INDIANANGLER

Hi,

I am starting this new thread to:

- Provide an update on my recent visits to the Bheemeshwari stretch.
- Highlight work done by some volunteers to clean the sanctuary and river banks.
- Focus on the Cauvery.

I have done 4 camping trips plus a 4 nights stay at Bheemeshwari with JLR between end August,2006 till Jan 10th, 2007. I saw a poacher in action even as early as August when the river was high and un-fishable. The best fishing was in November 06, by Christmas we had only 2 decent fish, and in January 07 a 2 lbs Mahseer was the biggest. I have reasons to believe that poaching is happening in the Sanctuary.

I am a volunteer in a group called "Clean and Green" http://cleanngreen.blogspot.com who have cleaned the picnic spots at Mekedatu, Sangam and now Mutthatti near Bheemeshwari. We remove the plastic waste in particular but other waste too.

Our major sponsor is Jungle Lodges who offer the volunteers a simple lunch, transport the waste collected to the nearest town for disposal, and allow us to address their guests to keep the sanctuary "litter free".

We have contacted:
- The panchayat president
- Fr.Abraham, a priest, working for and with the local community.
- The Range Forest Officer
- Nahar and Sundar, the managers of the Bheemeshwari and Galibore fishing camps.

All of them have offered their support.

Vijay Vidyarthi, a WASI member, has offered to pay for the salary of a person / family for one year to keep Mutthatti clean and collect the plastic left behind by tourists / picnickers.

Volunteer are planing their next clean up trip on January 21st,2007.

Our trip reports are emailed to:
- MD of Jungle Lodges(our main sponsor)
- Principal Chief Conservator of Forests- Wildlife

Their email id's are:

ceo@junglelodges.com
pccfwl@vsnl.com

Please do email them on all conservation related suggessions you may have. Thanking JLR for supporting Clean and Green in trying to keep the river and the sanctuary clean and litter free will be a positive reinforcement for good work done.

Outrigorsandeep

Great work Sandeep.

To follow up, the more people who email or write to the above, the more chance there is that someone in a position of power will put a hand in their pocket to help out.

It seems from previous posts and emails from Sandeep that the PCCF has shown no interest in Clean and Green's work. I for one have written to him suggesting he get on board.
Maybe a few more of you could email him...

Don't think it will put him in a good mood, but maybe someone could mention article 48a of the Indian Constitution: duty to improve the environment.

Steve,

Thanks for your appreciation and support. We must meet when you are in Bangalore.

For the 21st Jan. clean up drive we have 24 volunteers so far with more expected to join in.

The need of the hour is to:

- Keep the river and sanctuary clean. We cannot stop picnickers, tourists and pilgrims from visiting the river, but we CAN request them not to litter and clean up the existing mess.
- Step up patrolling the river and set up anti-poaching camps. Jungle Lodges who have the lease of the river and are earning good money from the anglers have the primary responsibility followed by the Forest Dept.

If we can keep a sustained pressure on these two organisations, something WILL get done.

Please pitch in.

Outrigorsandeep

Hello,

37 volunteers visited the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on Jan.21,2007 and picked up 164 kg of plastic from the picnic spot at Mutthatti. This plastic was brought back to Bangalore and given to K K Plastic who re-cycle it.

The village Panchayat President with 3 panchyat members, Fr. Abraham and the Range Forest Officer were present.

The Forest Dept. has put up boards which clearly state the the sanctuary is a Plastic Free zone but no one bothers as there is no enforcement.

Littering and poaching will continue in the CWS until the authorities enforce the rules.

Please email pccfwl@vsnl.com asking him to act.

Let us unite in our effort to protect and save our wilderness areas.

Regards,

Outrigorsandeep

Is there no way to enforse a fine for littering there?

Mutthati is such a beautiful picnic spot, with more huge shady spots than you can find anywhere along the river. Sorry to say, but we have no civic sense.
The place is turned into a environmentalist's nightmare every week.
Hat's off to you Sandeep. Wish i had more time on my hands, i would put my rods to good use[color=darkblue]

Hi guys,
We collected 164kgs of plastic from Mutthatti on jan 21st & brought it back to Bangalore for recycyling by K.K.Plastic. A picture of some volunteers at work.



Sandeep.

Hi,

With the river running as low as this the fish are very vulnerable to poaching. Nothing much is being done on the anti poaching activities. This picture was taken on Jan.21st 2007, downstream of Bheemeshwari.



Sandeep

Keep at it Sandeep!!

This is the time to be out there with a rod Sandeep!

Damed good effort on your part Sandeep.Keep at it and best wishes to your other volunteer friends
Best
Axx

Good show Sandeep !

More power to ye.

Cheers,

V.

You make me feel very small, Sandeep and at the same time very proud .... Keep it up .. Best // Fred

Guys,

I am overwhelmed by your appreciation!! Honest. Will ask the volunteers to visit IA and check out your comments.

Steve, your letter to the PCCF-WL has been forwarded by me to the MD of Jungle Lodges. I have also thanked her for JLR's support but raised the poaching issue and have requested her to start the anti-poaching patrolling.

Clean and Green plans to get the press involved. We are having an early morning meeting tomorrow,Republic Day.

Thanks once again for supporting the cause.

Cheers!

Sandeep

Great job Sandeep !

I did see the disgusting piles of garbage near Muttathi village, when I visited Bheemeshwari (Dec. 18-21).

It is nice to know, that some dedicated souls are taking action to clean
up the Cauvery riverside.

Keep it up !!

regards

Makarand

Hello,

Volunteers from the Clean and Green group plan their next clean up of Mutthatti, near Bheemeshwari, on April 14th,2007. This time we have Corporate Sponsorship.

Watch this thread for my report next week.

Anglers based in Bangalore, are welcome to join the group for the next clean up drive.

Let us keep our rivers and their banks clean.

Sandeep

Hi sandeep Fred here ... Got something ofr you just up your alley .. call me +9820287872

Hi Sandeep,

This 14th trip ??? I would like to join.

How do we get there and back ??

What the ETD Blr and ETA back in Blr ??? on 14th saturday .

I have some engagements on Sunday and may not be able to do an overnight...though I would have loved to.

Is it okay to bring friends ??

Jude

Hi,

70 + volunteers from Sun Microsystems. 308 kg of plastic collected for re-cycling.

Sandeep

Way to go Sandeep ... keep at it ... best Fred

PS: Had a proposal for u thats rite up yur alley ... gimme a call if youre interested

sandeep you da man.

I read this out to mu four year old daughter and she thinks you are a superhero.

Now i have to get into the act.

thats truely amazing...
we're all proud of ya sandeep...
keep going...
best of the wishes...

Nice Job ...sandeep.....good to have people like u amongst us,

Hope it’s contagious & every one gets infected with it.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your encouragement and support.

The Clean and Green volunteers want to escalate the problem of plastic littering to other authorities beyond the Karnataka Forest dept. We are thinking of approaching the Pollution Control Board.

Has anybody had any experience with this body?? Any advise will be welcome.

Outrigorsandeep

Guys,

Our next clean up trip to the Cauvery ( Mutthatti ) is scheduled for June 17th. Mohan is our co-ordinator and he can be reached on +91 99002 60665.

Mohan and I have met Mr. Raman, News Editor, Deccan Herald today and appraised him about 'Clean and Green' and our commitment to keeping our wilderness areas ( in this case the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary ) litter free and also "plastic free".

If you guys want to support the cause send me a PM so I know whom to contact.

United in conservation.

Outrigorsandeep

While, appreciating the good work being done by Sandeep and company, let us drag things closer home. I have come to understand that the water from the Hebbal Lake is going to be let out, again. The previous lease owner wants to harvest the fish in the lake, before handing it over to EIS and Uberoi, for development. Moreover, this part of the year, when the monsoons are about to set in. This could be confirm if you could have a chat with Mr. Sarkar, of Uberoi`s. What is the Lake development authority going about it? The answer from them is what I would call `passing the buck`.

Anybody else out there to take up the cause ?

Hi guys,

I am reproducing below the email I have sent to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Karnataka.

Kind attention Mr.A.K.Verma

Sir,

Our next clean up drive at Mutthatti, in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, is scheduled for Sunday, June 17th,2007.

Our group of volunteers has some Corporate sponsors who are willing to sponsor sign boards and bins which can be put up at Mutthatti informing the public not to litter. The Sanctuary should be a 'plastic free' zone like Bannerghatta National Park.

May we request you to provide us with the text of what the board should read. When we spoke with Mr.Kumar Pushkar,DFO, he mentioned that we approach Aranya Bhavan at Bangalore.

If littering is an offence in a Sanctuary, the board should mention the penalty for offenders. The text should be in Kannada and English.

We will also need the department's permission ( an email from you will suffice) to put up the boards and bins. We will co-ordinate this activity with DFO, ACF and RFO.

If the text has to be sent by post you can mail it to my address given below.

Regards,
Sandeep Chakrabarti
Group leader cum naturalist, Karnataka Forest Dept.
Volunteer: http://cleanngreen.blogspot.com/

618, Ansal Forte,
Rupena Agrahara, Hosur Road,
Bangalore 560068

Guys,

I seem to be only one bashing on regardless! Anyone willing to help??

Now for the news:
- On June 17th 2007 about 10 volunteers cleared 54kg of plastic litter from Mutthatti.
- Volunteers educated tourists / shopkeepers not to use plastic and not to litter. Some tourists helped in the clean up too.
- Clean and Green volunteers have so far cleared over 500kg of plastic waste from this site on the banks of the Cauvery.
- The PCCF Wildlife of Karnataka Forest Dept. has given us permission to put up boards and bins in Mutthati.
- We have a Corporate Sponsor to fund this.

If any of you wish to support this effort the least you can do is to email pccfwl@gmail.com and tell him to help us to save the sanctuary.

Remember that the river, in the sanctuary, is home to the Mahseer.

Outrigorsandeep
- Volunteer: http://cleanngreen.blogspot.com/

As ever, well done Sandeep. Keep up the good work.

Looking to start emailing people in the next two weeks to build a campaign before the start of the Kaveri 'season'.

How many people attended your latest efforts?

BTTT

Basically because Sandeep is a one man army and needs some more of you guys and gals to help him out. Even if you just say well done...

Keep us informed about your movements S

Steve,

Thanks for keeping the thread alive!!

A quick update:

- The CWS is not a "no plastic zone". To declare it as one a Government Order has to be issued by the PCCF.
- Before approaching the PCCF, the DCF in charge of CWS suggested we meet the local Eco. Development Council at Mutthatti and try to impress upon them to make the place plastic free. Getting local support is always a good idea.
- Two of us volunteers were to go to Mutthatti on July 6th and were on our way when we got a call that the meeting was cancelled.
- Will try and go for the next EDC meeting.

If IA members wish to petition the PCCF to declare the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary a plastic free zone, they are free to do so and build public opinion and some pressure to keep our wilderness and waters litter free.

Any help is welcome so please ACT.

Sandeep
Volunteer Clean and Green

Hi all,

The next clean up at Mutthatti is scheduled for August 12th,2007. If any of you wish to paticiate contact:

Rakesh Chandra : rakesh24@gmail.com : +91 99007 00811
Roopa Sankaran : roopasankaran@gmail.com : +91 98453 45813


I was at Bheemeshwari July 25th -27th and noticed that Mutthatti was much cleaner than in the past. Plastic still litters the place but it is not as bad as it was.

Our volunteers are still trying to attend the Eco. Development Council meeting to try and declare Mutthatti and the Sanctuary a Plastic Free zone.

Regards,

Sandeep

Sandep, as I have already mentioned, I could rope in some film personalities, for eg. Ambarish. You could tell me the time and date and I could fix an appointment to meet him, so that he could add colour to your programmes.

Yes Bobee
we need all the colour we can get

Hi Bobbee,

I remember your offer to bring in a celebrity, and we should do it but the timing has to be right.

Our groups' intention is to meet with the Eco. Development Council (EDC) based in Mutthatti and get the local people to accept a 'no plastic' environment. Without the local people's support we will not be able to achieve any long term and sustainable progress. There is also a political angle to all this as the Panchayat is a political body.

Meanwhile, all of you who are concerned can email the DCF in charge of the Cauvery Wildlife Santuary and urge them to consider declaring the Sanctuary a "no plastic" zone. The email ids are:

dcfcauverywl@gmail.com

cwlkanakapura@yahoo.com

We need to keep the pressure up while volunteers of Clean and Green continue to clear the plastic waste left behind.

Any voluneers for the August 12th clean up??

Regards,

Sandeep

Glad to hear that you are still doing a great job out there. I was very impressed by your efforts last time you visited - there are plenty of places in England that could do with the same treatment, it is a worldwide problem not just an Indian one.
Can they not get some recycling bins installed at Muttathi or at Bheemishwari? Or the companies that make all these plastic bottles could pay a few rupees for their return (we used to do the same in England with glass bottles) as even if some people couldn't be bothered and still threw them in the bushes others would collect them if they could make a bit of money from them.
I must admit that the first time i came i was amazed at the amount of rubbish along the river - looked pristine though after Sandeep and his crew had finished last time i visited.
Would like to be able to help as I've fallen in love with the Cauvery river system, but not practical as I'm 6,000 miles away!

Hi Guys,

We need to declare a war on PLASTICS. Long article but worth reading.

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publi ... e_we.shtml

Regards,

Sandeep

Great job!!! Sandeep.
I would like to add... wish all our dams had fish ladder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_ladder

Regards
Tathagata.

Is it true that nearly all the dams and barrages built after independence don't have fish ladders.

I know both Pong and Bhakra don't... nor does the Tehri Dam. In fact the small dams in HP don't seem to either.

Hi Guys,

May I suggest that "fish ladders" be a seperate thread.

Sandeep

Hi Guys,

The next clean up trip at Mutthatti is scheduled for Sept. 9th. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact me on:

- outrigor@airtelbroadband.in
- 98441 15315

Sandeep

Hello,

Just back after a long day by the river. The Clean and Green group of volunteers collected 79 kg of plastic on today's clean up drive.

We have Oracle sponsoring the next trip on Sept.22nd, 2007 as a part of their Global Volunteer Program. After Sun Microsystems this will be the 2nd Corporate Sponsor. These programs are approved by their US headquarters from amongst several proposals that their local office submits.

Any reason why the good old "Bangers" are shying away from doing their bit??? Has anyone emailed the Forest Dept. or JLR expressing their concern over the plastic problem or supporting the initiative of the C & G group ?? Or are we a bunch of anglers with a lot of 'sizzle' ( when it comes to screaming and shouting on this forum) and no 'steak' (when it comes to some action).

We need action and some active participation and not just talk.

Come on guys and gals, I am counting on the members of this forum to act even if is sending an email or writing a letter to a newspaper.

Outrigorsandeep

Hello,

This is just to inform you that the Oracle's Global Volunteers Days clean up on Sept.22nd,2007 went very well. Over 75 volunteers participated and 306 kg of plastic was collected.

There is a post by one of the volunteers (from the Naturalist's group).It has pictures too.

http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/ ... utha.phtml

Sandeep

Sandeep, I am really proud that one of us is notonly worried but also taking constructive steps towards preserving the environment. You are doing a fantastic job and I hope that it bears great results. Best of Luck and take care.

A thinker and a doer. Thanks mate. I have to catch up.

Hi,

A quick update:

- Was fishing at Doddamakli on Oct.31st,07. The river is running very high. No fish hooked or landed.

- Saw a dead fish about 1.5 kg floating in the fast current. Possibly a victim of dynamite upstream. As we all know there is no anti poaching activity happening upstream of Doddamakli.

- The forest road access to Monkey Pool has been blocked by the Forest Dept. which means no anglers can fish upstream of Bheemeshwari at Monkey Pool,Hati Pool or further upstream. JLR has taken it up with the RFO and I have sent an email to WASI to take it up suitably with the Forest Dept.

- Mutthatti is looking a lot cleaner and not like a carpet of plastic!!

Sandeep

Sandeep, the season will probably start late this year due to the rains.

Good news about Mutthatti, thanks to your efforts.

Any reason given by the forest dept for closing the road upstream of Bheemeshwari ? Hope this does not increase poaching and kill off the fish that have migrated upstream.

Hello,

A group of 17 volunteers visited Mutthatti on Dec.1st and collected 17 sacks of plastic. We also placed some concrete bins at the picnic spot.

I reproduce below a report from one of our volunteers:

"Firstly Honeywell has gotten in touch with Sandeep and asked us to work out a long term programme with them

Second : One of the volunteers from the Sun trip, his wife works with Novell and they have requested us to bring in awareness for their employees...

Third : Wipro is wanting to work with us on again some long term projects. This meeting is on the coming Friday which is 7 Dec. Looking for one more volunteer to join me, please.

Did you know - we bought bins at Kanakapura on 1 Dec, and transported it to Mutthathi and placed them appropriate locations - all the volunteers on the trip shared the cost !!!! We can do more of this.

Come join hands and make more of these wonderful moments happen. Look forward to meeting many of you this saturday at our fortnightly meeting at 10 AM - IndiraNagar Park !!!! "

The trip report can be viewed on http://www.cleanngreen.blogspot.com

Regards,

Sandeep

Hi all,

Bheemeshwari is good for fishing this year. I was there Dec.18th to 21st and 1 fish of 70 lbs and 3 fish above 50 lbs were landed in the last few weeks / days. Anti poaching / ragi feeding camps have been set up by Sundar and his men. This is obviously making a difference.

Honeywell is taking a group of about 30 volunteers to Mutthatti to clean up the plastic. Two of us from Clean and Green will be joining them and guiding them.

I once again appeal to the angling community to do something positive for conservation.

Sandeep

Hi Sandeep,
You can count on me from Feb.
Regards
Owen