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A. P. Bhattacharya

Abstract

It is a well known fact that unplanned and complete deforestation in any area leads to increased run-off from rivers and torrents, and floods become more frequent and intense. No systematic studies, however, seem to have been carried out in India on this subject. For the state of U.P., some investigations have been carried out for the catchment areas of three mountain torrents, for which records of gauges, rainfall and the management of forest areas were available. Fortunately in U.P. complete deforestation or denudation and wholesale burning of forests is nowhere resorted to. Where some areas are deforested by fellings, others are generally afforested in the vicinity of the some. It was thought feasible to study whether even the limited deforestation being carried out in U.P. was having any undesirable effects of increased floods or not. The torrents taken into consideration were Pathri, Ranipur and Ratmau. These are Himalayan torrents with shingly and sandy beds which join the Upper Ganga Canal near Roorkee. The width at their junction with the Upper Ganga Canal varies from 200 to 300 feet. These torrents pass over areas which are at the foothills of the Himalayas and form a part of the Siwalik range. Correlation analyses were carried out for these catchments for a number of variates, namely, frequency and intensity of floods as well as total and monsoon rainfall, with net deforestation. It was found that the planned and limited deforestation was not having any untoward consequences for Pathri and Ranipur catchments. It was only for Ratmau that some effect was felt on the frequency (and not intensity) of floods, meaning thereby that floods were recurring at somewhat more frequent intervals consequent on deforestation. It was also found that planned deforestation in either of the catchments was not having any significant effect on rainfall, which did not exhibit any marked change in either its intensity or distribution.

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R. B. Bose ¹, G. Singh ¹, A. P. Bhattacharya ¹, H. S. Pandey ¹

Affiliations
1 Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, IN

Abstract

Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta is spread over to 310 acres of land and consists of 25 divisions. The important species grown in different divisions have been presented in this paper alphabetically arranged, along with seasonal ornamentals.

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Kamal Jeet Singh ¹, Omprakash S. Sarate ¹, A. P. Bhattacharya ¹, Shreerup Goswami ¹

Affiliations
1 Birbal Sahni lnstitute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road, Lucknow - 226 007, IN

Abstract

A rich collection of Lower Gondwana mega-Plant fossils have been recorded from the outcrops exposed along the Kharkhara Nala section in Nand coalfield, Nagpur District, Maharashtra, mapped as Lameta Formation. The Lower Gondwana rocks are deposited mainly in Nagpur, Chandrapur and Yeotmal Districts of Maharashtra. Palaeobotanical investigations (megafloral and xylotomical) so far known from Wardha Valley are mostly confined to Barakar and Kamthi Formations. Megafloral assemblage very similar to assemblage of Karharbari Formation has been recovered for the first time from the Lower Gondwana beds exposed in the Nand coalfield. The plant assemblage consists of two species of Gangamopteris, one species each of the genera Buriadia, Noeggerathiopsis and Allatocarpus along with the genus Glossopteris represented by seven species. The conifer genus Buriadia dominates the flora (17 72%) followed by Glossopteris communis (16 46%). The sediments were also investigated for the purpose of palynology but no pollen and spore types could be recovered. An Early Permian age has been assigned on the basis of overall assemblage.

Keywords

Lower Gondwana, Mega Flora, Nand Coalfield, Nagpur District, Maharashtra.

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A. P. Bhattacharya ¹

Affiliations
1 Climax Pipes Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta, IN

Abstract

In the building Industry, usually comprising brick masonry and cement concrete, polyethene film may be used for roofing, on the floor and walls for serving as a leak-proof (and damp proof) material. This is attributable to high tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus of elasticity. Black low density polyethylene film has been found to be particularly useful for this purpose owing to lower susceptibility to sunlight and immunity from ultraviolet rays.

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A. P. Bhattacharya

Abstract

The commonest concepts of irrigation efficiency are those of water application efficiency.

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