By Bharat Dogra* There was a lot of troubled questioning in the streets of Khyala in West Delhi. Many people were asking -- has that terrible liquor shop opened once again? There were reasons why the people were so worried. This liquor vend had created simply too many problems in the past as the liquor shop and the neighboring snack joints became the gathering place for many anti-social elements. Women and girls felt more insecure than ever before as drunk strangers made lewd gestures. What angered local people most was that the liquor vend was located too close to temples, gurdwaras and a school, violating policy guidelines. Hence small efforts to oppose the liquor vend started. However some powerful local persons were in favor of the vend, particularly those who had been able to earn high rent from shops selling liquor and snacks, and so some people were also a bit scared to become too vocal in protesting against the liquor vend. However, matters soon came to a head when the gatheri
By Nava Thakuria According to official claims, incidents of poaching related to rhinoceros in various forest reserves of Assam in northeast India have decreased drastically. Brutal laws against the poachers, strengthening of ground staff inside the protected forest areas and increasing public awareness in the fringe localities of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the State are the reasons cited for positively impacting the mission to save the one-horned rhinos. Officials records suggest, only two rhinos were poached in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve since 1 January 2021 till date. The last incident took place probably in the last week of December 2021, as a decomposed carcass of a fully-grown (around 30 years old) female rhino was recovered inside the world-famous forest reserve next month. As the precious horn was missing, for which the gigantic animal was apparently hunted down, it could not be a natural death. Ironically, however, it was not confirmed when