Page 218 - Environment
Translocated tusker travels 50 KM to reach human habitat
A 25-year-old wild elephant, which was captured and translocated to the reserve forests at Varagaliyar last week, has travelled about 50 km and entered Angalakurichi village, police said Thursday. The jumbo, called 'Chinnathambi' by locals, was tranquilised and translocated from Thadagam area, 50-60 km from Pollachi, by forest department personnel. The pachyderm was also fitted with a radio-collar to monitor its movements. Over the past seven months, the elephant had destroyed crops and the forest department decided to translocate him following complaints from the local people. The people of Angalakurichi woke up Thursday on hearing the elephant's trumpeting and it was found moving in front of their houses, police said, adding it did not disturb any villager. Forest department officials from Pollachi division rushed to the spot and drove the elephant, which travelled about 50 km from Varagaliyar, back into the forests, police said. Its movements are being monitored, they
Endangered sharks being sold as food in UK: Study
Endangered species of hammerhead and dogfish are among the sharks being sold as food in the UK, according to a study that calls for more accurate labelling so that people know what species they are eating. Researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK sampled shark products from fishmongers and chip shops, as well as shark fins from an Asian food wholesaler in the UK. The majority of chip shop samples -- usually sold under generic names like huss, rock salmon and rock eel -- were spiny dogfish, a species "endangered" in Europe and "vulnerable" worldwide. The fin samples included scalloped hammerheads -- endangered globally and subject to international trade restrictions, according to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports. "The discovery of endangered hammerhead sharks highlights how widespread the sale of declining species really is -- even reaching Europe and the UK," said Andrew Griffiths, of the University of Exeter. "Separate investigations focusing on Asia ..
India unveils human space flight centre in Bengaluru
The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday said it has unveiled a Human Space Flight Centre here.
Traffic violation informers won car, bike, Rs 67.42 lakh as incentives: Goa CM
Goa Police's traffic violation informants, who have volunteered for the controversial 'traffic sentinel scheme', have won a car, motorcycle as well as nearly Rs 67.42 lakh in incentives, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Goa legislative assembly in a written reply on Thursday.
Doordarshan to air travelogue series 'Rag Rag Mein Ganga' from Feb 2
To present spiritual and socio-economic heritage and explain ecological condition of river Ganga, a? Doordarshan? travelogue series 'Rag Rag Mein Ganga' was launched on Thursday. The show will be aired every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm on DD National. The first episode will be aired on February 2, Doordarshan said in a statement. The 21-episode show has been produced by Doordarshan in collaboration with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The show was launched by Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore. The travelogue series, being anchored by actor Rajeev Khandelwal, will cover Ganga's journey from Gomukh in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand to Gangasagar in West Bengal's Sagar Island. "The travelogue, not only captures Ganga in its pristine beauty and showcases the rich natural heritage on the banks of Ganga, but also is the mouthpiece of the local people from the grassroots on their feelings,
Experts share experience on women-led conservation projects
Seventy women environmentalists from 11 countries converged in the city to share their experience on women's participation in conservation projects. The ongoing 'Fourth Women in Nature Network (WiNN)' event, being held in India for the first time, provided opportunities to environmentalists for sharing the lessons learned from such conservation projects in India and around the world, WiNN's founding member, Leanne E Alonso, told PTI on Thursday. "The objectives of the event are to link women working on the management of natural resources at a global level, to support women who are just starting to enter the environmental field and to create a global learning network," she said. Alonso hoped that this event will provide ideas and connections that will help the participants become leaders in their communities and create conditions for the future generation of environmental leaders. The conclave has been organised by WiNN in partnership with Aaaryank, an environment ...
Goa Minister likens Parrikar to Jesus for building bridges
Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai on Thursday likened ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to Jesus Christ for building bridges, especially with people.
Fresh snowfall, landslide closes Jammu-Srinagar highway
Fresh snowfall and landslides have forced the Jammu-Srinagar highway, which is the only road link of the state to the rest of the country, to close for traffic again, officials said.Deputy Commissioner Udhampur Ravinder Kumar said the decision to close the strategic highway for traffic was taken after the MeT issued an advisory of rain and snowfall in the state on Wednesday."Taking into account, the weather and road conditions, we decided to suspend vehicular traffic on Thursday as a precautionary measure," Kumar said.The 300 kilometre long Jammu-Srinagar highway connects the Kashmir valley with the rest of India and the essential supplies reach the Valley via this highway."Hundreds of vehicles including private vehicles and trucks have been halted at various points of the national highway near Udhampur. Drivers of these vehicles are demanding an early reopening of the highway as they are suffering due to cold and rainy weather here," Ravinder said.Previously in January the strategic .
Farmers Welfare Integral Part Of New India Says Agri Minister
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh, while addressing the conference of Vice Chancellors of State Agriculture Universities and Directors of ICAR institutes in Pusa, New Delhi, said that in the "Sabka Sath - Sabka Vikas" mantra of Hon'ble Prime Minister, Farmers' Welfare is an integral part of New India. Under this, a number of strategic initiatives have been taken to accelerate the progress of agriculture and to transform the farm sector. In this direction, various initiatives have been taken by the Agriculture Universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Gigantic cavity in Antarctic glacier signals rapid decay: NASA
NASA scientists have discovered a gigantic cavity, almost 300 metres tall, growing at the bottom of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, indicating rapid decay of the ice sheet and acceleration in global sea levels due to climate change. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, highlight the need for detailed observations of Antarctic glaciers' undersides in calculating how fast sea levels will rise in response to warming. Researchers expected to find some gaps between ice and bedrock at Thwaites' bottom where ocean water could flow in and melt the glacier from below, NASA said in a statement. The size and explosive growth rate of the newfound hole, however, surprised them. It is big enough to have contained 14 billion tonnes of ice, and most of that ice melted over the last three years. "We have suspected for years that Thwaites was not tightly attached to the bedrock beneath it," said Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine in the US. "Thanks to a new
Big cities feed on hinterlands to sustain growth: Study
Large cities depend on their hinterlands to sustain growth, thereby increasing the urban-rural divide in economic prosperity and individual life chances, according to a study. Individuals who leave small areas for large cities are better educated and have higher cognitive abilities than those who stay, said researchers from the Linkoping University in Sweden. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, provide a more nuanced account for the reasons behind the increasingly uneven economic geography observed in many countries, with growing levels of inequality between urban and rural areas. "Our research shows that people who leave rural areas for cities are, on average, better educated and have higher cognitive abilities. This selective migration fuels the higher than expected outputs of big cities and, at the same time, adds to the cumulative decline of less populated regions," said Marc Keuschnigg from Linkoping University. Selective migration of highly productive ...
Don't want 'tamasha', give us authentic info on ridge demarcation, NGT tells Delhi govt
Rapping Delhi government's revenue department over varying figures on forest land encroachments in Southern Ridge, the NGT said it didn't want 'tamasha' and sought authentic information on the issue. A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore expressed surprise that the revenue department was coming out with different figures each time and it was not clear how much time was needed to carry out the demarcation work in the ridge area. "What we propose is that we want authentic and complete info on work which remains to be done. Tell us how much time is required. We don't want tamasha (performance) that you are filing in bits and pieces. Same for forest department. "We want authentic and complete info on work which remains to be done tell us how much time is required," the NGT bench observed. The National Green Tribunal granted a month to the revenue department and the forest officials to inform it about the actual status of encroachments and the time needed for ridge ...
Gigantic cavity in Antarctic glacier signals rapid decay
Scientists from NASA have discovered a gigantic cavity, almost 300 metres tall, growing at the bottom of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, indicating acceleration in rising global sea levels due to climate change.
Movie tickets, beer and wine to be dearer
: Movie tickets and beer and wine prices are to be hiked and a 'flood cess' slapped in cash-strapped Kerala as the CPI(M)-led LDF overnment presented its first post-flood budget Thursday in an effort to mobilise additional resources to rebuild the state. As the southern state faced a severe financial crunch, finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac presented the budgetary proposals for the 2019-20 fiscal, giving thrust to a massive rebuilding exercise. He proposed 25 new projects to resurrect Kerala after the devastation caused by the deadliest flood of the century last August. "This is a budget for creating a new Kerala," Isaac said stating that Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked for the 'Rebuild Kerala' initiative in the plan.
Govt seeks to find permanent solutions for farmers' problems: President
Amid speculation over an announcement of a farm relief package in the upcoming Budget, President Ram Nath Kovind Thursday said the government is attempting to find "permanent solutions" for problems faced by farmers, who are the foundation of the economy. The President recounted Modi government's commitment to doubling farmers' income by 2022 and listed measures taken during the last four and half years to address farm sector issues. The statement came a day before Finance Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to present the BJP government's sixth and final budget of the current tenure, during which it is widely speculated that he may announce sops to regain political ground that the BJP seemed to have lost in the recent assembly elections. "On behalf of this august House, I compliment our annadata farmers. My government is striving day and night to attain the goal of doubling farmers' income. Understanding the needs of farmers, the government is seeking to find permanent solutions to ...
Australia river agency pilloried amid mass fish deaths
The authority that oversees Australia's largest river system was accused of "maladministration", "gross negligence" and ignoring climate science Thursday, as its waterways were carpeted with hundreds of thousands of dead fish. A Royal Commission report into the Murray-Darling Basin Authority - which happened to coincide with a series of mass fish kills - was scathing in its assessment, accusing the body of illegality. The Murray-Darling Basin is a river network sprawling for one million square kilometres (400,000 square miles), about twice the size of Spain. It affects the livelihood of millions of people, but it had been over-exploited for years and seriously depleted by drought. A South Australian inquest said the authority acted unlawfully in setting water levels while it "completely ignored" climate change projections. "Politics rather than science ultimately drove the setting" of limits on the amount of water that could be taken out of the river, the report said. The commission ..
Infosys arm to revive lake in Karnataka
Global software major Infosys' philanthropic arm on Thursday said that it will restore the Panchakalyani lake in Karnataka's Mandya district.
Fresh snowfall, landslides shut Jammu-Srinagar NH
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway,the only all-weather surface link between Kashmir and rest of thecountry, was closed for traffic Thursday due tofresh snowfall and landslides, officials said. Due to fresh snowfall and slippery road conditions inBanihal-Ramban sector and a fresh landslide in Rambanstretch, the highway has been closed for traffic,they said. This has been done to ensure that no vehicle getsstruck on the highway. "No vehicle has been allowed to move to KashmirValley from Jammu from Nagrota traffic check post", a trafficpolice officer said. The men and machines of BRO are working on the highwayto clear the highway of the snowfall accumulation andlandslides, they said. Traffic authorities Thursday morning assessed theweather and road conditions and subsequently suspended traffic on the highway, they said. Mughal road, a road connecting Kashmir'sShopian district with Poonch district of Jammu region, hasremained closed continuously for the past fortnight due tosnowfall, ...
PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Surat Municipal Corporation Solar Plant Developed by Waaree Energies
/ -- The solar plants will power three water distribution plants and 18 Municipal Schools in the city The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated a number of Solar Power Plants in Surat, with a collective capacity of 1 MW, by Waaree Energies, the preferred sustainability partner to Indian corporates. The Solar power plants are located at various locations in the city, which include three water distribution plants and 18 municipal schools, and cumulatively account for 1 MW of energy generation. With the latest addition of the plants, the Surat Municipal Corporation has become the first Municipal Corporation in the country which is not dependent on any electricity company for water distribution. The electricity generated through the solar power plants will be used for the city's water works, water distribution centre, and water treatment plant. This propels Waaree Energies as a partner to the smart city of Surat in its journey towards achieving its ...
BHEL bags 2 orders worth Rs 97 crore from NPCIL
State-run engineering firm BHEL Thursday said it has bagged two orders worth Rs 97 crore from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to manufacture and supply primary side heat exchangers. "Cumulatively valued at around Rs 97 crore, the orders envisage manufacture and supply of four moderator Heat Exchangers and 18 D2O Heat Exchangers for the 2x700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors to be installed at Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna in Fatehabad district of Haryana," a BHEL statement said. The heat exchangers will be manufactured at Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd's (BHEL) Bhopal plant, the statement added. The company has been a pioneer in the design and development of primary side products such as nuclear steam generators for NPCIL, and has, so far, supplied 40 steam generators for various nuclear power installations in the country.