Archives for August 2018

Nature lovers were thrilled as India’s first Humboldt Penguin chick was hatched at the Mumbai Zoo, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officially announced here on Thursday.

“The Humboldt Penguin chick hatched at 8.02 p.m. on August 15. It appeared to be active and the mother Flipper was tring to feed it too,” confirmed the Zoo Director in-charge Sanjay Tripathi.

After mating in captivity, the Penguin pair Mr. Molt and Flipper, finally delivered an egg in July at the Veer Jijabai Bhonsale Udyan, or Mumbai Zoo.

While Mr Molt is the youngest male, Flipper is the oldest female in the zoo’s penguin colony which attracts hordes of excited visitors daily.

As an anxious team of zoo caretakers, vets and others kept vigil for nearly 40 days, the egg was finally hatched late on Wednesday and the small fluffy chick struggled out to freedom in the nest inside the special chilled enclosure where all the penguins have been kept.

The special enclosure is spread across 1,700 sqft where an average temperature of 16-18 degrees is maintained, the water quality is regularly tracked and the Penguins are fed on fish, including Indian Mackerals.

Eight Humboldt Penguins – later named as Dory, Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Bubble, Flipper and Mr Molt — were imported here from a South Korea zoo on July 26, 2016.

However, one female, Dory could not survive and died on October 23 following a bacterial infection during the period of acclimatisation before they went on public display, and have been the top attraction of the Mumbai Zoo.

With rains still pouring down heavily leading to flooding across Kerala, 12 fresh deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the toll to 79, since August 8. More rains were forecast till Saturday.

Entire Kerala has been on a red alert since Wednesday evening. A total of 28 deaths were reported on the day.

Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala has been the worst affected in the last 24 hours as thousands of people — students among others were trapped in their homes in Ranni, Aranmula and Kozhencherry.

Various media Whats App groups, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s have been flooded with SOS messages from Pathanamthitta crying for help.

Fishing boats from Kollam reached the flooded areas as the rescue operation with the aid of defence personnel continued.

Traffic on the national highway between Ernakulam and Thrissur has been regulated since.

Train operations between Ernakulam and Angamaly have also been stopped and at Thiruvananthapuram railway station tickets are not being issued.

All educational institutions were closed on Thursday. Situation in the capital district on Thursday improved as there were less rains. Water logging in low lying areas also receded.

The deaths on Thursday were reported from Malappuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Thrissur.

Parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur have been facing tough times with the dam waters from Idukki districts reaching Periyar, and its tributaries late on Wednesday.

In a first, the sluices of 33 dams across Kerala were opened on Tuesday, following incessant rains since late that day as the Met forecast more till Saturday.

The famed tourist destination in Munnar though continued to be in a bad shape, an official said.

The Sabarimala temple continued to be cut off by the river Pamba in spate.

The hilly district of Wayanad connected from Kannur and Kozhikode through a hill highway was badly hit with the overflowing Banasura Sagar dam waters creating havoc. Several landslides were reported in the area.

In Wayanad alone, more than 20,000 people have been put up in relief camps, authorities said.

The Cochin International airport was closed on Wednesday till Saturday as the Periyar river waters entered the operational area.

The airport authorities are worried about the flooding of the Rs 60-crore solar power plant — one of the biggest in an airport spread over 45 acres. They fear about its working again.

The defence forces and disaster response teams have been putting up makeshift bridges and clearing roads in the affected areas in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kannur districts.

The heaviest rains and floods since 1924 have caused massive destruction, leaving more than 75,000 people in relief camps and damage to crops and properties that the state estimated t

Pramod Kumar Katara began his ‘cycle yatra’ early on Wednesday from the iconic Taj Mahal to India Gate in New Delhi to focus attention on the polluted Yamuna river.

“This time it is not just for a record but to draw the attention of the government to the polluted Yamuna. If the Taj is to be protected for posterity, Yamuna will have to be saved too,” the 53-year-old said.

The record for long distance cycling with the national tricolour is for the Limca Book of Records, he added.

“Already I have 21 records in my name, from Swiss ball balancing to yoga, but this one is going to be special for Yamuna,” Katara said.

Katara said he hoped to reach India Gate, a World War I monument in the heart of Delhi, by Wednesday evening via the Yamuna Expressway, covering the distance in around 12 hours.

Members of the River Connect Campaign collected at the Mehtab bagh to cheer Katara.