Tiger census - Coimbatore Erode region

Sathyamangalam and Seygoor area of Nilgris Biosphere in Tamil Nadu is a notable area in the tiger map. "Tiger density in this area is one (big cat) per 10 square kilometer. That is one of the best tiger densities in the world. Usually it is between one tiger for 30 to 40 square kilometers," says Coimbatore-based C R Jayaprakash, executive commmittee member, Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association, Ooty. 


"This (Sathyamangalam range) is the place for source population. After almost 20 years, two tigers were spotted in Coimbatore district this year using camera traps. This is a positive trend," he says. Another study by World Wide Fund for Nature near Sathyamangalam, Seygoor and Bandipur belt in October-November 2010 has also shown a good number of tigers. 


"(In this study) we found over 50 tigers in this area using camera traps. The tiger population in this area is certainly growing thanks to availability of prey and intergrated habitats here," says N Mohanraj, Co-ordinator with World Wildlife Fund for Nature in Coimbatore. All the experts agree that the sole and most significant step in tiger conservation is a focus on improving the animal's habitat.


Good to know that tiger are still around Coimbatore

Top cop opens office up to the public

COIMBATORE: Residents who want to approach the city police commissioner with a problem are likely to find task easy. The new commissioner Amaresh Pujari has decided to keep the doors of his office open to the public from 11am to 1.30pm on all working days.

And he has also told all deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners and inspe-ctors will also receive visitors and accept complaints in their chambers between these hours.

People can go into Pujari's office and discuss their problems with him directly. "There is no need to make an appointment," said Pujari, who has also decided to make his mobile number public. "My mobile number is 94422-23277. People can call me any time. There will be no delay in enforcing the law," he said.

Addressing a meeting of police officials on Thursday, Pujari directed those in charge of stations to handle visitors and petitioners in a friendly way. "All members of the police force in the city must behave politely and courteously to all complainants and visitors," he said.

Pujari said all officers should be in their chambers in the morning to receive complaints from the public. They would not be available only when law and order matters require their presence elsewhere. On such occasions, alternative arrangements will be made.

The reception desk at all stations will function from 8am to 8pm, he said. All petitioners will get receipts for each complaint filed. If the complaint was registered as a first information report (FIR), copies of the FIR would be made available to complainants, he said.

Universities of Coimbatore Ties-up with Mexico's Centre for Research and Advance Studies

COIMBATORE: In a move that may help enhance quality of science education in Coimbatore, Mexico's Centre for Research and Advance Studies has entered into a partnership with three key educational institutions in the city including Bharatiyar University.

As per the deal, aspiring bright science students in Coimbatore will get preference in admission as research scholars and post graduate students at the institution, funded and operated by the Mexican Government. Known in Spanish as CINVESTAV, the institution functions on similar lines of the Indian Council for Scientific Research ( CSIR). Selected students can meet expenses through fellowships and support programmes being offered by the Mexican Government. The institution will not charge any fee.

Apart from Bharathiyar University, PSG Institute of Technology and Coimbatore Institute of Technology are also entering into the partnership. While Bharatiyar University signed the MoU with CINVESTAV director general Dr Jose Pablo Rene Asomoza Palacio on Wednesday, the other two institutions signed MOUs on Thursday. Karunya University is already in partnership with Mexico's leading scientific research centre.

As pioneers in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, CINVESTAV will primarily focus on joint efforts in the field. Joint efforts in areas like basic sciences and bio-technology also will be initiated. According to Dr P Anbalagan of Bharatiyar University, the partnership will not just ensure research facilities for Coimbatore students in Mexico but also provide them opportunities for short term visits to improve their knowledge. Students from Mexico also would be exchanged with the Coimbatore institutions.

As per the plan, faculty exchange would also be facilitated very soon. Both the institutions also agreed to probe the possibilities of starting dual degree courses in key subjects with students dividing the total number of academic years between the two universities.

Dr S Velumani, a former student of Bharathiyar University and presently a faculty of CINVESTAV, said 20 Indian students are now doing Ph D in Mexico under his initiative. Hailing from Tatabad in the city, Velumany is instrumental for the partnership programmes, which would brighten the scope of science education in Coimbatore in the days to come. 

Coutesty: Times of India

Peoples beware of Fraudsters and Scams; They found a new way now.

It was a dream coming true too fast for Narendraa Dave, a resident of Coimbatore. It was not even a month since he put up an online advertisement expressing interest in adopting a dog when Andrew D’Silva, in response to his advertisement, informed him that he had a two-month-old German Shepherd to give away for free.

Clearly excited with the quick response, Dave quickly followed D’Silva’s instructions for depositing the transportation charges in the account of Parth J Bhatt from Mumbai.

However, the telephones of both the men have been switched off ever since Dave deposited the money on June 11. After waiting for three days to hear from them, Dave finally wrote to Mumbai police’s cyber cell, seeking help to find the missing dog and the men.

“I have been feeling quite helpless since the bankers have not been very cooperative in revealing details of the account holder,” Dave told DNA. According to Dave’s complaint, D’Silva had claimed that he was giving away the dog for free since he was moving to Miami.

On being asked about the transportation of the puppy, Dave was asked to get in touch with Bhatt, who according to D’Silva was a sub agent of Jet Airways Cargo. When contacted, Bhatt claimed to be specialising in transportation of pigeon, cats and dogs.

“Though it was a small amount of Rs2,700, I feel that the duo would have tricked many innocent people if no action is taken against them,” said Dave.

Hope you all remember about the stories about Lottery Scams:

A lottery scam is a type of advance-fee fraud which begins with an unexpected email notification that "You have won!" a large sum of money in a lottery. The recipient of the message — the target of the scam — is usually told to keep the notice secret, "due to a mix-up in some of the names and numbers," and to contact a "claims agent." After contacting the agent, the target of the scam will be asked to pay "processing fees" or "transfer charges" so that the winnings can be distributed, but will never receive any lottery payment.^[1] Many email lottery scams use the names of legitimate lottery organizations or other legitimate corporations/companies, but this does not mean the legitimate organizations are in any way involved with the scams.(Souce: Wikipedia)

Be Cautious while approaching/dealing with stranger. If you suspect someone, approach the police station nearby.

It is no more a metro for Coimbatore, Luckly we will have monorail

The mention in the Governor's address to the state assembly on Friday that the government plans to explore the prospect of building a mono rail in Coimbatore has been welcomed by city residents. Majority of them claimed that the monorail would ease the traffic burden, besides considerably reducing pollution levels in the city.

"It is very heartening to know that the government has addressed our transport problems. Even Mumbai does not have monorail. This is an indication that Coimbatore is being recognised as one of the major cities in the country," said M Krishnan, President, Chamber of Commerce.


With Coimbatore all set to become a major IT hub in the coming years, the vehicle and resident population is expected to increase substantially. However, some residents were concerned that since monorail is a long term project, the government should ensure its completion as per schedule.

"The monorail will help a great deal to ease traffic congestion but then, the project implementation might prove tricky for the government," said R Hariharamoorthy, a city based businessman. A few residents believe that the monorail will help curb accidents. "Surface accidents will be reduced as there will be less vehicles on the roads," said R Kalaiarasu, advocate.

The former DMK government had announced a metro rail project for Coimbatore. Residents have for long demanded that the public transport infrastructure in the city needed to be improved by taking into account the economic potential of the region.

Coimbatore is the urban hub for people of western Tamil Nadu as well as Palakkad district in Kerala. As one of the fastest growing tier-II cities in the country, the city needs better rail connectivity with neighbouring towns, as well as more comfortable travelling options within the city. The attention now shifts from a metro for the city to a mono rail. The point is to build it fast so that the city doesn't get bogged down by a crumbling public transport system.

Call centre for Coimbatotre Residence - Corporation's Grievance Centre

City residents of Coimbatore has one more reason to be happy about. There is a Call Centre open, for grievance redress of the Corporatioin,  with the efforts of our Corporation and Anshul Mishra, Commissioner.

Public can dial 0422-2334455 (with STD code) to reach the new grievance.

City residents can now directly dial the corporation's grievance centre. They will be assisted by trained call centre employees, who will ensure that the complaints are registered with the proper department.
The corporation also plans to incorporate a bulk sms gateway to send notification to corporation tax defaulters to registered residents. The unified grievance centre will be inaugurated on Friday and a special training session conducted for corporation officials.

Local IT firm, KGISL, has been outsourced the task of handling the grievance calls.
"The system is expected to enhance the grievance redress of the corporation. The new unified centre will be located on the ground floor of the main corporation office building near Town Hall," said Anshul Mishra.

As of now the corporation is dealing with more than 100 grievances on weekly grievance days while the offices of the mayor and the commissioner receive about 40 petitions on other days. The unified grievance system will compile and store all grievance petitions received over the phone and track follow up action.
"Action taken by officials will be recorded and senior officials can track and assess its progress," said Jayaraman, deputy commissioner, coimbatore corporation.

Grievances can also be emailed to the unified grievance centre equipped with integrated voice response system (IVRS), which is being set up at a cost of over `35 lakhs. The grievance centre will guide the callers either in Tamil or English. The pending property tax and water charges will also be available to the callers through the system.

Summer mela planned in TN's Cherrapunji - Valparai

COIMBATORE: Rolling green carpet beneath misty mountains, balmy air blended with scent of tea leaves and cardamom, gurgling lakes, massive reservoirs and a tantalising chance of spotting a big cat lurking in the bushes. Tranquil Valparai plateau, hailed as Tamil Nadu's Cherrapunji, beckons tourists again this summer.

The Coimbatore district administration is planning to hold a summer festival in the tea plantation town by May end or the first week of June to attract tourists from across Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country. "We cannot conduct the festival in the first two weeks of May because of the model code of conduct. After the election results are announced, we will consider holding the summer festival in Valparai by May end or first week of June," the Coimbatore district Collector P Umanath told TOI.

A three-day summer festival was first held in Valparai in 2008 with a flower show, vegetable exhibition and a tableau of the forest department. But for the last two years because of the labour unrest over wages, the mela was called off. However, this year, the traders have urged the district administration to hold the festival and promote tourism in Valparai.

Perched amid the rolling Anamalai hills, Valparai is a tea plantation retreat, with 25,300 acres of private tea estates dotted with 4,500 acres of coffee plantations and 3,000 acres of cardamom estates.

The Valparai town is already besieged by tourists from various parts of Tamil Nadu and other southern states especially neighbouring Kerala. Almost all the cottages of the private tea estates and a few hotels in the town are full.

With soft drizzles in the evenings and a pleasant cool clime during the daytime, picturesque Valparai is turning out to be an ideal retreat to beat the summer heat. However, lack of infrastructure and hotel facilities are sore points. As corporate tea estates from Tatas to Parrys Agro occupy most part of Valparai, there is not much private land for developing hotels, say district officials. Also, as Valparai is part of the Anamalai tiger reserve, tourism has to be regulated, say environmentalists.