Page 172 - Environment
Nanar refinery: CM signs land de-notification proposal
The Maharashtra government Saturday made it clear officially that a Rs 3 lakh crore oil refinery project will not come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district. Shiv Sena leader and industry minister Subhash Desai said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis signed a proposal to denotify the land which was to be acquired. As the Sena was opposed to Nanar refinery citing local opposition, Fadnavis, while announcing a tie-up between the BJP and Sena for coming polls, had announced that the project would be shifted. "The Sena had promised the people of Konkan region that the project will not come up there as long as they were opposed to it. Today we have fulfilled our promise. Even the alliance with the BJP was sealed on the condition that the project at Nanar would be scrapped," Desai told reporters. The government had issued a notification in May 2017 to acquire 5,932 hectares of land across 14 villages in Ratnagiri district and two villages in Sindhudurg district. Due
Fresh landslides, snowfall blocks Jammu-Srinagar National Highway
Fresh landslides triggered by incessant rains and snowfall on Saturday blocked the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway once again, hours after it was opened for one-way traffic, leaving thousands of commuters stranded, officials said. The highway was opened for Kashmir-bound vehicles Saturday morning after remaining closed for the past five days. About eight inches of snow had accumulated on the ground near the Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Kashmir, while incessant rains triggered landslides and sent stones hurling down a hillock at several places between Banihal and Ramban, forcing closure of the highway, the officials said. They said the debris clearance operation could not be started due to the rainfall. The closure of the highway left thousands of commuters, who had left for Srinagar from winter capital Jammu stranded at various places. "We have left for Srinagar around 4 AM and managed to reach near the Nashri Tunnel after moving at a snail's pace. After spending 16 hours to cover .
3 killed in separate incidents of elephant attack in Odisha
Three persons, including a 7-year-old boy, were killed in separate incidents of elephant attack in Dhenkanal, Sundargarh and Angul districts on Saturday, officials said. An elderly man, identified as Dayanadhi Sahu (75), died after he was attacked by an elephant near a forest in Motanga area of Dhenkanal district, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Dhenkanal, Sudarshan Patra, said. The pachyderm attacked him when he was on is way to a village pond for taking a bath, the DFO said. A woman was also injured after she was attacked by a jumbo in the same area, forest department sources said. In another incident in Sundargarh district, a 7-year-old boy was killed when a wild elephant attacked his house at Barghat within the jurisdiction of Bonai Forest Division in the early hours Saturday, the DFO of Bonai, Sudhansu Khara, said. The boy died when a wall of the house collapsed on him, the DFO said. The elephant was a member of a herd that had come to the village from Jarda .
NASA, SpaceX launch their most ambitious partnership into orbit
In a major step towards resuming manned space flights, NASA and SpaceX on Saturday morning (local time) launched a new astronaut capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) from US soil after an eight-year break, reported Al Jazeera.With no crew aboard but a mannequin named Ripley, the capsule is scheduled to reach the ISS by Sunday, with a scheduled return to Earth on Friday.If the test goes smoothly, NASA plans to put two astronauts on board by the end of the year. "We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011," Al Jazeera quoted the head of the US space agency, Jim Bridenstine, as saying.
Maha signs MoU with Chinese firm to set up paper unit
An MOU was signed Saturday between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Chinese paper manufacturing firm Nine Dragons in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state industries minister Subhash Desai. As per the Memorandum of Understanding, Nine Dragons will set up a unit in the state and invest Rs 4500 crore over five years to create 10,000 job opportunities, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said. Earlier, speaking at the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge event organised by the state government's IT department, Fadnavis said AI can bring about sustainability in agriculture. "When we (Maharashtra) are aiming to become a trillion dollar economy by 2025, our prime focus is on agriculture and stress is on the use of technologies," he said. He added that technology was being used extensively to track environmental changes, use of pesticides, soil health and provide timely updates to farmers. Fadnavis cited the use .
World Bank approves $185m for Bangladesh renewable energy project
The World Bank has approved $185 million credit to add 310 Megawatt (MW) renewable energy generation capacity in Bangladesh and mobilise private sector participation to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country.
KCR instructs to release water from Nagarjuna Sagar to save crop in Khammam
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday instructed the Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi to release water from the left canal of Nagarjuna Sagar to save the crops cultivated in the two lakh acre area in Khammam District.The affirmation by the Chief Minister came after Sathupally MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah submitted a representation to him at Pragathi Bhavan on Saturday stating that Sattupally, Paleru, Vyra and Madhira town of Khammam district are facing severe water shortage.He then directed the authorities to release the water for 10 days to save the crops.
OPCW confirms chlorine used in Douma's attack
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapon (OPCW) on Friday (local time) revealed that chlorine was used during the April 2018 chemical attack in Syria's Douma."The evaluation and analysis of all the above-referenced information gathered by the FFM provide reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine," the OPCW said in a statement..
Highway projects worth Rs 50,000 cr underway in Delhi to ease traffic congestions: Gadkari
The Centre has undertaken highway projects worth Rs 50,000 crore to tackle traffic congestions in the national capital, which is battling against the problem of pollution, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said Saturday. In addition, projects worth Rs 5,000 crore are being implemented to check pollution in the river Yamuna, Gadkari -- who also holds the water resources and river development portfolio -- said after inaugurating a four-lane flyover at Dhaula Kuan junction here. The minister said this flyover is the first step towards developing a signal-free corridor to the Indira Gandhi International Airport and efforts are on to complete all other projects on the corridor in the next three months. "With inauguration of this flyover, a major bottleneck has been removed as traffic jam here not only caused delays but also created pollution. The remaining work on the corridor will be completed in three months," he said. "We have undertaken road projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in ...
Raj govt to increase grant for cow shelters: Gehlot
The Rajasthan government will soon increase the grant for cow shelters so that the cattle are fed well, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Saturday. Addressing the 'Gau Raksha Sammelan', attended by the owners of cows shelters here, Gehlot said non-lactating cows should not be abandoned and efforts should be made to look after them. "I understand that the grant given to cow shelter is not enough to feed cows. A decision will be taken soon for increasing the grant for cow shelters so that cows are fed well. Cow shelter managers run the shelters with the help of donation amount, grant but despite that they face difficulties," he said. He said he has directed the finance department officials to release the pending grant for cow shelters. Pointing out towards the problem of stray animals, Gehlot said that non-lactating cows are abandoned and such cattle roam around streets and cause accidents. "When cow is considered 'Mata', how can she be disowned? How can you see her eating food out of ...
Pradhan inaugurates & lays foundation of several oil & gas
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday inaugurated and laid foundation of several oil and gas projects in Tripura and said the northeast state is ranked number one in production of natural gas in the country. "Tripura produces 4.96 mmscmd gas per day which is highest in the country. But we want to augment productions, so we have set a target of producing 10 mmscmd per day," Pradhan said after inaugurating several projects by remote here. The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focused on improving the standard of living for the people of North East. Collaborative efforts of both Central and state governments along with contribution by oil and gas companies are bringing a developmental shift in the economy of Tripura. Pradhan inaugurated the ONGC Sonamura Gas Collecting Station (GCS) in Sipahijala district, Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections in West Tripura district, laid foundation of the first CNG station at Udaipur in Gomati ...
One way traffic resumes on Jammu-Srinagar highway after five days closure
After remaining closed for the past five days, Kashmir-bound traffic from here was allowed on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway Saturday even as fresh snowfall and rains lashed parts of the state, officials said. Thousands of vehicles were stranded after the 270-km strategic highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed on Monday after multiple landslides and sinking of a portion of a road near Ramban town, they said. After restoring the road and clearing the stranded vehicles, including truck carrying essential commodities to Srinagar, authorities decided to allow Kashmir-bound traffic from Jammu on Saturday. "The traffic was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar this (Saturday) morning and the traffic was going on smoothly when last reports were received, despite snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel and Banihal areas and rains all along the highway," a traffic department official said. He said about three inches of fresh snowfall had accumulated on the ...
Grapes need 'sunscreen' in hot Australia
Australian wine grape growers are applying kaolin-based clay sunscreen on their crops in a last ditch attempt to save them from the record heat in the southern districts, reports said on Saturday.
India projected to be on track to achieve its Paris climate change agreement target: US expert
India, which is successfully pushing its aggressive policy of adding renewable energy to its energy profile, is projected to be on track to achieve its target set under the historic Paris climate change agreement, a top US energy expert has said. Testifying before a Congressional Committee on Paris Climate Agreement Commitment, energy expert from the World Resource Institute and George Mason University, Andrew Light said that India's aggressive policy on renewable energy is primarily driven by its domestic incentives to keep its greenhouse gas emissions in check. The most important is that India's air pollution levels have become a domestic crisis. Air pollution caused roughly 1.24 million deaths in India in 2017 alone. "The WHO estimates that 11 of the 12 cities with the highest levels of particulate matter pollution in the world are in India. India is also seeking to provide electricity to over 30 million homes that are still without power, and ensuring that energy access is ...
Kamdhenu Aayog discusses progress of Gokul Mission in 1st meet
The newly constituted Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog on Friday held its first meeting and deliberated on the progress of central programme Rashtriya Gokul Mission. The Union Cabinet on February 6 approved setting up of a commission to frame policy for protection and development of cows and help boost income of small farmers. The announcement in this regard was made in the interim Budget for 2019-20. "The first meeting of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, constituted by Government of India for Conservation, Protection and Development of cows was held today under the chairmanship of Vallabh Bhai Kathiria," an official statement said. The Aayog deliberated on status of Rashtriya Gokul Mission, its implementation, and achievements, it added. The members discussed about the objective, functioning and future plans to implement Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog in order to better conserve, protect and develop cows and its progeny in the country. 'Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog' has been set up for conservation, ...
France takes charge of UNSC, says multilateralism 'necessary to tackle global challenges'
With France taking over the Presidency of United Nations Security Council on Friday, French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler opined that multilateralism is necessary to tackle the global challenges of terrorism, climate change, and so on. "Today, #France is taking over the presidency of the @UN Security Council. strongly believes that multilateralism is necessary to tackle global challenges such as terrorism, peacekeeping, climate change & gender equality" Ziegler tweeted.France and Germany decided to coordinate their efforts by jointly preparing the Council's work plans for the month of March and April, reported Xinhua."All existing committees and working groups are comprised of the fifteen members of the Council. While standing committees are chaired by the President of the Council, rotating on a monthly basis, other committees and working groups are chaired or co-chaired by designated members of the Council who are announced on an annual basis by a Note of the President
Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for sewerage infrastructure projects for 13 towns in Bihar
Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of sewerage projects worth Rs 2785.23 Cr in Chhapra, Bihar in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, M.P, Saran, Suresh Sharma, Minister for Urban Development and Housing, Bihar, Nand Kishore Yadav, Minister for Road Construction, Bihar and other dignitaries today.In Bihar, NamamiGange sewerage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned in 18 towns at a cost of over Rs. 5, 000 crores. The present sewage treatment capacity on Ganga towns is only 64 Million Litres Per Day (MLD) which is being enhanced almost 10 times through all the NamamiGange projects upto 643 MLD.The projects will prevent the flow of 32 crore Litres of Sewage per day into the Ganga river from 13 towns of Bihar including Patna, Chhapra, Sonepur, Danapur, Maner, Phulwarishari, Bakhtiyarpur, Fatuha, Mokama, Begusarai, Khagaria, Munger and ...
Assam to implement Rs 650cr projects under AMRUT scheme: CM
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday said the state government has undertaken implementation of infrastructure development, water supply and beautification projects to the tune of Rs 650 crore in Guwahati, Nagaon, Dibrugarh and Silchar. The projects are part of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the chief minister said. Sonowal said this while laying foundation stones for a water supply project, renovation work of three recreational parks and installation of high mast LED lights at Nagaon town on Friday. The development schemes under AMRUT would benefit 28,000 families of Nagaon town, Sonowal said. He also came down heavily against the opposition Congress "for its 55 years of misgovernance in the state". A large number of projects are being implemented for improving infrastructure and beautification of all the 98 towns of the state, he said. Under the BJP-led governments at the Centre and state, thrust has been given on ...
Odisha CM inaugurates two power units of OPGC
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated the third and fourth units of state-owned Odisha Power Generation Corporation's (OPGC) Ib Thermal Power Station in Jharsuguda district.
SC refuses to interfere with HC order giving nod to capture wild elephant
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to interfere with the Madras High Court order giving its nod to capture and put in captivity a wild elephant which has been venturing into human habitats in Coimbatore and neighbouring districts. On February 13, a division bench of the Madras High Court had directed the Tamil Nadu principal chief conservator of forest to pass appropriate orders for capturing the 25-year-old elephant, nicknamed "Chinna Thambi" and keep it in captivity. The appeal filed by an animal welfare organisation against the high court's order came before a bench of justices A K Sikri and S K Kaul on Friday. "You want us to supervise the elephants in the country? There are relevant authorities for this," the bench told senior advocate Anand Grover, who was appearing for the petitioner organisation. Grover said the elephant is "not dangerous" and "it is not satisfied here whether this elephant is dangerous to human". He said the animal cannot be kept in captivity unless it is ..
