Page 169 - Environment
Kerala announces fresh sops for farmers
Following farmer suicides in Kerala amid recovery notices being issued to them in the aftermath of the century's worst flood last year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday announced fresh sops for farmers, including a moratorium on repayment of loans that will be extended till December 31.
SC agrees to hear plea against alleged encroachments on tribal lands
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea against alleged encroachments on tribal lands.Advocate ML Sharma mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi his plea seeking a direction to not to allot or transfer possession of any forest land belonging to tribals to anyone other than tribals.On February 13, the apex court had directed the eviction of tribals and forest dwellers, whose claims over forest land were rejected under the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.Later on February 28, the Supreme Court stayed the order.The top court had then asked the states to submit details of the process adopted to assess the claims under the Act. The case is due for hearing on July 10.Meanwhile, tribal and Dalit rights organisations have called for an all-India bandh on Tuesday to demand that the Centre promulgate two ordinances to secure their rights that have been affected by the Supreme Court decisions.They ...
Uttar Pradesh to get 40 paise/unit cheaper power from plant
Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation will get 40 paise per unit cheaper electricity from Prayagraj Power Generation Company's plant at Bara in Prayagraj district, which will translate into savings to the tune of Rs 500 crore annually. An arm of Tata Power-backed Resurgent Power Ventures, Renascent Power Ventures -- which has acquired 75.01 per cent stake in the Bara power plant -- will be offering 40 paise per unit cheaper electricity to Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) under revised terms of power purchase agreement, a source said. UPPCL is the company responsible for electricity transmission and distribution within the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The revised PPA would also be approved by the state power regulator while disposing off the plea. A plea for change in ownership of Prayagraj Power Genreation Company Ltd (PPGCL) is under consideration of Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), which is expected to be decided this month. The next hearing is ...
Black panther spotted in Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve
In a rare incident, a black panther was spotted Sunday in Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve, forest officials said Monday. A video of a grown black panther walking near a road has gone viral. Confirming the incident, officials said the spotted place is a part of the Tadoba-Andhari forest area, located in Chandrapur district, around 680 kms from Mumbai. Spotting of such black panthers is very rare as these cubs are born out of a gene mutation and they are not a separate species per se. A similar panther was also spotted in Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, where camera traps laid by the forest department had captured the image of the wild cat wandering in the forest. "The wild cat getting spotted in the forest is also an indication that their search of prey is increasing. With the movement of herbivorous animals, the cats also wander a lot," an official said. He said there have been instances of such wild cats getting killed in road accidents, as they ...
JK authorities ask FCI, oil companies to speed up supply of essential goods to Kashmir
To overcome shortage of essential commodities in Kashmir, authorities Monday directed the Food Corporation of India and the coordinator of public sector oil companies to expedite supplies to the Valley taking advantage of fair weather forecast for next week. The advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, has asked traffic and national highway authorities to facilitate swift movement of trucks carrying essential commodities to Kashmir, an official spokesman said. The coordinator of public sector oil companies, Rajiv Yadav, has informed Ganai that about 2,500 Kl of petrol, 2,500 kl of diesel and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for over 1 lakh cylinders are in transit, but due to frequent closure of the Jammu-Srinagar Highway, supplies are not reaching in time, he said. Ganai, is also the in-charge of the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department. Several drivers of Kashmir-bound trucks have demanded that they should be given preference by traffic authorities .
L&T Varanasi treatment plant to treat, recycle 4,380 cr litres sewage water
Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said Monday that sewage treatment plant (STP) built by it at Varanasi could benefit residents there by making available additional water for irrigation. The largest of its kind STP for cleaning and rejuvenating the main stem of river Ganga has a capacity to treat 120 million litres per day (MLD) of water. "The 120 MLD STP at Goithaha, Varanasi, built by India's foremost technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing conglomerate, L&T has positively impacted the quality of treated water quality that can benefit residents by making the additional water suitable for irrigation. This is the largest of its kind STP constructed and commissioned for cleaning and rejuvenating the main stem of river Ganga," L&T said in a statement. It said completely designed and constructed in-house by the Water & Effluent Treatment (WET) business of L&T Construction, the construction arm of L&T, the 120 MLD STP is based on the ...
1.5 kg snake venom powder seized in Bengal, one arrested
The Border Security Force has seized 1.5 kg of snake venom powder from West Bengal's Malda district and arrested one person, a BSF officer said on Monday.
Modi inaugurates Ahmedabad Metro first phase, takes a ride
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday inaugurated a 6.5-km stretch of phase one of the Ahmedabad Metro train service here. After inaugurating the 6.5 km stretch, connecting Vastral to Apparel park area here, Modi also took a ride on the metro. Modi reached Vastral Gam metro station and inaugurated the first phase by unveiling a plaque and waving a green flag to the metro train and travelled in it for a short distance. The first phase of the project costs around Rs 10,773 crore, for which Japan has extended a soft loan of Rs 6,066 crore to the Indian government through its funding agency JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). Gujarat government and central government are to each contribute Rs 1,990 crore for the project. The phase one of the project covers a distance of 40.03 km, of which 6.5 km is underground and the rest of the stretch is elevated. Phase one comprises of two corridors. The north-south corridor runs from APMC to Motera along the existing railway ...
Delhi tops list of most polluted cities in Greenpeace study
The national capital has topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world in a recent study conducted by environment NGO Greenpeace India. New Delhi was ranked first among 62 polluted cities in the report, Global Air Pollution 2018, a statement from the organisation said. The report will officially be released on Tuesday. The report accompanies an extended online interactive display of the world's most polluted cities, allowing further exploration of air quality across different regions and subregions in 2018, it said. "The real-time status of all included locations, together with many more, can also be explored through the IQAir AirVisual Air Quality Map, which brings together live air quality readings in one accessible place," the NGO said. The report measures the air quality in terms of PM2.5 data as aggregated through the IQAir AirVisual platform in 2018, it said.
Global extinctions because of alien species reveals a new study
It has been noted since the 1500s, alien species are the cause of approximately 126 extinctions in both, animal and plant species.Out of a total 953 global extinctions, 300 of them went extinct partly due to alien species and out of that 300, 42 per cent or 126 extinctions were solely caused by alien species.According to the research published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the data was taken from 2017 IUCN Red List on the total species that have gone extinct globally since 1500."Some people have suggested that aliens are no more likely than native species to cause species to disappear in the current global extinction crisis, but our analysis shows that aliens are much more of a problem in this regard," said lead researcher Professor Tim Blackburn.Overall, the number of animal extinctions caused in some part by alien species is more than 12 times greater than those caused in part by native species.The researchers believe that biosecurity is a necessity to prevent further
Alabama Tornadoes: Death toll rises to 23
At least 23 people were killed after a series of tornadoes hit Alabama and Georgia on Sunday."The victims including children died in Lee County. At least 12 of those deaths occurred in an area about five to six miles south of the city of Opelika," CNN quoted Sheriff Jay Jones, as saying."US President Donald Trump also expressed his solidarity to the victims in a tweet saying, ''To the great people of Alabama and surrounding areas: Please be careful and safe. Tornadoes and storms were truly violent and more could be coming. To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!''..
Punjab CM launches water supply, sewerage schemes worth Rs 197 crore
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday laid the foundation stones of three surface water supply schemes, in addition to a domestic sewage treatment plant, worth Rs 197.69 crore, for the rural areas of Amritsar district.
Stubble burning causes nearly $30 billion economic losses annually in India: Study
Not just growing respiratory diseases but crop residue burning (CRB) has led to economic loss of nearly $ 30 billion or Rs 2 lakh crore annually for the three north Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi every year in India, says a new study.
India collaborates with four nations to protect Asian rhinos
India will collaborate with Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia to increase the population of three species of Asian rhinos, including the Greater one-horned rhinoceros found in the Indian sub-continent. The five rhino range nations signed a declaration 'The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019' for the conservation and protection of the species at the recently held Second Asian Rhino Range Countries meeting here. During the meet, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan affirmed India's commitment towards rhino conservation. The declaration was signed to conserve and review the population of the Greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhinos every four years to reassess the need for joint actions to secure their future. "The national strategy will pave the path for long term conservation of the Greater one-horned rhinos in India. I also wish the range country of critically endangered Javan and Sumatra rhinos success in their endeavour to secure the future of the two critically
Reduce GST rate on LPG conversion kits to 5%, urges Auto LPG industry
Auto LPG industry in the country has sought a reduction in GST rates on LPG conversion kits for automobiles from current 28 per cent to 5 per cent to boost vehicle conversions to the environment-friendly fuel. Indian Auto LPG Coalition, the apex industry body for auto LPG in India, said that high GST rates were hampering conversion to LPG, which is much cleaner transport fuel as compared to petrol. In a statement, the association said putting an efficient and non-polluting fuel under the highest GST slab is counter-productive to the government's focus on cleaning India's urban air quality. The high GST rates are proving detrimental to the conversion industry and hampering the growth of the clean and environment-friendly transport fuel. "An auto LPG conversion kit is not a luxury item which is placed under the highest GST slab. At a time, when our cities have been reeling under the impact of harmful vehicular emissions, all efforts must be initiated to push consumers towards using ...
Fresh landslide halts traffic for 15 hours on Jammu-Srinagar highway
A fresh landslide halted traffic for nearly 15 hours on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway even as over 3,000 Kashmir-bound vehicles, mostly carrying passengers, crossed the Jawahar Tunnel -- the gateway to the valley on Monday, officials said. The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, is partially open but only stranded vehicles are being allowed to ply to reach their destination, the officials said. "As many as 2,500 light motor vehicles and 600 trucks including 250 fuel tankers crossed the Jawahar Tunnel into the valley from this side till 4 pm," Deputy Superintendent of Police, traffic (national highway), Pardeep Singh Sen told PTI. He said a major landslide hit the highway in Panthiyal area of Ramban Sunday evening, forcing closure of the road. The agency concerned worked overnight and managed to clear the road of the hurdles after 15-hour long operation Monday morning, the officer said adding the vehicular movement was on .
22 GPS-enabled observatories made operational by GSI
Twenty two GPS-enabled observatories across the country were made operational by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on Monday to facilitate surveying related to geological and geo-physical mapping. GSI Director General Dr Dinesh Gupta told a press meet here "this move (operational of 22 GPS observatories) would enable the country to delineate high seismic hazard zones as well as produce themaicm maps with high positional accuracy." The 22 GPS-enabled centres were set up in GSI facilities in south, central, northen and eastern India. He said while the 22 'GPS-Geodetic observatories' were operational from today (Monday), the 169th Foundation Day of GSI, another 13 observatories will be operational from March 2020. Geodetic pertains to Geodesy, the science of measurement of the earth. The GPS infrastructure consists of highly sensitive receivers installed in a dense network, operating continuously and monitored centrally, he said. "These stations (observatories) will help .
Household pollutants cause infertility in both men & dogs
Environmental contaminants found in home and diet have the same adverse effects on male fertility both in humans and domestic dogs, finds a new study highlighting the decline in sperm quality in both the species over the past few years.
Philippines seizes 1,500 rare turtles in luggage
Some 1,500 live exotic turtles -- some restrained with duct-tape -- have been found inside an airline passenger's luggage, Philippines authorities said Monday, as they vowed a crackdown on the lucrative wildlife trade. The Philippines is a major source and transit point of wildlife trafficking, according to a 2018 report by the US State Department. The turtles and tortoises were found at Manila airport on Sunday in the luggage of a Filipino passenger, who had arrived from Hong Kong, hidden among clothes and shoes. The person fled before authorities could confront him, customs officials said. "We saw the images from the x-ray (machine)," Manila airport customs chief Carmelita Talusan told AFP. "We never expected it would reach as many as 1,530," Talusan said. "Our staff were taking care not to hurt them because duct tape was used to immobilise the turtles." Talusan said the matter was under investigation and authorities had identified the passenger, who could face charges of violating .
