Gopal Krishan: Resilient Cities
In 2014, the ISPER organized an International Seminar on 'Immortal Cities'. The underlying idea of the theme was that there is something magical in certain sites that the same city has a tendency to assume successive avatars on the same site even if devastated or destroyed at an occasion. One may find out the dynamics of such a phenomenon and apply this learning for ensuring the sustainability of cities. My own observation to this effect was that cities may not be immortal but their names are. Name is the essence of existence. The city names have their own tales to tell and messages to convey about their destiny (Krishan, 2014).
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Kulwant Singh: Implementation of Urban Mission: Inclusive and Safe Resilient Cities, Sustainable Technologies and Smart Infrastructure
Urbanisation today is one of the most important global trends of the 21st century. It is a transformative force that can be harnessed to enhance economic growth and productivity as well as wealth and state-building. However, today's most common urbanisation model is weak on sustainability; environmentally, socially, politically and economically. Poor planning, the absence of effective governance and legal frameworks, fragile institutions, low capacity of local authorities to finance, operate and deliver essential infrastructure and services, as well as weak coordination mechanisms of different levels of government, among other factors, have intensified the challenges associated with urbanisation. Yet urbanisation, and particularly the city, historically has been associated with intrinsic attributes that generate economic growth.
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Kakani Nageswara Rao, G. Demudu, B. Hema Malini: Aquaculture Impact on Population Dynamics of Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, India
Kolleru Lake, the largest coastal freshwater wetland in India and a wildlife sanctuary is severely degraded in recent decades due to burgeoning commercial aquaculture. Time series satellite imageries revealed spread of aquaculture encroachments from 10.73 per cent of the total area in 1990 to 47.08 per cent by 2004 in the Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). The demolition of fishponds in KWS by the government in 2005 reduced the aquaculture activity to 28.85 per cent area in its periphery by 2006, but revived to cover 49.77 per cent area by 2017. The temporal changes in aquaculture are correlated with population trends in KWS. The Census data indicated that KWS population increased by 37.40 per cent during 1981-2001 as the aquaculture increased, but during the following decade of 2001–2011 the population decreased (-1.18 per cent) with the decline in aquaculture. However, the scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) population in KWS increased by 14.53 per cent during 2001-2011, while the population of other categories decreased (-6.68 per cent) perhaps due to increased numbers of farm labourers (mainly SC and ST), while the small farmers (mainly other categories) emigrated as their landholdings were amalgamated into large corporate-scale fishponds.
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Jagdeep Singh, Omvir Singh: Identification of Erosion Prone Areas in Suketi Watershed, Himachal Himalayas, India
Identification of erosion prone areas is an essential requirement for management of watersheds. The geologic stages of development of erosional landscapes in the watershed systems can be quantified by hypsometric analysis, which is considered as an important indicator for watershed health assessment. In addition, the hypsometric analysis helps in identifying the erosion that had taken place in the watershed systems during the geologic time scale on account of hydrological processes and land degradation factors. The present study therefore has been undertaken to identify the erosion prone areas of Suketi watershed in Beas catchment of Himachal Pradesh. The hypsometric analysis performed on the watershed reveals that Suketi watershed as a whole (422 km2) along with four of its sub-watersheds are in monadnock stage, whereas three other sub-watersheds are in equilibrium or mature stage. The hypsometric value obtained for Suketi watershed indicates that only 19 per cent of the original land mass is available and remaining has been eroded away from the watershed. This study highlights that hypsometric analysis can be used as an estimator of erosion proneness leading to prioritization for taking up soil and water conservation measures in watershed systems.
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Savita Ahlawat, Dhian Kaur, Khushvir Singh Saini: Household Level Food Security in Kandi Region of Punjab and Haryana States
Food security exists when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. Food security at global or national level may not address the micro level situation. Therefore, the objectives of the present paper are to examine the household level food security in the Kandi region of Punjab and Haryana states and also to identify the factors affecting the status of household level food security. For this purpose, data related to households' demographic and socio-economic characteristics and food production, expenditure etc. were collected through field survey. A household food security index has been computed through eight indicators i.e. food consumption, dietary energy, monthly household income, food consumption share, poverty status, safe drinking water sources, toilet availability and livelihood based coping strategies. Ordinal regression has been used to analyse the effect of households' characteristics on the household food security status. The results show that the households having small family size, high monthly income, larger size of land holdings are relatively more food secure. On the other hand, households belonging to scheduled caste population, having high dependency ratio and low monthly income are more prone to food insecurity. Only 30 per cent households are food secure, most of which belong to villages falling in western parts of Kandi belt and to general castes. The less food secure households are found in northern and central parts of the study area.
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Tejpal, M.S. Jaglan: Assessment of Sand Mining Induced Ecological Impacts in Dohan River of Mahendragarh District, Haryana
The present study attempts to assess the ecological impacts of sand mining in Dohan watershed of Mahendragarh district of Haryana. For this purpose, areal expansion of sand mining sites and their impacts on local environment have been examined using geo-spatial techniques. Images captured by LANDSAT 5 TM and LANDSAT 7 ETM+ satellites for the year 1989 and 2009 have been used in this study. Both natural (vegetative index and moisture index) and anthropogenic (land use/cover change) parameters have been computed to assess the sand mining induced environmental degradation. The study reveals that sand mining has adversely affected the vegetation cover and moisture content in the study area. Thus, uncontrolled sand mining activities during 1989 and 2009 have significantly affected the environmental health of the study area. In addition, excessive mining of sand has also contributed in the decline of groundwater table in recent years.
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Shahab Fazal, Nasrin Banu, Azharuddin S K: Bundelkhand Region: A Geographical Analysis of Land Use Dynamics
The substantial increase of population in India has put enormous pressure on its land and other natural resources. The land man ratio is decreasing and will continue to intensify further in future. The demand for land is enormous and it results in large scale land transformations. The changes in land use have significant impact on livelihood of population as well as on ecological conditions of the areas. This paper therefore, attempts to examine the land use dynamics of Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh as a whole as well as among its districts during the period of 2000-01 to 2010-11 and its implications on ecology and livelihood of people by budgeting different categories of land use. In Bundelkhand region, in spite of the inhospitable physical conditions, agriculture is the single most important activity in sustaining livelihoods of people. But, the study reveals that the agricultural land is continuously being transformed to non-agricultural uses as there is decrease of 49,556 hectares of land in agricultural sector while in non-agricultural sector, there is an increase of 35,286 hectares during 2000-01 to 2010-11. The study also highlights that during the same period, the share of agricultural workers also declined from 72.1 per cent to 69.4 per cent. The land use change has direct impact on the livelihood of the people in the region.
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Ripudaman Singh, Anil Behl: Regional Disparities in Levels of Agricultural Development in Punjab: A Block Level Study
Although agriculturally Punjab is the most developed state of India, yet striking regional disparities exist in its agricultural development. It has been observed that most of the studies related to regional disparities in agriculture are carried out either at state level or at district level. Surprisingly, studies related to regional disparities in agricultural development at 'Community Development Block' level are completely absent. The present study therefore attempts to examine the regional disparities in the levels of agricultural development at block level for the state of Punjab. The study is based on secondary data obtained from 'Block-at-aglance' published by Economic Adviser to Government of Punjab. Based on HDI technique of UNDP, composite index of agricultural development has been computed taking 18 indicators. The study highlights that central and south-western parts of the state are agriculturally more developed than north-eastern foothill tract.
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Kiran Bala, S. P. Kaushik: Status of Child Immunization in Slums of Hisar City
The infectious diseases are the chief cause of morbidity and mortality among children in India. One of the most cost effective and easy methods to control such diseases is the child immunization. Immunization also prevents many more millions from suffering unbearable illness and lifelong disability. Achieving and maintaining high level of immunization among children is necessary for the control and elimination of the major diseases of childhood. Therefore, the present study has been conducted with the aim of analyzing the immunization coverage among children aged 0-5 years and the various socio-demographic factors associated with immunization in slum areas of Hisar city. The study reveals that only two third of the children (65.70 per cent) were fully immunized. Immunization coverage was high for BCG (94.20 per cent) and lowest for measles (74.67 per cent) vaccine. Type of family, level of education and level of income were found to be significantly associated with the immunization status of the children residing in slum areas of Hisar city.
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Indira Das, Sujit Deka: Flood Associated Sand Deposition and its Impacts in Southern Kamrup District of Assam
The river valley of Brahmaputra in Assam is affected by most recurrent water-induced hazards such as flood and riverbank erosion every year. The sedimentation by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries during flood causes substantial sand deposition over some sections of the fertile banks that are mostly used for agricultural practices. Therefore, to study the extent of sand deposits and their characteristics, ten villages of southern parts of Kamrup district, Assam, were selected. A physico-chemical examination of the soil properties was also undertaken. Satellite data of pre-and post-monsoon, IRS P6 LISS-III are used to quantify the affected area by sand deposition. Feedback from the farmers was also taken to supplement the collected information. It was found that during the period between 1991 and 2016, the area under sand deposits in the selected villages has increased from 33.36 per cent to 45.18 per cent with a varying depth of 0.20 m to 0.70 m. Because of such sand deposits, 42.31 per cent of total cropped area was found affected in 2016.
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Map Series-X: R.C. Chandna: Punjab-Haryana Region: Female Workforce, 2011
Punjab-Haryana region constitutes one of those few areas of the country where female participation in economically gainful activities is the lowest. While, in India, one in every four females was at work, in Punjab-Haryana region one in every six females was economically engaged. Large parts of our country, including the study region, were considered areas of strong traditional patriarchal system of society, its incidence being strongest in the northwestern parts of the country. The north-western parts of India, of which Punjab and Haryana states constitute a major part, has historically been the area of low female mobility outside the four walls of the house due to historical factors. Strong prejudices against female participation in outdoor activities still continue to persist more so among some select segments of rural society of the study region such as Jats, both among the Hindus and Sikhs alike.
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Doctoral Abstract: Amrita: Dynamics and Economy of Groundwater Resources in Haryana
roundwater is the primary source of water on earth, with the largest being used for irrigation. The importance of the groundwater as a resource in India can be realized that at present about 50 per cent of the total irrigated area, 50 per cent urban and industrial water supplies and 85 per cent of drinking water requirements in rural areas are dependent on groundwater. In the agriculturally advanced state like Haryana, agriculture has undergone a drastic change from self-subsistence to market oriented production during the last five decades. The share of tube-well irrigated area to the net irrigated area has increased from 22 to 57 per cent during 1966-2013. Meanwhile, the number of tube-wells in the state has increased from 0.02 million in 1966 to 0.73 million in 2013, indicating a thirty times rise in their number. This impressive growth in groundwater irrigation has caused adverse impacts on groundwater resources of the state.
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Doctoral Abstract: Archana Sharma: Changes in Patterns of Migration in Himachal Pradesh Since 1991
Migration as a phenomenon has existed since the earliest civilizations. Research in migration got impetus with Laws of Migration propounded by Ravenstein in 1889. Many studies analyzing patterns of migration in various parts of the country have been carried out by various scholars from different universities and research organizations in India. But studies pertaining to patterns of migration in Himachal Pradesh, where migration has been a recent phenomenon, are conspicuously absent. Keeping in mind the increasing significance of volume and effects of migration in the state, this research work is an endeavor to study the changes in patterns of migration in Himachal Pradesh since 1991, the year when migration scenario changed abruptly in the mountainous state with unprecedented expansion of manufacturing industry in its lower parts; tourism industry at certain feasible and remunerative spots; horticulture and development of hydropower stations in the upper parts of the state.
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Doctoral Abstract: Subodh Rani: Road Transport Network and Regional Development in Haryana
Transport is a function of various activities. It is considered as the major plank of infrastructure for growth and development. A road is a symbol of motion. Roads play a major role in the development of any region. A road network is usually established in an area with a view to facilitate economic and social interaction in space both at intra and interregional levels. It is considered as an integral part of the transport network of a nation. In a more general and wider context, road transport contributes towards mitigating social, economic, cultural and political imbalances between urban and rural areas and among different regions. The study of road transport and regional development is a primordial exercise in understanding the relationship between road transportation and different forms of regional development i.e. demographic, social, economic etc.
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Doctoral Abstract: Vishal Singh Nehria: Hill Tourism as a Sustainable Livelihood Option: A Case Study of Gaddi Population in Southern Aspects of Dhauladhars
The evolution of the native “Gaddi” culture based on hill ecology across the outer Himalayan range of the Dhauladhars, particularly in the Kangra and Chamba valleys, has been independent of the outside cultural contacts from generations. But the fast growing interaction with outside areas portends to radically alter this situation. The scattered hamlets along Bhagsunag, Dharamkot, Naddi, Dusalini, Rakkar, Bir and Chauntra habitats, overlooking the Kangra valley, have emerged as centres where the nomadic tribe of Gaddis has come in contact with various other ethnic entities. Much has changed in the name of development. The mountain ecology; the biodiversity; the aesthetics of folk-arts; the herbal wealth and the healing systems are vanishing fast or undergoing degradation. The green social behavior of this community and its nature-based lifestyle is fast turning consumerist and contra-environmental. Therefore, this research focuses on as to how the native “Gaddi” culture can come out of the “self-imposed isolation”, and learn to balance the “ancestral” with the “modern” or the “emotional” with the “rational”.
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