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Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Palye's hero stone sheds light on ancient local traditions
Keri: Recently, archaeology enthusiasts came across a unique hero stone in Palye that displays the socio-cultural aspects of the area nestled at the mouth of the Terekhol river. Throughout India, memorials have been erected for ancestors who contributed to the betterment of society by sacrificing their lives. At the Vateram Kulpurush shrine, there are numerous hero stones showcasing the tradition of warriors sacrificing for a noble cause. The stones are worshipped by the families of Parab from Palye. However, the hero stone that has been discovered by the archaeologists is a unique specimen of the history and heritage of the area. Varad Sabnis, a doctorate and conservation archaeologist, said, 'This memorial has a unique feature portraying a dead person on the bed. Generally such memorials show the cause of the hero's death.' In Goa, we have memorials of heroes who have lost their lives in saving cattle from the raiders while hunting wild animals. Sometimes, hero stones show decapitation of the head and, more commonly, the battle (on the ground as well as in the waters). The memorial near Mahadev temple is known as Gupteshwar. "As per the local tradition, it is associated with the Tilve families of Palye," said Dhiraj Parab, a local. Palye, a village situated on the border of Goa-Maharashtra, was well connected through the waterways to Redi, known as Revatidwip, the regional capital of the Badami Chalukya kingdom. Various archaeological and heritage assets throw light on the history of the bygone days. This hero stone will certainly help in unearthing socio-cultural traditions of Palye, Vithoba Gawade, a student of archaeology, said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Scroll.in
5 days ago
- Health
- Scroll.in
A changing world is taking a big toll on tiny birds
A tiny, dull-coloured, restless-looking leaf warbler flies from a garden in Europe to a forest patch in the Indian Himalayas, carrying hidden stories of environmental change and evolution. 'I love this genus,' says Tushar Parab, a PhD scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India. His recent research explores what drives the distribution of Phylloscopus or leaf warblers – a widespread group of around 80 species – across Eurasia. The study highlights how natural and human-driven forces, from snow cover and elevation to soil moisture and urban lighting, influence where these birds are found. The findings could support conservation planning by understanding their habitat choices and limits to resist environmental change. These tiny birds weigh just six to 10 grams, roughly the weight of a five-rupee coin. Yet, their role in ecosystems is outsized. 'They need about 2,000 arthropods a day, but many birds starve in the winter,' says Trevor Price, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago who has studied warblers in India for over five decades. Found across Europe, Africa, and Asia, these 'old world' leaf warblers seasonally migrate between temperate Eurasian breeding grounds and warmer wintering areas in South and Southeast Asia. The greenish warbler, for instance, breeds across Eurasia and when it's winter there, spends its time almost entirely in the Indian subcontinent. Its muted plumage – olive, brown, yellow, and white – offers little help in identification. Males and females look alike and are constantly in motion, making them a birdwatcher's aspiration to identify. 'When I first started birding, my friend would say, 'Leave it and go ahead' whenever we saw a warbler,' recalls Parab. Instead, he hopped in. His study, published in the Journal of Biogeography, takes a broader look at leaf warbler distribution across Eurasia using open data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), covering the breeding season between 2014 and 2023. The researchers studied not just where species occur, but what causes one species to be replaced by another in a region – a concept known as species turnover. Climate, cities and subtle forces The results showed that different warbler groups respond to different environmental factors. For instance, snow cover influences breeding ranges, with species like Blyth's leaf warbler now nesting at higher elevations in the Himalayas, beyond their usual 2,200 to 3,000 metres, as snow lines recede with climate change, explains Parab. Artificial night lighting, used as a proxy for urbanisation, impacts species in the P proregulus group, such as the Pallas's leaf warbler. 'They avoid areas with more light and are shifting breeding ranges. So, there will be a shift in species composition with more urbanisation,' Parab notes. Aerosol concentrations, linked to climate and air quality, may also affect species like those in the P burkii complex, a group of closely-related bird species. Other important factors include elevation, soil moisture, and canopy height. A more unexpected player is gravity anomaly – variations in Earth's gravitational pull in mountainous regions, which can affect birds' energy use during migration. This subtle force was associated with species turnover in groups like davisoni and burkii. 'It's important that the study notes that it's not always climate alone,' says Price. 'Other environmental factors play a role too. However, many of these patterns are correlative – we need to look at ecological history and do more on-ground research to understand causation.' Changes in habitat can influence how species compete for food and territory, and even their chances of interbreeding, says Parab. His study provides a baseline to track future changes in warbler distributions, especially as rare species with narrow habitat preferences face increasing pressure. New tools, old world warblers To understand such a diverse genus spread across continents, Parab's team used Zeta diversity, a method that assesses how species overlap across multiple sites, not just between two. 'It's a promising approach to measure quick shifts in species composition,' observes Price, who was not involved in the study. However, relying solely on breeding season data from Global Biodiversity Information Facility, built heavily on citizen science data, is a limitation. 'We miss a big part of the picture – what happens in the wintering grounds,' says Price. Land-use change for agriculture resulting in habitat loss and the efficiency of pesticides are significant threats. 'In Mumbai, for example, you might find a bird that bred in the Himalayas or even Moscow. Each one needs four or five trees to find enough insects to survive. Cut those trees, and that's one less bird that will survive the winter.' But wintering records on citizen science platforms are spottier as the birds are comparatively quieter then, and India lacks consistent data collection for longer periods, adds Price. Adding to the challenge, warblers are hard to identify and get misreported, requiring data cleaning. To improve accuracy, Parab and another team developed an AI-based computer vision model that recognises subtle features such as leg colour, wing bars, and eye rings, in six warblers from the burkii complex as per a study in the Journal of Wildlife Science. The tool has now been expanded to identify all 80 species with up to 85% accuracy, claims Parab. He notes that real-world performance still depends on photo quality, but factoring in species' geographic ranges could improve it further. Such AI tools, if integrated into citizen science platforms, could improve large-scale biodiversity data and ease birdwatchers' frustrations. A restless bird Interestingly, the challenge of telling warblers apart also made them ideal candidates to study bird evolution theory. In a study in Himachal Pradesh, researchers Kristina Fialko and Trevor Price examined whether ambient light influenced the development of slight differences in feather colour among 12 leaf warbler species. Using avian visual models, they found that light conditions alone didn't explain the colour variation, as it does for animals underwater, suggesting that other evolutionary pressures, such as background habitat colour, are at play. 'The best part is that there are many species in a single genus, and they are sensitive to environmental changes,' says Parab. These unassuming birds reflect the health of forests, insect populations, and even the climate. Yet, little is known about their population status, especially in Asia, clarifies Price. Not a bird to be overlooked, even if they are hard to identify.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Maharashtra State Housing Federation calls for stronger grievance redressal system for self-redevelopment projects
Pune: The Maharashtra State Housing Federation has urged govt to step up awareness of the newly announced supreme grievance redressal committee that will function alongside Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority ( MahaRERA ) to address homebuyers' concerns in redevelopment projects. Federation members emphasised that a well-defined structure with district-wise redressal mechanisms is essential for the committee, which was announced under the Maharashtra Housing Policy 2025 . "While the committee is a good initiative, there is an urgent need for clarity on its functioning and jurisdiction," a senior member said. "The redevelopment cell launched too needs more district cells for people to understand the process for self-redevelopment." Shreeprasad Parab, expert director of the federation, gave some recommendations for self-redevelopment measures. "State shall develop a GIS-based software to provide approvals within 30 minutes which will be a single window system. There should be a corporation to provide initial funding." He further said govt should immediately direct the departments concerned to issue govt resolutions and an ordinance for providing benefits as enumerated in the self-redevelopment GR released in Sept 2019. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Parab also called for "directions to all district central cooperative banks to provide funding to self-redevelopment projects " and "reduction in premium rates or waiver of interest in self-redevelopment projects." He stressed the need to "constitute a committee involving members of the federation for dispute redressal during the redevelopment process." On the policy, Parab said its approval "has come after a hiatus of nearly two decades." He explained that the federation has expressed "unequivocal endorsement of the policy and affirmed its institutional readiness to collaborate with state govt in realising its full and effective implementation." The policy centers on self-redevelopment through a state-level self-redevelopment cell with a corpus of Rs2,000 crore earmarked for cooperative-led initiatives. It also introduces digital governance through state housing information portal and mandates tripartite agreement mechanisms for redevelopment projects. "This policy signifies a significant advancement in the constitutional realisation of the right to housing. The federation stands prepared to serve as a statutory conduit between state and people through the cooperative movement," Parab said. Ramesh Prabhu, chairman of Maharashtra Society Welfare Association, offered a different perspective. "Govt should constitute a redevelopment authority for registering, monitoring and reviewing redevelopment projects instead of having a high-powered redressal committee." On the allocation of Rs2,000 crore for self-redevelopment, Prabhu said, "Instead of granting them directly, these funds may be used to give guarantee to the financial institution who grant funds for self-redevelopment." He emphasised implementation timelines, saying, "Now the housing department should implement the policy in the next six months and only then will its publication have a meaning." Industry stakeholders also welcomed the policy. Shantilal Kataria, executive council member and ex-president of CREDAI Maharashtra and CREDAI Pune Metro, said the housing policy has been published after a period of almost two decades following the earlier housing policy of 2007. "Hence its implementation at the earliest is of paramount importance." Kataria highlighted the policy's significance: "Maharashtra leads in urbanisation which enhances the significance of this policy. The creation of state housing information portal will prove extremely valuable in the long run. Affordable rental housing is the need of the hour."
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Time of India
Mapusa court convicts cop of forced unnatural sex in police station
Panaji: A Goa police constable, Vishwavijay Parab , was convicted by a local criminal court for having unnatural sex with a woman who was taken to Mapusa police station after being rescued from the town. The case dated back to Aug 13, 2011, when Parab, who was then a constable attached to Mapusa police station, while on duty, allegedly abused the woman with 'filthy words, made obscene comments insulting her modesty, assaulted her, and touched her buttocks, thereby outraging her modesty'. After having forceful oral sex with the survivor, Parab threatened her with dire consequences. According to the prosecution, he then told her that nobody would listen to her as he was right and she was wrong. The case was investigated by then crime branch PI Sunita Sawant, who is now SP, anti-narcotics cell. She filed a chargesheet against Parab, who pleaded not guilty. The survivor said that her statement was recorded seven times. Judicial magistrate first class, Mapusa, Purva Naik, stated that the line of cross-examination by the accused appeared to deny the identity of the survivor, 'but there is nothing contrary to suggest that she is not the complainant'. 'Undisputedly, the survivor is not from Goa, and the fact that she is from Mumbai is corroborated by the other witnesses examined by the prosecution,' the court observed. 'The identity of the complainant is confirmed by the other witnesses examined by the prosecution and, moreover, by the investigating officer, and therefore the line of defence fails.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Senior : combien coûte une mutuelle qui rembourse bien ? Assurnova En savoir plus Undo The judge also said that there was nothing on record to show that the survivor had some enmity with the accused to falsely implicate him. She also said that even after so many years, the survivor clearly identified the accused in court on the basis of the same facial mark. She added that 'there is no reason' for the woman 'to falsely implicate the accused person, who is a police officer'. 'The accused is convicted for the offence punishable under Section 377 (unnatural sex), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509, and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, and Section 248 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code,' the court observed.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Report on Mhadei by NIO will hurt Goa'
Panaji: Protesters gathered outside the Dona Paula-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to express their dismay over a recent report by NIO scientists on the impact of Karnataka's diversion of water from the Mhadei basin. Activists and protesters said that the NIO report will jeopardise Goa's stand in the ongoing dispute over water-sharing. The demonstration was led by activists who have fought against the diversion of water, and by RG president Manoj Parab and St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar. 'Let the NIO scientists tell us how long they spent in the wildlife sanctuary when they conducted the study and why the study was not released in Goa in the presence of CM Pramod Sawant and the WRD minister. Why was it hidden?' said Parab. The NIO study published in the Journal of Earth System Sciences claimed that the diversion of water from the Mhadei basin by Karnataka would have 'less impact' on Goa. Borkar said that the study shows that BJP is committed to permitting Karnataka to divert water from the Mhadei basin. The protesters, under the 'Together For Mahadayi Movement' banner, said the study was led by a scientist from Karnataka. They also alleged that it was undertaken and published at the behest of BJP govt. 'Goa govt is working to strengthen the position of Karnataka and they have used the NIO scientists for this,' said Parab.
