ASIA / PACIFIC February 20, 2017 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5 Elephant habitats shrink in India as encroachments increase GAUHATI, India (AP) — Wildlife activists say human encroachment in the forests of northeast India have forced elephants out of their natural habitats, triggering conflicts with locals. Conservationists have urged the government to prevent encroachments and free corridors that are used by elephants to move across forests in search of food. In recent years, there have been many incidents where wild elephants have entered villages, destroyed crops, and even killed people. Forest official D.D. Gogoi said in the latest incident, forest guards had to set fire to wild grass to drive back three wild elephants that came out of the Amchang Reserve forest in Assam state. Villagers pelted elephants with stones but were chased away by the animals until forests guards came to their rescue. “It’s an alarming situation. The elephants rampage through villages in search of food as their habitats are being overtaken by people,” said Mubina Akhtar, a wildlife conservationist. “The govern- ment has to order the clearance of the elephant corridors.” According to the 2011 elephant census, there were 5,620 wild elephants in Assam. The state is preparing to hold a fresh elephant census next month, Gogoi said. THREATENED AND THREATENING. Wild elephants stand amid grass after being chased by Indian villagers near Misamari village on the out- skirts of Gauhati, Assam state, India. Wildlife activists say human encroachment in the forests of northeast India have forced elephants out of their natural habi- tats, triggering conflicts with locals. Conservationists have urged the government to remove encroachments and free elephant corridors that are used by the beasts to move across forests in search of food. (AP Photo/ Anupam Nath, File) Elephants are increasingly coming into contact with people in India, as the human population of 1.3 billion soars and cities and towns grow at the expense of jungles and other elephant habitats. India’s elephants are also threatened by speeding trains and illegal poachers looking for ivory to sell on the black market. Last year, 67 elephants were killed in Assam, after 118 were shot dead the previous year. Forests guards are also trying to drive away elephants from railway tracks near the Amchang reserve area. Remote-controlled cleaning robot pulled from Fukushima reactor due to radiation By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — A remote-controlled “cleaning” robot that entered one of three wrecked Fukushima reactor containment chambers had to be pulled out before completing its mission due to camera glitches most likely caused by high radiation. It was the first time a robot entered the chamber inside the Unit 2 reactor since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami critically damaged the Fukushima Da-ichi nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said the intent was to inspect and clean a passage before another robot does a fuller examination to assess details of the damage to the structure and fuel inside. TEPCO needs to know the melted fuel’s exact location and condition and other structural damage in each of the three wrecked reactors in order to figure out the best and safest way to remove them. It is part of the plant’s decommissioning work, T which is expected to take decades. The robot went only partway on a narrow bridge into a space under the core that TEPCO wants to inspect closely. It crawled down the passage while blowing off some debris with a water spray and peeling them with a scraper on its head, and about two hours later, the two cameras on the robot suddenly developed a lot of noise and its image quickly darkened — a sign of a mechanical glitch from high radiation. The outcome means the second robot will encounter more obstacles and have less time for examination on its mission. The robot is designed to withstand up to 1,000 Sieverts of radiation, and its two-hour endurance roughly matched the estimated radiation level of 650 Sieverts based on noise analysis of the images transmitted by the robot-mounted cam- eras. That’s less than one percent of radia- tion levels inside a running reactor, but enough to kill a person almost instantly. TEPCO officials reassured that despite the dangerously high figures, radiation is not leaking outside of the reactor. Images recently captured from inside the chamber showed damage and structures coated with molten material, possibly mixed with melted nuclear fuel, and part of a disc platform hanging below the core had been melted through. In this image released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), a remote-controlled “cleaning” robot enters the reactor containment chamber of Unit 2 for inspec- tion and cleaning a passage for another robot as melted materials are seen at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. The “cleaning” robot that entered one of three tsunami-wrecked Fukushima reactor containment chambers was withdrawn before completing its mission due to glitches most likely caused by high radiation. (TEPCO via AP) Is your home plumbing contributing lead to your water? What do you think? | Comment period Improved rapid bus service on Division Street Local partners have worked for three years to define how new rapid bus service can improve transit reliability and safety on Division Street connecting Portland and Gresham. The Metro Council will approve this project so that it is eligible for a federal funding application. Feb. 15 through March 31, 2017 ǁǁǁ͘ŽƌĞŐŽŶŵĞƚƌŽ͘ŐŽǀͬƉŽǁĞůůĚŝǀŝƐŝŽŶ The M etro Council is scheduled to hold public hearings 2 p.m. Thursday, M arch 23, 2017 and Thursday, M ay 25, 2017 and ǁŝůůƚĂŬĞůĞŐŝƐůĂƟǀĞĂĐƟŽŶ 2 p.m. Thursday June 1, 2017 at M etro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland. Submit comments Feb. 15 through M arch 31, 2017: by email to powelldivision@ oregonmetro.gov | by mail to M etro Planning, 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97232 | by phone at 503-797-1750 or TDD 503-797-1804. ąLJůăƚŚƀŶŐ漏ǀҲĐҿŚҾŝĐӆĂƋƵljǀҷĜӇӄĐƚƌŞŶŚďăLJljŬŝұŶǀҲŶŚӋŶŐƚŚĂLJĜҼŝĐſƚŚҳdžңLJƌĂĜҺŝ ǀӀŝǀŝҵĐĐŚƵLJġŶĐŚӂĐƀŶŐĐҾŶŐӂŐҥŶƋƵljǀҷ͘DƵҺŶŶŚҨŶĜӇӄĐďңŶĚҷĐŚĜҥLJĜӆĐӆĂƚŚƀŶŐ漏 ďҪŶŐdŝұŶŐsŝҵƚ͕džŝŶŐҸŝƐҺϱϬϯͲϳϵϳͲϭϴϴϴ͘ 㗪‪⌈㒦◦廘䚣⽦⃧䏦廗ỉ㤝㗁夓娮⽦攂序㈵弉䮹䰯⊭侻䔺䏝䕂婈⇔Ʋ堿䈰⊔ ⩊㐲䕂䳿榒ᳫ㑅亹娭䄆‪⌈濕妉㍣ㄑƲ ؿ੹ऌ۰Ӗଜ࣯ضˬ੼঑˃ࢂɼМଞض୘߾оଥࢂʺࡶࢿݤଟܹ࢑Е̛ୣձ ߊԮҖչ̛ࡢଞʨ࢏ТЬଞ˲߭Իءࠇѹ੼ए۰ࢷחࡶ؇߅ؿݤԮִ Test your water for lead. Regional water providers found elevated levels of lead in drinking water in some homes and buildings. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Find out how to protect your family. Household plumbing, paint and dust are just a few items around the house that may contain lead. Call the LeadLine at 503-988-4000 or www.leadline.org for a free lead-in-water test kit, blood lead level testing and lead poisoning prevention classes. Brought to you by the Partners for Lead-Free Children The cities of Gresham, Portland, Tualatin and the Burlington, Lake Grove, Lorna, Palatine Hill, Pleasant Home, Raleigh, Rockwood, Tualatin Valley, Valley View and West Slope water districts.