overs (Rohit Sharma 57, Yashasvi Jaiswal 38, Ishan Kishan 52 not out; Shannon Gabriel 1/33).
West Indies 255 and 76 for 2 in 32 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 28; Tagenarine Chanderpaul 24 not out; Ravichandran Ashwin 2/33).
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Only 13 percent of encroached forests recovered in ten years in Karnataka: Report
Hubballi: The Karnataka Forest Department has made little progress in recovering encroached forest land, managing to reclaim only 13.6 percent of the total encroached area over the last decade.
From 2014-15 to 2024-25 (March), the department resolved 7,621 cases and recovered just 31,317 acres of forest land, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
Data cited by DH shows that nearly 2.30 lakh acres of forest land in the state were encroached upon by August 2024, with the department having filed 1.19 lakh cases against the encroachers. However, the process of clearing encroached land has been slow, primarily due to the legal procedures involved and delays in joint surveys conducted by the revenue and forest departments. The process is further delayed due to appeals by the litigants in higher courts.
In the past two years alone, the department has managed to recover just 5,113 acres of land. Environmental activist Girish D. V. from Chikkamagaluru, speaking to DH, criticised the Forest Department's handling of the issue, stating that the recovery of encroached land often happens only when directed by courts. "Forget about clearing legacy encroachments, the department is unable to prevent fresh ones. Every day, the state is losing forest land," he remarked.
An interim annual report from the Forest Department (2024) highlighted that between March and December 2024, 900 new cases of forest land encroachment were registered. Girish also pointed out that a lack of political will to clear encroachments has limited the department’s ability to prevent new ones.
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre acknowledged the slow pace of recovery, attributing it to legal obstacles, multiple claim documents, and the livelihoods of marginal farmers. He told the news outlet that the state government was using technology, including satellite surveys, to curb new encroachments.
Khandre further emphasised that the state government has "zero tolerance" toward forest encroachments and they would go after influential persons to recover forest land. He added that they are fighting to recover leased forest land from private parties and restore it as forest land.
