Parks, playgrounds, stadiums, swimming pools and sports events will also be temporarily closed for four weeks, said the secretary to the directorate of information and publicity and tourism Sunil Kumar Singh. He said a maximum of 50 people will be allowed for functions related to weddings and 20 for gatherings related to funeral and last rites. Penalty of Rs 10,000 will be imposed if the directions are violated.
Sea turtles under threat as Indian government weighs development in Andaman Islands
by Rosamma Thomas on 14 April 2021
Little Andaman Island is part of a rainforested archipelago far off India’s eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal.
An Indian government think tank has proposed developing the island along with another in the archipelago. If implemented, experts say the plan would pose a threat to nesting sites of leatherback sea turtles, whose population globally is declining.
The leatherback is the largest of all living turtles, and India and Sri Lanka are the only places in South Asia with large nesting populations.
PUNE, India A 58-page, undated “vision document” produced by an Indian government think tank outlines a concept for the “sustainable development” of Little Andaman Island. The rainforested and sparsely…
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Indian government’s development plans for the Andamans may endanger the world’s largest sea turtles
The government wants to open Little Andaman and ‘release the area for deployment of strategic assets’. A leatherback sea turtle at a nesting site in the Little Andaman. | Adith Swaminathan/ Mongabay India
A 58-page, undated “vision document” for the “sustainable development” of the Little Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal was produced by the NITI Aayog, a think tank of the central government.
The document, not in the public domain but reviewed by
Mongabay-India, states that “ecological and environmental constraints” have meant that the strategic and economic potential of the island, about 675 sq km in area, were never developed to their full potential; 95% of the island is under forest cover.
Leatherback turtles under threat as government considers ‘development’ in Little Andamans
by Rosamma Thomas on 12 April 2021
Proposed development of the Little Andaman islands, if implemented, will pose a threat to nesting sites of the leatherback turtle.
Five species of marine turtles are found in Indian waters. The leatherback is the largest of all living turtles and India and Sri Lanka are the only places in South Asia with large nesting populations.
The island is also home to the Onge native tribe with a population of just 112 individuals, having dwindled over the years.
A 58-page, undated “vision document” for the “sustainable development” of the Little Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal was produced by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, a think tank of the Government of India. The document, not in the public domain but reviewed by Mongabay-India, states that “ecological and environmental constraints” have meant that the strategi