Latest news with #Monga
Mint
3 days ago
- Sport
- Mint
Who was Sunjoy Monga? Mumbai's ‘bird man' passes away at 63 after battling blood cancer
Mumbai: Award winning wildlife photographer and veteran journalist Sunjoy Monga was to go birding in Lokhandwala this weekend. Unfortunately, he passed away on Wednesday, May 30, succumbing to a nine-year battle with blood cancer. Sunjoy Monga was 63-years-old. His death has left nature lovers and activists in deep shock. Apart from his award-winning photography, Sunjoy Monga also left his footprints in 'Bird Race' — an annual bird-spotting event that inspired the love of birds among hundreds of Mumbaikars over the years. In 2005, Monga launched Mumbai's first-ever bird race—an event that has since become an annual tradition known as 'Wings – Birds of India.' Monga's idea of launching a bird race was inspired by the Hong Kong bird race. As part of the Mumbai race, Monga invited birdwatchers to dedicate 12 hours to spotting as many bird species as possible. The inaugural race saw around 100 enthusiasts record 277 different species in and around Mumbai. Since then, Monga expanded the event to 33 cities across India, with the tradition still thriving today. As per experts, Sunjoy Monga started his bird-watching journey with other prominent names in the field such as Humayun Abdulali and Salim Ali. 'A great tree has fallen,' Pravin Subramanian, who organised the Bird Race with Monga since 2007, told HT. 'Back then, there were only two books for bird enthusiasts to follow. Monga filled this void by writing comprehensible books for all,' added the Bird Race co-organiser. Sunjoy Monga served for several years on the governing council of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a testament to his deep-rooted expertise as a naturalist. Monga's knowledge and passion for the environment made him a valuable contributor to several key conservation bodies. The 63-year-old was also a member of the Executive Committee of the MMRDA's Environment Improvement Society, the Maharashtra Nature Park Society, and also held the honorary post of Warden at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Raju Kasambe, programme manager, lands, at The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation, told HT: 'At the end of each race, Sunjoy would put together an amusing presentation with a lot of takeaways. It took a lot of grit in the early years to put together a checklist of birds and hand it over to 30 groups, then analyse each sheet and the data, but he did it every year. A lot it has migrated to the e-bird app.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
'BirdMan' Sunjoy Monga passes away at 63
MUMBAI: Nature lovers and activists have expressed deep shock at the passing away of the veteran naturalist, author and the BirdMan, Sunjoy Monga (63), on Wednesday, leaving behind his beloved City Forest, as he used to call the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, one of his favourite birding haunts. Monga was the first green activist to lament the rampant destruction of nearly 85% of wetlands in Uran in 2006-07, and urged all nature lovers to pull up their socks and protect the surviving wetlands -- or the flamingos may disappear forever from our coast. Environmentalist from Conservation Action Trust, Debi Goenka, said: "I knew Monga for nearly 50 years. His love for wetlands, forests, grasslands, had taken him towards Nature's path where he watched, researched and documented wildlife. It is a big loss for all of us.'' Navi Mumbai based Sunil Agarwal of Save Navi Mumbai Mangroves and Wetlands group, said: "Monga was a part of our group and guided us on how to secure and preserve our wetlands and mangroves which are still threatened by plans to construct more concrete jungles. He had started the famous Mumbai Bird Races 20 years ago, and many citizens including children queued up to participate in them. Despite suffering from cancer, he continued to do various birding and nature trail tasks, especially to encourage kids. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo '' Mumbai based wildlife biologist, and arachnologist Javed Ahmed, who first met Sunjoy as a 16-year-old, said, "Sunjoy always treated people as his peers, irrespective of their age difference, and experience. He was always humble, and never hesitant to ask, and learn about the various bugs and invertebrates we encountered on our many trails. He was my mentor.'' Monga's School Nature Education Programs in the form of 'Chhoton ka Funda - Hara Banao Project', and 'Young Rangers' reached out, and interacted with students of over a hundred schools in Mumbai, getting thousands of youngsters to take an interest in the great outdoors, while informing them of the crucial role of nature in our day to day lives. Activist B N Kumar of NatConnect Foundation stated: "I had spoken to Monga two years ago when he was fighting to save the Lokhandwala lake in Mumbai which was in a bad shape then. He was an inspiration for others to protect various wetlands and green forests.''
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘Operation Shield': What will happen during mock drills in 6 states, UTs? Check dates
A civil defence mock drill under 'Operation Shield', which was originally scheduled for Thursday, across multiple border states and Union Territories, has been postponed due to administrative reasons. While Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab have announced new dates, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh are yet to do so. The mock drill was planned in the wake of heightened tensions with Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives. In response, India launched 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7, targeting terror camps at nine locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The situation escalated into four days of skirmishes between May 7 and 10, during which India also struck Pakistani military bases. In retaliation, Pakistani forces launched heavy shelling along the LoC and international border, and also attempted drone and missile attacks on other strategic points in the western sector. The Directorate General of Fire Services and Home Guards, under the ministry of home affairs, earlier announced that the civil defence exercise 'Operation Shield' would be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and Chandigarh. The move follows observations made during the first drill on May 7, where officials identified critical gaps in civil defence preparedness in vulnerable regions. Based on those findings, the Ministry issued directives on May 9 to address the shortcomings, invoking emergency powers and arranging funding support through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Aimed at strengthening readiness against potential hostile attacks, the upcoming drills will cover all districts in the states and Union Territories along the western border. According to sources, quoted by PTI, the exercise will include the activation of centrally controlled air raid sirens, blackout protocols in civilian areas, and mock evacuation of families from military stations in the event of a drone strike. The drills will also involve the deployment of medical teams, transportation of blood units, and other emergency response measures. The civil defence department in Rajasthan has issued instructions to all district collectors and magistrates to implement a statewide blackout and mock drill on Saturday evening, May 31, news agency PTI reported. As per the directive issued by Jagjeet Singh Monga, director of the directorate of civil defence, a coordinated blackout and drill will be conducted simultaneously across all 41 districts of the state. Monga noted that this follows a recent directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which mandates that the 'Operation Shield' civil defence exercise be held on May 31 in all states and Union Territories along India's western border. The Punjab government has proposed June 3 as the new date for conducting the Operation Shield mock drill, PTI reported, citing that civil defence personnel are currently undergoing training with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). According to a senior Punjab Police official, the Centre has accepted the state's request to reschedule the drill to June 3. Subsequently, all deputy commissioners in Punjab have been directed to conduct the civil defence exercise in every district on that day. The new date for the Operation Shield mock drill in Gujarat is yet to be finalised. In an official statement, the Gujarat information department said, 'It is hereby intimated that the Civil Defence Exercise 'Operation Shield', which was planned to be held on May 29, 2025, is hereby postponed due to administrative reasons. It is requested that necessary directions to all the Controllers of Civil Defence and other stakeholders, may be issued accordingly. Next dates for the exercise shall be issued subsequently.' Meanwhile, chief secretary of the revenue department, Jayanti Ravi, held a virtual meeting on Wednesday to review the preparations made by district administrations for the upcoming drill. She also issued instructions to all District Collectors to ensure effective implementation of the mock exercise. Jayanti Ravi added that the drill will include measures such as assessing the readiness of local administration, engaging youth volunteers from NCC, NSS, and Bharat Scouts and Guides, setting up a hotline between the Air Force and the Civil Security Control Room for communication during aircraft or missile threats, activating air raid sirens, enforcing complete blackouts, and ensuring the safety of people and property. (With PTI inputs)
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Mumbai loses its ‘bird man'
MUMBAI: 'Birds teach, they are always revealing some secret, they act as a barometer of the city's general health,' Sunjoy Monga had once told HT. He was to go birding in Lokhandwala this weekend,' said Ravi Vaidyanathan, his friend and partner in his lifelong obsession. It's a date he couldn't keep, for on Wednesday evening, Monga, 63, succumbed to a nine-year battle with blood cancer. An award-winning wildlife photographer and author of several books on nature and birds, Monga was a beloved son of Mumbai. His advocacy for the natural world saw him write a regular column for HT titled 'Mumbai Safari'. He will also be remembered for his 'Bird Race', an annual bird-spotting event that inspired a love of birds in hundreds of Mumbaiites over the years. He's also left a treasure trove of writing for birders. 'A great tree has fallen,' said Pravin Subramanian, who organised the Bird Race with Monga since 2007. 'Monga started his bird-watching journey with legends like Humayun Abdulali and Salim Ali. Back then, there were only two books for bird enthusiasts to follow. Monga filled this void by writing comprehensible books for all.' Deepak Apte, former head of BNHS, said, 'I met Monga in the early '90s, when he led nature trails for the BNHS. He introduced us to the world of scientific bird watching, teaching us to identify birds and listen to bird sounds.' Bittu Sahgal, founder-editor of conservation magazine 'Sanctuary Asia', remembered Monga fondly as a 'crack birder-naturalist'. Speaking about Monga's time between 1990 and 1994 as associate editor at the magazine, Sahgal said, 'Sunjoy was viscerally a part and parcel of 'Sanctuary Asia' magazine at its very start, and a key reason we were able to navigate our way through the science and interpretation of the counterintuitive world of wildlife conservation and natural history. Together, we almost convinced Sir David Attenborough to shoot a few sequences of 'Life on Earth' in India in the early 1980s!' Monga organised Mumbai's first bird race in 2005. It's an exercise he organised annually - now known as 'Wings - Birds of India' - and took to 33 other Indian cities. Inspired by the Hong Kong bird race, Monga called upon all birdwatchers to set aside 12 hours, keeping their eyes peeled for avians of all species. During the first race, 100-odd enthusiasts sighted 277 species of birds in and around Mumbai – and the legacy continues to this day. 'I joined as a participant in the third bird race and have been one of the organisers for the last seven,' said Vaidyanathan. 'Back then, we would jot all our findings in log books and Sunjoy would compile the data. It was Sunjoy who highlighted the death of the wetlands in Uran, where around 12 years ago we were able to spot 60-70 bird species in an hour. Today, even Lokhandwala Lake, in his backyard, is rapidly losing its winged visitors.' Raju Kasambe, programme manager, lands, at The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation, remembered, 'At the end of each race, Sunjoy would put together an amusing presentation with a lot of takeaways. It took a lot of grit in the early years to put together a checklist of birds and hand it over to 30 groups, then analyse each sheet and the data, but he did it every year. A lot it has migrated to the e-bird app.' In 2007, Monga launched another project close to his heart. Called 'Young Rangers', it was a training programme that introduced school children to the wild and sensitised them to the environment. It wound up a few years later but is fondly remembered. Monga was a member of the governing council of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for several years. Like many naturalists, Monga's expertise was much sought-after. He was a part of the Executive Committee of the MMRDA's Environment Improvement Society, Maharashtra Nature Park Society and honorary Warden of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. 'Birds were his driving force,' recalled Yuhina Monga, his daughter. 'His terminal illness did not deter him from going bird watching. He would frequently go with his camera by the Lokhandwala Lake and capture birds. In particular, he had a special connection with owls and would collect figurines of different species from all over the world and keep them on display.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Himachal engineering college principal suspended over sexual harassment charges, ET Education
Advt Join the community of thousands of industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Get updates on your preferred social platform Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more. Shimla (HP), The director-cum-principal of Bandla Hydro Engineering College in Himachal Pradesh's Bilapsur district who was arrested on charges of sexual harassment has been placed under suspension, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani said Tuesday. Himanshu Monga (51) is accused of causing physical and mental abuse to female students and sending inappropriate calls and principal was suspended after a committee constituted by the technical education department to probe allegations against him submitted its report, Dharmani minister said such incidents should not happen and the government will take strict action in such students have accused Monga of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour and also produced messages sent by him to the three-member committee investigating the panel began the probe on April 21 after a former student of Sundernagar Engineering College lodged a complaint against Monga on the Samagra e-Samadhaan portal on April complainant alleged that when she was a student in Sundernagar Engineering College, Monga, who was then a senior faculty member at the college, had behaved inappropriately with the issue escalated further on May 22 the students held a protest demanding his immediate arrest after a video surfaced online that purportedly showed him trying to inappropriately touch a hospitalised female student under the blanket. The alleged incident took place in March 2024, police was then arrested and booked under Section 354 A (sexual harassment) of IPC. The accused principal is currently on Monga's arrest, several students have come forward against him. They said that if they did not respond to the principal's calls, he would threaten them with slashing their marks. He would also ask them to meet him in his office, and when they would turn up, behave inappropriately.
