Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life

Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life

Month of September was hectic for us, so could not think of announcing any trek. Many were asking for the trek trip after our first successful trip in august.
So we are planning this "Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life " program again this weekend (9/10th October 2010) with little change in the program. The stay will b inside wildlife sanctuary with tents.

Synopsis of the Bits.....
Bit of Trek:- This is trek up to a hill lock. this hill lock is near Sakaleshpur Bisile ghat. This trek will b around 5KM one way. Its easy trek. On the trek route we come across 2 beautiful lakes on top of the hill and also a small water fall.
Bit of Cave Exploration:- On top of the hill there is a huge and beautiful stone formation. In this stone formation there is a cave.
Bit of Wild life:- We will b going for early morning safari in Nagarahole wild life sanctuary.


Stay:- Stay in the jungle by pitching tent.


Probable itinerary of the program.

Day1:-

• Reach Trek Starting point and freshen up in the stream.
• Have Breakfast and start the trek towards hill top.
• Enjoy the beautiful lakes view and play in a small water falls.
• Have lunch and rest for a while.
• Trek up to the top of the hill and explore the cave. U get 360 degree view of the western ghat from this point.
• start trek down to the foot hills and travel to the camp near Nagarhole national park.
• Reach the camp, Have camp fire and dinner.

Day2:-

• Wake up by 4AM. Freshen up and have tea and leave for Wild life Safari.
• Roam around in the park travel back to the camp and have breakfast.
• Visit Irupu falls,play in the water and have lunch.
• Start travel back and reach Bangalore by around 10PM.
  

For the trek route blog and photos please refer the fallowing link.

http://sharavathi.blogspot.com/2010/08/unforgetable-trek-trip.html

Please mail me (prapancha@gmail.com) if anymore info u require. Let me know ASAP if u r joining us.

Some pics of these Bits....:-

Beautiful lake on top of the hill (i call it 'Spatika sarovara')















Beautiful falls on the hill top















Cave on top of the hill

Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life and Bit of Rope course

Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life and Bit of Rope course

Though the rain is less this time Sharavathi valley, its still raining. As usual we had some great groups coming to the valley for the monsoon treks to enjoy the "natural Golf course view" in and around Kattinakar also brimming water falls around this place.

Now we planned to bring in bit varieties to enjoy the nature, So this "Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life and Bit of Rope course " program. We planned to have this program this weekend.

Synopsis of the Bits.....
Bit of Trek:- This is trek up to a hill lock. this hill lock is near Sakaleshpur Bisile ghat. This trek will b around 5KM one way. Its easy trek. On the trek route we come across 2 beautiful lakes on top of the hill and also a small water fall.
Bit of Cave Exploration:- On top of the hill there is a huge and beautiful stone formation. In this stone formation there is a cave.
Bit of Wild life:- We will b going for early morning safari in Nagarahole wild life sanctuary.
Bit of Rope course:- We will have a rappelling near the camp site.

Stay:- Stay in the "The camp leopard rock camp" near Nagarhole national park.


Probable itinerary of the program.

Date:-21-08-2010

• Assemble in Mejestic area and departure by 4:30 in the morning(5hrs journey from blr).
• Reach Trek Starting point and freshen up in the stream.
• Have Breakfast and start the trek towards hill top.
• Enjoy the beautiful lakes view and play in a small water falls.
• Have lunch and rest for a while.
• Trek up to the top of the hill and explore the cave. U get 360 degree view of the western ghat from this point.
• start trek down to the foot hills and travel to the camp near Nagarhole national park.
• Reach the camp, Have camp fire and dinner.

Date:-22-08-2010

• Wake up by 4AM. Freshen up and have tea and leave for Wild life Safari.
• Roam around in the park till 9 AM., travel back to the camp and have breakfast.
• Leave for rappelling and come back for lunch.
• After lunch play in the water with life jacket.
• Enjoy the still water raft on the lake.
• Start travel back and reach Bangalore by around 10PM.
  

Please mail me (prapancha@gmail.com) if anymore info u require. Let me know ASAP if u r joining us.

Some pics of these Bits....:-

Beautiful lake on top of the hill (i call it 'Spatika sarovara')













Beautiful falls on the hil top













Cave on top of the hill























The Camp leopard rock @ Nagarahole

The Invitation to be part of movement to protect Environment

Dear All,
It has been Our organization "The Sharavathi Nature Conservation Trust(R)" sole aim to protect last remaining forest all over and in particular Westernghat. As part of this we have taken up various activities.

To name few,

• Pristine forest destruction is happening for various reasons. One of the major reason is livelihood of forest dwellers. So our organization initiated alternative economical activities like providing employment to the local youths, who were once part forest exploitation. To create employment, our organization started activities like Trekking, Nature camp and water sports in Sharavathi Backwater.
• Organization has been working with forest department to conserve and protect some of the endangered species of the plants. As part of this in June 2009, we collected about 100 varieties of Tribal medicinal plants and we have replanted them in a secure place. The plan is to protect them and also get the research done on their medicinal value scientifically.
  
• Government has setup forest force to protect the forest. But as usual, its a typical govt setup where very rarely honest and sincere work of the officers to protect the forest are recognized. So the our organization has setup an annual award called "Parisara Sri", which will be awarded to the honest forest officer. This initiative is to recognize the good work done by the officer and to encourage the officer to take up the good work with more vigor.

The Invitation:-
On 1st of April 2010, we have organized a function to present the 2010-11 annual "Parisara Sri" award. This year along with the forest officer recognition, we are recognizing people who are doing social service in the region.

This Year Awardees Are,

2010-11 "Parisara Sri" Award --> Mr. Shivamurthy. Range Forest Officer (RFO). Kargal Range.
2010-11 "Samaja Sri" Award -->Mr. Siddaraju R.State advocacy Secretory.Dalith Human Rights

I Invite all my fellow Trekkers, nature enthusiasts to attend in large number to this function. Your presence will surely encourage the awardees to take up the work with much more vigor.

Function Details:-
Date: 1st April 2010, Thursday.
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Sri Lakshminarashima swamy temple, Gubbagodu village, Sagara Taluk, Shimoga District.

For more details please mail me to prapancha@gmail.com

Regards
Sampath Kumar
Secretory
The Sharavathi Nature Conservation Trust(R).

Wealth and environmental disaster

Wealth and environmental disaster

I always felt unprecedented wealth generation or inorganic growth leads to environmental disaster. Last week i could see myself when I traveled abroad. I visited Bahrain, an oil rich gulf country for a personnel visit. Oil economy has brought fortune to gulf countries. We can see this everywhere from sky kissing buildings to SUVs zooming at max throttle on roads, there were no small cars on the road at all, swanky malls with all over world cuisine food stalls sans a single vegetarian restaurant etc., I hardly saw someone walking on the beautifully laid out pavement. If there was one or two, it was only a Indian or Filipino labor class people !! who make up large labor class there.
I could see only very handful of public transport bus. For the first few days i was forced to roam around in taxi even for a small distance, finaly fed up with this thought of taking stroll to go to our desi restaurant called "Mysore Hotel". I was fed up with only salad and juice and i was missing my favorite "anna-saaru". The restaurant was about 3 KM from the hotel where i was staying. started walking towards hotel on neat pavement. It was so windy, and there was a light fine sand storm... by the time i reached restaurant , there was this fine sand all over me. As they have money, they can always take up planting some desert friendly trees, but i noticed its hardly bothered them.
It was so nice to find "namma udupi hotel" in a place like this. But that was my last walk on pavement..it was not that i was lazy, but i was so scared of crossing roads! there were absolutely no signal for pedestrian crossing! so i was worried going under wheels of zooming cars..!. Added to my scare, just a previous day a keralite who was a pilot there came under wheels of a zooming car!.
Somewhere everyone dream is to get this kind of life. But i feel its an environmental disaster in the long run. Already global warming is creating havoc in everones daily life. Also we should not forget the havoc this creates on ones personnel health.I just got this article to share with for the reference, Interesting article on human cause on global warming
Everyone's day to day life style is the most important reason for the environmental disaster than the pollution caused by some industry, though they are also major contributors. i keep telling people how we have distanced ourselves from the "Living in harmony with nature". We have forgotten walking even for a small distance, we have stopped using the public transport, we need electricity for everything etc etc., This type of lifestyle is causing more damage than the industries etc., We need to care for environment , we need to care for mother earth. otherwise we will leave this earth in barren, unlivable condition to our next generation. We have responsibility leave this planet in livable to condition to our next generation as we got it from our forefathers.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DECOMPOSE

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DECOMPOSE

Banana Peel- 3-4 weeks

Orange peels- 6 months
Apple Core- 2 months
Paper Bag- 1 month
Cardboard- 2 months
Milk Cartons- 5 years
Newspaper- 6 weeks
Paper Towel- 2-4 weeks
Cotton Glove- 3 months
Tinned Steel Can- 50 years
Disposable Diapers- 550 years
Plastic Bags- 20-1000 years
Glass- 1-2 million years
Cigarette Butts- 10-12 years
Leather shoes- 25-40 years
Rubber-Boot Sole- 50-80 years
Plastic containers- 50-80 years
Monofilament Fishing Line- 600 years
Foamed Plastic Cups- 50 years
Wool Sock- 1-5 years
Plywood- 1-3 years
Plastic Bottles- 450 years
Wool Sock : 1 year

Tinned Steel Can: 50 years

Aluminum Can: 200-500 years (But if recycled, it can be reused within 6 weeks!)

Plastic Jug: 1 million years

Styrofoam: 1+ million years

So next time you go out THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU LITTER

This weekend Trekking to new route

Hi All,
There are group of people who will be trekking in a new route this weekend. So if anybody is interested to trek in this route, please let me know ASAP.


Trek Route:- Bheemeswara Water falls--->dabbe water falls---->Hosagadde.

The Sharavathi Valley:- The Sharavathi river valley nestled in the central Western Ghats, Shimoga district has been an ecological paradise. The Sharavathi River, rising at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk flows north-west and drops down in the Ghats at the world famous Jog falls. The sharavathi Valley is home for many water falls and to some of the beautiful streams. The valley is evergreen to semi-evergreen forest along with moist deciduous type of forests dominate the entire basin along with scrub savannah, grasslands, marshy areas and plantation of acacia, cash crops like areca and rubber providing diverse niches for a variety of taxa. Rare evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus, Syzygium, Cinnamon, Diospyros, Aglaia, endemic Palms along with the globally endangered Myrist-icasps makes this an ecologically sensitive region to be conserved and not marketed.


Level of Trek:- Moderate

Departure:- 01-Sept-2009 Thursday night.

Itinerary:-

Date:- 01-Oct-2009

* Deaprture from Bangalore by around 10:30 PM.

Date:- 02-Oct-2009

* Reach Kargal in Shimoga District by 7:00 AM.
* Hire a local jeep to trek starting point.
* Freshen Up , Have Break fast on the way
* Reach Trek point and Start the trek
* Start the trek towards Bheeneswara peak.
* Reach bheeswara and play in the water falls and have lunch at bheemeswara.
* Start the Trek towards dabbe and camp in a tribals house by 6:00 PM.
* Have a Camp fire and enjoy the evening. Also interact with Tribals.
* Have dinner and retire for the day

Date:- 03-Oct-2009

* Wake up by 6:00 AM and get freshen up quickly.
* Have Break fast and start the trek by 7:30AM to Dabbe.
* Reach dabbe and go down to dabbe and Enjoy in the Water falls
* Have luch and Trek to Hosagadde.
* Catch waiting jeep to Sagar.
* Reach Sagar and have dinner.
* Start the journey back to Bangalore by around 10:00 PM

Fore Photos and the blog of the route, Please click on the link below
http://sharavathi.blogspot.com/2008/07/mungaaru-maleye-yenu-ninna-hanigala.html


Anybody interested to joining us, please confirm as soon as possible as we need to reserve the bus ticket.

Please MAIL me to prapancha@gmail.com if u need any more information

Its Time to Celebrate and Thank People.

Greeting from all staff of "The Sharavathi Nature Trails..."
Hurray ! we have completed 1 Year of Water sports activities !

Though we were organizing Trekking activities much earlier, we are just completing 1 year of water sports activities by this weekend.

Nostalgia :-)
What made us to start these activities?
I have been an ardent nature all through my life. Whenever i see a beautiful landscape, i get the most satisfaction compared to doing anything else. When i first trekked in Sharavathi valley, I just loved every bit of the this rain forest. I liked the peaks, water falls, valley and ever lively streams. Also i will not forget to describe the Linganamakki Reservoir backwater region in the valley. I simply call it as "Heaven on earth". Yes it is indeed. That thick lush green vegetation, those mountains guarding around the backwater makes the place heavenly. When i first Trekked in 90's i just fell in love with this valley. I used to trek every weekend in the valley then. Seeing my enthusiasm, trek organizers offered me a volunteer post where in i will guide the trek team. I was so happy for getting what i was interested in !.
As i was interacting with tribal people of the valley regularly, i came across lot of harsh realities. Major problem was that of livelihood ! for them. Many families are the one displaced when Linganamakki dam was built. All they got is an acre or so land when their loved house, land submerged in the backwater. By now this one acre has been divided in to small pieces of land among sibling , so the livelihood problem. They were forced to find the alternative livelihood as the land they got was not sufficient at all. But the alternative they found was really bad for the forest, themselves and to everyone ! ie., they started cutting off and smuggling rose wood / jungle wood logs !. Forest department had harrowing experience to contain this problem. But people are really nice, they were doing just for the livelihood.

How it started ?

I watched all these problem and decided to do something for it. That's when i came across Narayana of kattinakar. He is simply awesome. His attitude, his abilities to grasp things, his love for the forest, his forest knowledge all became handy to put things in order. What ever i plan and inform him about it, he would simply do it and show me. I really got the major support from him. Thats when we decided to keep doing things which will employ these people, so that they get the decent livelihood. We started off organizing trekking and initially we employed about just 3 people. But our perseverance gave the great result in the first few days itself. And now we have been able to create employment for about 20 youths. Encouraged by this, we started off thinking other type of activities to employ more people. Since i had little knowledge on water sports activities, we thought we would do something on these lines and started searching for a perfect place. For almost 6 months we searched for the place and finally we landed at Gubbagodu.

The people who have helped us

Though we had idea and knowledge, we had problem for the capital required to purchase the equipment. Even conservative estimate started crossing a Rs lakh mark !. When i approached few regular trekkers, they were all appreciative of this effort and helped us generously. Among them are Rahul pathak, his cousin Prshanth pathak and Vinod gaitonde. These people's monetary help and the moral support helped us to start off things smoothly.
Though surrounding villagers were skeptical about our motive initially, they all supported our effort eventually. We will remember the services of Mr.Subbarao of Gubbagodu village at this moment. Without his consistent effort , it would have been difficult to convince sarrounding villagers. The other 2 persons who helped us to settle down and convince villagers are Mr.Sridhar Hegde and Mr.Ranganath Hegde. Both of them worked hard to convince villagers and Govt authorities to grant permission.
Another person whom we remember forever is Mr.Vijaya Kumar, Range Forest Officer of Sagar sub division. He is one of the most upright officer. smugglers have a very bad time in his tenure. He was appreciative of our effort and he encouraged us to carry on as it helped the department in containing the illegal logging and smuggling of other forest resources.
When we went and met Mr.Praveen Kumar, The Assistant Commissioner of Sagar Sub division to grant permission to conduct the activities, He too appreciated the idea and helped us to settle down. Our sincere thanks to him.
Other two persons we would like to thank is Mr. John Fransis (Joe) and Mr.Shashidhar Gadad. Initially they helped us by shooting some of the most beautiful photos of the camp place.
Last but not least, Almost all our trekkers have helped us directly and indirectly, we would like to thank all of them.

The Invitation

Our Water sports / Nature camp program completes 1 year by this weekend with much success. To mark this occasion, We plan to have a "Pooja" in our camp at Gubbagodu on 27th September 2009 Sunday.
On behalf of Trustees and staff of The Sharavathi Trails..., I cordially Invite you all for the Pooja. Please free up yourself This weekend and grace the occasion.

Sampath Kumar
Secretary
The Sharavathi Nature Trails...

Our Central Environment Minister is working in top gear

The central government will soon set up a national authority to enforce environmental laws, minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday.
“At the state environment and forest ministers’ meeting yesterday (Tuesday) in Delhi, there was a broad agreement on this aspect. We need an institutional set-up to enforce environmental laws and impose penalty for non-compliance,” Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh told reporters.

Ramesh said the government will circulate a discussion paper on the National Environmental Protection Authority (NEPA).

Earlier, speaking at a meeting on Management of Agro Biodiversity Hotspots in an Era of Climate Change, the minister said around 21 percent of the country’s geographical area is under forest cover.

“Of that, two percent is high density and 10 percent medium density forest area. The remaining is degraded forest cover,” he said.

The consultation meeting was organised by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

Ramesh said the challenge was to cut the degraded forest cover area and also improve the medium forest cover.

Nice viedo......

Nice video created by Anil Kulkarni after a visit to our back water program...

Why vegeterianism ? some points to ponder

What do George Bernard Shaw, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Leo Tolstoy, Leonardo Da Vinci, Paul McCartney, and Pythagoras have in common? If your answer
is they're all towering figures of European culture, you're only half right. The answer is: they've all been passionate promoters of vegetarianism. While Pythagoras dealt with three straight lines, McCartney sang about the long and winding road. Indeed, the effort to promote vegetarianism has been a very long and very winding road. But with the former Beatle's initiative of meat-free Mondays, and the Belgian town of Ghent pledging to go vegetarian one day a week to do its share for the planet, the only direction that road is heading is forward.

While these laudable actions are finally grabbing headlines in the West, in India vegetarianism has quietly been a way of life for centuries. But, whereas in Europe and America vegetarianism goes hand in hand with liberalism and progressive values, the opposite seems true in India. It is almost as if meat eating is seen as an act of rebellion against 'orthodox' society, a sort of status symbol drawing on western ideals. With many Indians upwardly mobile, increase in purchasing power has seen a parallel rise in meat consumption. Unfortunately those who have turned non-vegetarian are often unaware of the direct causal relationship between what they eat and the poorest having nothing to eat. Put simply, over-consumption of meat directly contributes to world hunger.

India, where precious national parks are already under threat from illegal cattle-grazing, is the world's eighth largest producer of meat. Despite the sacred place cows occupy in Hindu culture, and despite the importance of buffaloes in agricultural work, India continues to churn out an annual 4.9 million tonnes of meat. Statistics compiled by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) show that the total number of animals slaughtered for meat in India nearly doubled from 66,299,600 in 1980 to 106,239,000 in 2000. In a world increasingly facing scarcity with regard to basic human requirements, as evidenced all too clearly in last year's global food shortages, increasing meat production looks to be progressively unsustainable.

Rearing animals for human consumption is a grain-intensive process. According to Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University, as the populations of India and China begin to consume more meat, an increasingly greater strain will be placed on grain supplies, exacerbating world hunger. It's a point also made very clearly by David Pimentel, professor of ecology at Cornell University: "If all the grain currently fed to livestock in the United States were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million."

Ksenia Glebova, a member of the Finnish Green Party turned vegetarian after volunteering in India. "The meat industry wastes huge quantities of food and water which are required to raise animals. Instead these resources could be used far more efficiently and equitably," comments Globova. Her call is supported by research from Cornell University, which reveals that for every kilogram of grain-fed beef, 100,000 litres of water are used. This finding is nothing new to animal rights organisations that believe alleviating the suffering of animals also helps alleviate human suffering.

Most crucially, as governments around the world struggle to lower their dependence on fossil fuels responsible for pumping millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we must also recognise the part played by our diet. The FAO has found that global livestock production constitutes 18 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. This figure is expected to more than double by 2050, precisely because of increased meat consumption in developing countries such as India.

"In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, going vegetarian clearly is the most attractive opportunity," says Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

There are various compelling ethical reasons to abandon animal slaughter. The conditions of animals in slaughterhouses are heart-wrenching. They led Bernard Shaw to highlight the key point that slaughterhouses are kept far away from human eyes because that makes meat much easier to digest. As Jane Goodall so succinctly said: "Thousands of people who say they 'love' animals sit down once or twice a day to enjoy the flesh of creatures who have been utterly deprived of everything that could make their lives worth living and who endured the awful suffering and the terror of the abattoirs."

Perhaps the next time we sit down to dinner, we should think about what we are doing. Not just to the animals, but to the planet too. It may be a long and winding road to a green future. But there's only one way to go.
Source :- TOI

A Very Interesting Interview of a Dynamic Central Environment Minister

The conflict between development and environment should not cause unnecessary delays, says Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh

Over the last five years, the Environment Ministry was seen as being on the defensive on actions that were projected as harming the environment. How can you change that?

I am aiming at transparency and working within the framework of the law, yet within a time limit, rather than making the conflict between development and environment cause unnecessary delays.

Since I have taken charge, I have sent back 10 to 12 proposals which required diversion of about 1,000 hectares of land in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh review. These were highway and railway projects, and of course the Navi Mumbai airport project, which would have meant removal of mangroves.

I have written to the chief ministers in all these cases. I have written to the Karnataka chief minister about projects in the western ghats, which is a very eco-sensitive place. About 1,900 acres of dense forests are being cut for a 400 Mw hydel project. I have said this can't be done.

All rejected proposals come back and get accepted in due course.

I am not a policeman. I can only work within the framework of two laws, The Environment Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act. I have to implement these. I can do it like TN Seshan, who was once the environment secretary, or I can let everything pass.

I'm like an umpire. I will not favour either individuals or non governmental organisations. I will weigh issues for their merits. For instance, when NGOs opposed something, I did not bother because what was going to come up in the area was a school. But I put my foot down when I found that the Jabalpur-Nagpur six-lane highway would divide the tiger corridor. If we don't take a stand, all is gone. But I am helpless if decisions are taken at the political level.

What about foundation stones being laid before environmental clearances are given? Views of the people at public hearings don't influence the decision of the ministry.

There is all that. We can only try to change this. There is an attempt to get a new independent regulator. We are trying to see if independent bodies should conduct public hearings.

What is your priority now?

Cleaning of rivers and lakes. For 20 years, the Ganga Action Plan has spent Rs 1,200 crore. People can ask what happened. Most of the funds went into setting up sewage treatment plants, most of which are lying idle as the municipalities don't have the money to pay electricity bills.

How can the rivers be cleaned?

We need a new approach. We spend Rs 350 crore annually and distribute it among 164 towns. Each town gets a small amount and nothing gets done. Instead of looking at it from a town perspective, let us look at it from a river perspective.

Is there a model for this?

The Rhine was the dirtiest river 25 years ago, but today, six countries draw water from it for drinking.The Ganga basin authority, chaired by the prime minister, is a priority with the government. It has five chief ministers as members and we are expecting something for it in the Budget.

What about lakes?
I visited the Wular recently. There is no lake there. Only 2 million willow trees. I will have to uproot these to revive the lake. As for Dal lake , all you need to do is watch a 1960s Hindi film and visit the lake now to gauge the work ahead of me.

What is your strategy for afforestation?

Our green cover is 23 per cent of our total area and we want to increase it to 33 per cent. We manage to increase it by eight to nine hectare annually. To get green cover in a third of the country, we need to add 2.5 million hectare per year. We will start the Green India programme soon.

Plantations won't get you the bio-diversity that forests have. It would also encourage logging of more forests.

There is no substitute for forest cover. Compensatory forestry programme will give priority to regeneration of existing forests. Cutting forests and replacing them with eucalyptus plantations is no option. There is a difference in how we view forests. In the 1970s and 1980s, forests were seen as a source of revenue. But today, we see them as absorbing carbon, a source of rainfall. There is a proposal to amend the Indian Forest Act, 1927, to change the whole perspective about forests.

You have been talking about changing gross domestic product to green domestic product. How will you do that?

Your GDP growth might be 9 per cent but how you used your natural resources might get you a score of 5 per cent or even less. Our policies should be such that they are not a drain on forest resources.

You recently openly disagreed with Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on scrapping of board exams and bringing in the Foreign Universities Bill.

I never said that. But I have always maintained that I am opposed to the Foreign Universities Bill. It will finish Indian universities while we will never get the best foreign universities here. And nor will it stop Indian students from studying abroad.

In the last three years, you had the ministry fighting on the side of industry against the tribals in Niyamagiri in Orissa. Why is the ministry not insisting on alternative sites, even when they are pointed out?

In India, 250 million people live in forests and depend on forests for their livelihood. Hence, bio-conservation of the western ghats and the north-eastern regions is very important. What is Project Tiger about? All 37 tiger parks are in areas rich in bio-diversity. They cover 6 per cent of our forest area. If we protect them, we achieve a lot more than protecting tigers. Two weeks ago, I went to Corbett and I was so angry when told that there was once a proposal to locate Uttarakhand's
there. That would have finished it off much earlier. Tiger is only a symbol of bio-diversity.

Yet, do you have means to stop such intrusions, especially mining?

The truth is that we pay lip service to environment protection. There is only one example when a political person decided to give importance to environment over industrial development. That was Indira Gandhi 25 years ago, when she stopped the Silent Valley project, which could have finished off the rich rain forests. We must learn to say no. Unless governments
take a firm position, we will keep making compromises.

As power minister, you were allowing power projects in forests and now you are learning to say no.

If I say there is no contradiction, I would be lying. We must make choices. Al Baruni, who came here with Mohammad Gazni, spoke of Hindus as people who cannot choose. If given two options, they would take both, he said. One has to take a clear stand.

What about the hydel projects in Arunachal, the Renuka dam in Himachal, and several dams on the Teesta in Sikkim. We don't seem to be ready for compromises when it comes to energy.

That is horrible. I am talking to them. If I say no to one dam, others will get a signal.

The chairman of the Environment Impact Assessment Committee was found to be on the board of several power companies.

He has quit. Other committees are also being revamped. The chairman was on the board of Lanco, which got many projects in Sikkim.

Can these projects be reversed now?
Let us see.

Courtesy : - rediff.com

2 days monsoon trek on 4/5th July weekend

Mansoon has set in the valley. As you are know, valley is so beautiful when it rains and it looks like heaven on earth.

The Sharavathi Valley:- The Sharavathi river valley nestled in the central Western Ghats, Shimoga district has been an ecological paradise. The Sharavathi River, rising at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk flows north-west and drops down in the Ghats at the world famous Jog falls. The sharavathi Valley is home for many water falls and to some of the beautiful streams. The valley is evergreen to semi-evergreen forest along with moist deciduous type of forests dominate the entire basin along with scrub savannah, grasslands, marshy areas and plantation of acacia, cash crops like areca and rubber providing diverse niches for a variety of taxa. Rare evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus, Syzygium, Cinnamon, Diospyros, Aglaia, endemic Palms along with the globally endangered Myrist-icasps makes this an ecologically sensitive region to be conserved and not marketed.

Route:- Veegi falls ---> Melnur --> Kanoor Fort ---> Nagara bastikeri --> Gersoppa..

Itinerary:-

* Deaprture from Bangalore by around 10:00 PM.

Day1
* Reach Sagar by 6:00 AM in the morning.
* Catch a jeep or van to reach trek starting point and freshen up on the way in a stream.
* Reach Trek starting point and have Breakfast.
* Start the trek towards first veegi falls. Spend some time in falls
* Trek to second veegi falls. Play in the falls if interested.
* Have lunch and trek towards melnur tribals house..
* Reach Melnur and Camp in tribal's house.
* Have fun time around camp fire.
* Have dinner and retire for the day.

Day2
* Wake up by 5:00 AM and get freshen up quickly.
* Have Tea and start the trek towards Kanoor fort.
* Reach kanoor fort lake and have breakfast
* Trek inside and ruined fort and then trek
* Reach bastikeri and visit 14th century stone curved Jain temple (Basadi).
* Have lunch and play in the river and trek to gersoppa
* Catch a local bus or hired jeep to Sagar.
* Reach Sagar and have dinner.
* Start the journey back to Bangalore by around 10:00 PM

towards Bastikeri

Photos of the previous trek
Photos by Shashidhar
http://picasaweb.google.com/shashi.gadad/HaadagereVasugatthiFalls1819Oct08#
Photos by Phanikiran
http://picasaweb.google.com/pvpkiran/KanoorKoteChaturmukhaBasadi#
Snaps by shashidhar
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/shashi.gadad/SharavathiExploratoryTrek1st2ndNov08?authkey=qd17f9MK1p8#
Snaps by Krishnamurthy
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/mpkrish/SharavathiValleyTrek3#
Snaps by Prahlad
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/askpsk/SharavathyValleyNovember1st2nd2008?authkey=PAHz7l08KaI#
Blogs:-
http://sharavathi.blogspot.com/2008/11/1-2nd-nov-2008-trek-report.html

Monsoon Raga... June 20/21st monsoon Trek memoir

As the monsoon was not in full vigor, i had not thought of arraigning the trek activity. But some of regular trekkers were eager to do a monsoon trek and asked me to organize one. Meanwhile Narayana had come accross a new water falls, so we decided to go on a exploratory monsoon trek. Thats how planning started for this trek. When i mailed about the trek to the group, it was more than 25 ppl. so was bit worried as trek will not be interesting for such huge crowd. But as usual, most of the initial responders dropped off sighting some personnel problems. Finally after all addition and subtraction group left with 10 trekkers. As it was a new route, I wanted to start of the trek as early as possible so we hired a TT and by 9:30 we started off from mejestic. On the way we picked up Dinakar / Ranganath / yadu. we had little introductory session and chat session for a while and everybody went in to sleeping mode.
As usual, I contacted Rajanna for vehicle. He never dissapoints us. He sends the best driver and best vehicle with the competative charges. The result was we reached Sagar by 4:00 AM !!!. unbelievable !. Driver had stopped vechicle for the tea and i looked at the watch i jsut could not believe myself !. I was really very happy and thanked the driver. Finally we reached Kattinakar by 6:00 AM. Narayana did not expect us by that early and he was shocked to see us so early !. Breakfast was getting prepared at dharmas house, so we all went to dharmannas house. All of us went towards the stream to get freshened up. By the time we came back, breakfast was ready. The breakfast was a bisi bisi masala idlies and dharma has mastered the idli making. We dont get these type of idlis anywhere. All of us had stomachful and then had Khashaya. Some trekkers were tasting the Khashaya so initially they were bit wary, but after tasting it everyone enjoyed it. After nice breakfast, we started off in the vehicle to reach the treak starting point. Reached base of a peak which was our trek starting point. As usual shared the grocery and put them in to our backpacks. Then we had intial briefing session and started off the trek.
Just before the ascent to guddolli bare (Peak) started we went to a tribals house on the trail. Suddenly the hosehold became so active and welcomed us with a great smile. They brought water in a pot and served us. Then came the surprise ! They served us JONY BELLA (Liquid Jaggery) on a piece of plantain leaf!. For me it was known but many were tasting for the first time. It almosts tasted like honey. Everyone emptied a big bottle of Jaggery. Then thanked eveyone at tribals house and started off the trek.
As in everywhere, Malnad region has not recieved the adequate rain in this monsoon. But it is mostly drizzling. So grass on the ground is already turning in to green. The train on ascent was open one and did not have tree cover. It was wonderful to see the valley as there was no tree cover on the trail. Initially the peak looked not so tough, but as we progressed it was becmoing tougher. Along with this Sun was too hot when we were claimbing. Ultimately we made it to the peak. As soon as we reached the peak hot sun dissapeared and it became cloudy.It was nice 360 degree valley view with the pleasent breeze. We rested for a while on the peak and took some snaps. Then decided to descent and move towards a tribals house where we supposed to have lunch. The light shower was on and off all along the trail which made the trek very pleasent. After an hour of descent to the valley from the peak we landed near a tribals house. The house so beautiful sarrounded by high rise mountains. There was a huge stream flowing near the tribals house, so we decided to take a dip in the stream till the lunch is ready. We had nice swimming session in the stream. As swam nicely, we were too hungry and decided to have lunch and continue the trek. Our cook Dharma as usual had prepared nice sambar and rice along with pickle and papad. Had nice lunch and rested for a while and some were snoring too..!
After saying thanks and bye the host tribal family, started off the trek towards the water falls. after an hour of trekking we reached the falls area. But we did not have no clue that we already near the falls as this falls is hidden in a thick vegetation. The falls was in deep gorge, so we started descanting to the falls. As it had rained a bit, it was infested by leaches though it was not to the worrisome level. Gorge was too steep, some how by hanging on to the bush / trees we got in to the stream. There it was !. It almost looked like our first half level of Goodanagundi water falls. Though it was not fery high, it was a nice falls. some got in to falls and some enjoyed the view. Rain kept visiting us off and on. Finally we thought of saying goodbye to the falls and started climbing up the stream. From here we trekked straight to the house where we supposed to halt for the day.
By the time we reached the house, Dharmanna had prepared nice khashaya and served us hot Khashaya. This khashaya has become part of our all programe. Everyone like this drink. It is made with many herbs and spice which are available locally. It is good for health as well we can avoid tea / coffee for a moment !. This drink is good for digestion and good for cold whether. We dumped our backpacks in the house and our next agenda was to claim the mincha bare a nearby peak and see the sunset. Ascent was very steep and difficult one. After about half an hour trek we were in the leak. it was amazing to see the valley. To our south wast it was treat of mountain range. First one was armane gudda, then was megani and then others. armane gudda is so beautiful, plan to trek some time to that peak. Sunset was not so intersting as the cloud played the spoilsport. By then breeze was too much and it was very very chill on the peak. So started off the descent. Descent was not so easy as it was too steep. Finally we landed in the house. By then Dharmanna had prepared tea and Menasikaayi bajji (chilly bajji). It was an awesome dish in that chilli weather. We all had these bajji's and chatting for a while. Then came dinner call. Dharmanna had prepared superb Pulav, Kheer, chapati and palya. All of us had nice dinner and retired for the day.
We woke up early in the morning and finished freshening up quickly and had tea. By the time we packed up our backpacks, breakfast was ready. Breakfast was Akki Rotti. Very tedious to prepare this dish. But dharmanna had woke up by 3:00 am and prepared the rotti only feed us the malnad special !. It was nice breakfast and then we had Khashaya. We invited everyone at home and thanked them for thier superb hospitality. They treated us like kings. I briefed trekkers about that days agenda and started off the trek.
We first trekked to Halli bare ( a peak which was visible from Mincha). It was a great peak with beautiful view again. Sun was bit hars so it was tiring a bit but still it was enjoyable as view was beautiful. By the time we reached the peak, Sun dissapeared and it started raining !. it was awesome moments. after a while rain stopped but fog covered the whole valley. It was a pleasent stay at the peak for some time. We then decided to descent the peak towards the Sullalli. After about 2 hour trek we reached the Sullali. We wanted to play in the water very badly as we had not taken bath in the morning. We reached a big stream and all of us got in to water and our cook dharmanna had started the lunch preperation on the bank of the stream. All us had a nice swimming session for about an hour time. Then we had nice lunch. By then our vehicle driver braught the vehicle there. All us said goodbye to Narayana and Dharmanna and started off the journey back to bangalore. It was a nice trek. Only lacking was not rain was not intense as it used to be.

Trekkers:-

1. Sampath
2. Raghu
3. Dinakar
4. Ranganath
5. Prasanna
6. Ashutosh
7. Varun
8. Yadu
9. Jovin
10. Soujanya

Links to the photo Album of Trek
By Soujanya
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/tummala.sowjanya/SharavathiValleyTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXJlefAo8zS5gE#

By Raghu
http://picasaweb.google.com/srinivasa.raghu/Sharavathy_valley_june09?authkey=Gv1sRgCLats8Ly0KL9oQE&feat=email#

By Dinakar
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=funmagics&target=PHOTO&id=5350862975091942706&aid=5350858134163517025&authkey=Gv1sRgCJft9r3U3MuPSA&feat=email

By Prasanna
http://picasaweb.google.com/prasanna.sga/MansoonTrek?feat=email#

World Environment Day on June 5th

Sarpagandha, Indian medicinal plant is botanically named Rauvolfia serpentina is available in Western ghat.

"The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its live activity; it offers protection to all beings offering shade even to those who destroy it." --Budha

Tropical forest cover in India has been reduced to two major areas: the coastal hills of the Western Ghats (about 55,000 square miles or 135,000 sq. km) and 14,000 square miles (34,500 sq. km) in Northeastern India. Very little of India's forest cover is considered pristine.

Tropical rain forests are incredibly rich ecosystems that play a fundamental role in the basic functioning of the planet. Rain forests are home to probably 50 percent of the world's species, making them an extensive library of biological and genetic resources. In addition, rain forests help maintain the climate by regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, protect against desertification, and provide numerous other ecological functions.

However, these precious systems are among the most threatened on the planet. Although the precise area is debated, each day at least 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest disappear from Earth. At least another 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest are degraded. Along with them, the planet loses as many as several hundred species to extinction, the vast majority of which have never been documented by science. As these forests fall, more carbon is added to the atmosphere, climactic conditions are further altered, and more topsoil is lost to erosion.

Despite increased awareness of the importance of these forests, deforestation rates have not slowed. Analysis of figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows that tropical deforestation rates increased 8.5 percent from 2000-2005 when compared with the 1990s, while loss of primary forests may have expanded by 25 percent over the same period. Nigeria and Vietnam's rate of primary forest loss has doubled since the 1990s, while Peru's rate has tripled.

Overall, FAO estimates that 10.4 million hectares of tropical forest were permanently destroyed each year in the period from 2000 to 2005, an increase since the 1990-2000 period, when around 10.16 million hectares of forest were lost. Among primary forests, annual deforestation rose to 6.26 million hectares from 5.41 million hectares in the same period. On a broader scale, FAO data shows that primary forests are being replaced by less bio diverse plantations and secondary forests.

The effects of deforestation are plenty. Very Important among them are climate change, rare species / plants are getting endangered, food /water crisis etc etc., Various institutions( Government / Non-government) in the world are working towards reducing the deforestation and its effects. But somehow these efforts are not making big impact and deforestation is happening at alarming speed.

One of the Very important problem with the deforestation is some of the rare species / plants are getting endangered. Not many institutions are working on this effect and even though some are working it is only half hearted effort. As Our organization " The sharavathi nature conservation Trust (R)" foremost priority is conservation, we are planning to work on these areas in a big way in future.
This year to mark the world environment day which falls on June 5th of every year, we have planned to conserve the endangered native Medicinal plants of western ghat. The plan is to rope in tribal's to identify the medicinal plants which they were using for various ailment, collect them and plant them in a place where they will be taken care. Also plan is to make this plantation as a "Plant Bank" where we can multiply these endangered plants. Also if our plan is successful, tribals or anybody who needs these plants in emergency situation they need not search around. All they have to do is land in this place !. This will help many tribals who are depending on native medicine. We also have plan to get these plants medicinal value scintifically probed later on.

For this purpose we have roped in Karnataka Forest Department and Forest department has been very happy on our inititative and has allocated a small area of land to the trust. We have requested Sri Ananth Hegde Ashisar(Chiarman of Wetsern Ghat Conservation Task force, Government of Karnataka) to be chief guest for the occation. As he is busy till mid of June, He has not allocated the date for us. It will be sometime in 3rd week of june. We will intimate Exact date to all of you once he gives us the date.

So we request all Nature lovers / Trekkers to be present on that day and support the cause. Your inputs on this program is highly appreciated. If you have come accross any native medicinal plant, please do bring it on that day, we can plant it over there.

"PARISARA SRI" Annual Award for Year 2009-10

As part of our organization "The Sharavathi Nature conservation Trust (R)" initiative to take up various nature conservation, we have setup an annual award called "PARISARA SRI". We are going to present this award every year to the genuine people who are working for nature conservation and people who are saving prestine forest. The aim this award is to encourage and motivate the people to take up the consevration with more vigour.

This year we selected Sagar Range Forest Officer (RFO) Mr. Vijaya Kumar for the 2009-10 "PARISARA SRI" award. This officer is very experienced officer and a wild life enthusiast himself. This officer is very honest and very hard working officer. Mr. Vijayakumar went after smugglers, people who used to occupy forest land and curtailed the deforestation process. Within couple of months after he took over as RFO, we could notice the difference in forest administration. Also this RFO is very creative and brought various measures to save wild life and forest. So this time we were very happy to recognize such a great personality. The award carried a momento/citation and we gifted utilites like head torch/ solar rechargable lantern etc.,

We organized the first such award ceremony in GUBBAGODU village in sagar taluk where we are conducting our nature camp activities on April 11th 2009. The function was attended by RFO Mr. Vijayakumar, our trust president Mr. Subbarao and secretory Sampath Kumar . There was huge gathering as there was a village festival too on that day. All dignitories took the opertunity to sensitize the villagers on the ecological issues and importance of saving forest. Speaking on the occation RFO lauded our organizations nature conservation initiatives. Perticularly he was happy for our effort to create rural employment as unemployment is fueling various types smuggling in this forest region.
It was a memorable, colorfull and meaningfull event. We have decide to present this award every year to the distinguished people who are working on conservation issues.

Human Chain @Lalbagh on Apr 15, 6pm opposing Illegal Metro Construction in Lalbagh

Dear All,

Earlier this week(April 13 and 14), the Bangalore Metro Rail corporation (BMRCL) has demolished over 500 feet of Lalbagh's wall and cut down 5 eucalyptus trees inside Lalbagh. BMRCL proposes to have a Metro station inside Lalbagh itself - Bangalore's distinctive botanical garden!

Lalbagh is protected by a separate, stringent law. In a highly undemocratic move, the Karnataka Government changed the law by moving an ordinance to acquire Lalbagh land for the Metro, rather than prefer a debate over the changed law, in the Assembly. The opposition has also failed to protest this undemocratic move.

Lalbagh and Lakshman Rao Park on R.V.Road, (also called the AC Road, Nanda Road ), both major landmarks and heritage of Bangalore are being destroyed for the Metro. This when the High Court is hearing PIL over alternatives in Metro alignment.

What seems like a minor portion of Lalbagh gone today will surely lead to greater portion of the park being taken away to create parking zones and malls that the Metro plans at its stations.

When they sought clearance, Metro authorities claimed trees on Nanda Road will be pruned, and not felled. Now they want to cut 323 trees on Nanda Road(R.V.Road) alone.

The BBMP Tree Officer has confirmed that the tree felling in Lalbagh was not cleared by him. This makes felling of Lalbagh's heritage trees, daylight robbery!

Don't be a mute witness to this wanton destruction and illegal desecration of our parks and open spaces.

Come out and protest. Demand from candidates standing in the Parliamentary Election from Bangalore South to make their stand clear on the issue.

Let us stop the illegal construction of Metro in Lalbagh.

Join the Human Chain to be formed at the illegal demolition site(at R.V.Road, near Lalbagh westgate) on Wednesday, April 15, 6.00 pm.

Be there. 6 pm. .......

Hasiru Usiru

For details call: Vinay Sreenivasan: 9880595032 or Raghu: 9880283974

More details about Hasiru Usiru and the Campaign against encroachment of Public Commons and Destrution of Green Spaces, visit www.esgindia.org

2 days trek to belligundi water falls region

2 days trek on 10/11th April to belligundi falls region. In this route there are many beautiful mini water falls.

The Sharavathi Valley:- The Sharavathi river valley nestled in the central Western Ghats, Shimoga district has been an ecological paradise. The Sharavathi River, rising at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk flows north-west and drops down in the Ghats at the world famous Jog falls. The sharavathi Valley is home for many water falls and to some of the beautiful streams. The valley is evergreen to semi-evergreen forest along with moist deciduous type of forests dominate the entire basin along with scrub savannah, grasslands, marshy areas and plantation of acacia, cash crops like areca and rubber providing diverse niches for a variety of taxa. Rare evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus, Syzygium, Cinnamon, Diospyros, Aglaia, endemic Palms along with the globally endangered Myrist-icasps makes this an ecologically sensitive region to be conserved and not marketed.


Likey Itinerary ,

Date:- 10-03-2009

• Arrive at Kargal, Freshen up, Have breakfast and leave to Trek starting point by hired jeep
• Start the Trek from Karni along with the Belligundi stream
• Have lunch on the way and continue
• Reach the top of the falls and enjoy the beauti
• Trek to Padubeedu and camp at a tribal house

Date:-11-03-2009

• Wake up very early in the morning, have tea.
  
• Start the trek towards the bottom of the Belligundi falls. (Depends on Trekkers enthu)
• Reach the bottom of the falls and enjoy at the falls
• Trek back to Padubeedu and catch Jeep to Water sports Basecamp
  
• Transfer to an island and camp at that night.
  

The above itinerary is totally tentative. It all depends on how people trek. The trek will be bit hard.

Photos and Blog of the above trek route:
http://gshashidhara.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-valentine-date.html.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jovin.d/BelligundiTrekking?authkey=ZUVGWuFPsrM#

http://picasaweb.google.com/prasanna.sga/BelliGundiFalls?feat=email#

http://picasaweb.google.com/mohanbrbabu/BelliGundiFalls?authkey=ST8GwVcDXZk#

Please me to prapancha@gmail.com to know more info

Watersports in Sharavathi Backwater

Watersports in Sharavathi Backwater

Rural development activities for the current year

Dear All,
As promised by us in the beginning of the new year, we have started working on to better the lives of rural people in a very small way to begin with. On 1st Feb 2009, we have had meeting with villagers of Gubbagodu and surrounding villagers about the immediate need of the villagers. They have put forward their wish to have a small community hall in Gubbagodu. Gubbagodu village is in the forest and it is about 20 KM from Sagar town. Most of you who have come to our water sports/camping activity have visited this place. So if these poor people want to have any kind of gathering, they have to go to Sagar town in search of a place.

We have chalked out the fallowing activities for the current year,

• Construct the multi purpose hall.
  
• Conduct the spoken english classes for the school/college dropouts and any of the villagers who wish to learn the language. So that youths can find some small time jobs in city and villagers can start using power of internet to enhance thier agricultural skill.
• Set up a small scince (physics/chemistry etc) and computer lab in that village school.
  
• Provide a computer and a internet connection to the village, so that farmers enhance thier agricultural skill.
  

We also felt it will be a great idea to have a multi purpose hall. Later this hall can be used for various purpose like, to install a computer with a internet connectivity. This will open up the outside world to them. We can use this hall to train the average educated youths of the surrounding villages in computer basics, spoken english etc etc.

Now we have got the plan and estimation ready with us. Total area is around 600 sqft. Idea is to use truss and metal sheet for the roofing in the begining. For this purpose it is estimated cost is around 1.75 Lakhs.
So we request all our fellow trekkers/members of this community to contribute towards this cause. Please don't worry of volume of contribution, a single rupee too is a great contribution. All that matters is our good will.

It is voluntary, Please ignore this mail, if u think it is unwarranted

Also we are looking for people who knows kannada and can teach basic spoken english to people of Vilages around Gubbagodu in weekends. We will take care of volunteers food, stay etc ., Plan is to have couple of volunteers, who can spare one weekend in a month or so. Also volunteers can enjoy all water sports activities and no fee is charged.This water sports is in the village where we will be teaching the spoken english. So after the class, volunteers can can stay at our camp site and enjoy the activities...

For more info and itinerary of the water sports/camping activity please check this link http://sharavathi.blogspot.com/2009/01/2-days-kayakingisland-campingtrekking.html

Let us make an attempt to change the lives of the oppressed....

Photos and few lines experience from UNISYS Company Group

We had group from UNISYS company on 7/8th Feb Weekend.
Here are snaps and few lines of their experience in our Water sports center.

Photos:-

1. http://picasaweb.google.co.in/johnyphotography/CIBASHARAVATHY?authkey=uOgD6aNoPIY
2. http://picasaweb.google.com/maranello.dreamer/SharavathiValley#
3. http://picasaweb.google.co.in/siddu.salimath/Sharavathi_Valley02?authkey=CVy8WHLbRss#

Few lines of experience of the Group:-

Hi Sam,

Thank you so much for this lovely trip J

I am sure each one of us will cherish this moment for ever.

Once again we (CIBA Team) wish you Good luck and May God give you the strength to conduct more trips like this and be a reason for happiness to many as you always did.

Team,

Many wanted to get Sam’s email and mobile number

Email is as given above and the Mobile number is 9845397386

Regards

Johny

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Dear Sam,

We have no words to express our grateful feelings…………..this one is really one of THE BEST trip I ever went. We enjoyed each and every second…..Thank you so much for organizing this awesome trip and saving our mother nature….keep up the good work and wish you all the very best & great success.

Thanks to Johny for introducing us to this wonderful, Beautiful, etc, etc.….location(Sharavathy) and person(Sam)J………………

Thanks,

Benjamin.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sam,

Thanks for making this trip as a memorable and wonderful trip, I had a nice time and enjoyed this trip to the core.

I’ve loved every moment, to say in specific … diving and swimming in natural clean river water …. after many………. Years…!!!!

We were amazed by just not the nature but you and your team’s service and care… It’s simply superb….. Thanks to your team…! Will meet you all again…!

Johnny, Thanks for introducing this beautiful place. Hope we’ll repeat this trip again …!

You are simply amazing with your camera………..! Wish you all the very best....!

Kind Regards,

Ram