Page 239 - Environment

Ozone Group launches convertible homes

Ozone Group, the pioneer of lifestyle living, is excited to introduce the concept of Convertible Homes to the Chennai Market for its value home buyers.These revolutionary space-saving convertible homes come under the banner of - OZONE XL 1BHK homes and are strategically located close to the Elcot SEZ - Sholinganallur, which counts as one of the most sought after residential areas by the IT professionals working in and around OMR, the official IT corridor of Chennai.XL 1BHK homes use multi-functional furniture from Lcove London that helps multiply the carpet area manifold. This flexible furniture can be customised to the customer's various needs. For example, the living room gets converted into a party area and a guest bedroom at night OR a dining area as well.The bedroom can be converted into a private reading room or a kids play area! These XL 1BHK homes, thus play a perfect fit for today's trendy lifestyle customers who are not looking to buy into the large 2bhk or 3bhks spaces, ...

Chamling exhorts farmers to increase production of organic

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has exhorted the farmers of his state to increase production of organic foodgrains to cater to domestic demands. "We have set a target to make Sikkim self-reliance and self-sufficiency in foodgrains within five years for which our farmers must increase production of organic foodgrain to at least meet the domestic demand," he said at the Sikkim Organic Day-cum-'Krishi Unnati Mela' here on Friday. In order to ensure self-sufficiency in organic foodgrains in Sikkim, the people should ensure that no land remains barren or fallow, Chamling said, adding even terrace gardens and vertical gardens should be explored for farming purposes. The chief minister also asked the farmers to get their lands certified by Agriculture and Horticulture departments as land under organic farming. In order to encourage farmers to take up organic farming in a big way, he said that organic demonstration farms must be constructed in all districts and ...

Multilateralism is needed to address global challenges: UN chief

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said multilateralism is needed to solve global challenges such as climate change and terrorism. Convinced that simply saying this will not make it happen, he said dismissing or vilifying the doubters of multilateralism will lead nowhere. The truth is that many people around the world are not convinced of the power and purpose of international cooperation.We need to understand why - and act on that understanding, he told reporters Friday at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York. Guterres said that as "we look to the challenges we face from climate change to migration to terrorism to the downsides of globalisation there is no doubt in my mind that global challenges require global solutions." No country can do it alone. "We need today multilateralism more than ever, he said. The UN secretary general said when he served in the government in Portugal in the 1990s, there was a "sense, a naive sense as it turned out," ...

Climate change a national security 'issue': Pentagon

Many of the US military's key installations are facing increasing difficulties due to climate change, the Pentagon said Friday in a report critics slammed as understating the scope of the problem. The 22-page document looked at 79 "priority" facilities around the US and found many vulnerable to flooding and wildfires, as well as the impacts of desertification, drought and melting permafrost. "The effects of a changing climate are a national security issue with potential impacts to Department of Defense missions, operational plans and installations," the document states. The military "must be able to adapt current and future operations to address the impacts of a variety of threats and conditions, including those from weather and natural events." The report found about two-thirds of the 79 installations are or will be vulnerable to recurrent flooding, and more than half are vulnerable to current or future drought. At Fort Greely, an Alaskan facility that is a key component of America's

Pandemics may cause $570 bn annual loss to global economy, says WEF report

Since 2011, the world has seen nearly 200 epidemic events per year

Telangana to spend Rs 1.17 lakh crore on irrigation projects

Telangana will spend about Rs 1.17 lakh crore during the next five years to complete all projects to irrigate 1.25 crore acres, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao said on Friday.

NGT raps Environment Ministry for failure to amend guidelines to check tree felling

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday slammed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for not amending the "Wood-Based Industries (Establishment and Regulation) Guidelines, 2016" to check illegal felling of trees for charcoal making.

Delhi's air quality slightly improves, CPCB task force recommends intensification of ground level action

Delhi's air quality slightly improved with increased wind speed Friday but was recorded in "very poor" category as CPCB-led task force recommended municipal commissioners (MC) and district magistrates (DM) to review ground-level action by their teams on a daily basis and ensure intensified measures. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI) in the city was 394 which falls in the "very poor" category. Lt Governor Anil Baijal Friday reviewed the air pollution situation of Delhi and asked agencies to direct field officers to visit hotspots and heavily penalise instances of burning of waste, polluting units and dust-generating activities. In view of the spike of pollution level in the national capital, the Central Pollution Control Board-led task force recommended that municipal commissioners and district magistrates review ground-level action by their teams on daily basis and ensure intensified measures. An AQI between 100 and 200 ...

Review ground level action: CPCB to officials after spike in pollution

In view of the spike in pollution levels in Delhi, the CPCB-led task force Friday asked the municipal commissioners and district magistrates to review the ground level work being done by their teams. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also asked the officials to daily submit an action taken report to the Environment Pollution Control Authority, appointed by the Supreme Court and the board. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had informed the task force that the air quality will gradually improve in Delhi and that rain and higher wind speeds are expected on Monday. Taking note, the task force opined that there was no need to invoke additional measures. However, the measures already in place must be intensified by implementing agencies particularly in areas like Bawana, R K Puram, Rohini, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram among others which showed higher levels of pollution, the task force said. "Construction and demolition activity, open dumping and burning of municipal solid ...

Modi encourages India, Denmark to set up research platform to find solutions to global issues

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday encouraged India and Denmark to establish a research platform for finding solutions to global issues such as food security, water management, climate change and sustainable development. During his bilateral meeting with the visiting Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Lkke Rasmussen at Gandhinagar, Modi said this could be achieved as Denmark had the skills and India the scale, and there was a need for new technologies in the world. The Danish prime minister is on a two-day visit to India from January 18 to 19, for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, 2019 in Gandhinagar, where Denmark is participating as a 'partner country'. Rasmussen is accompanied by a business delegation, including CEOs of major Danish companies, an External Affairs Ministry statement said. The bilateral meeting between the two leaders was held on the sidelines of the summit. They had earlier met during the first India-Nordic summit in Stockholm in April 2018. During the meeting, the ...

Raj minister reaches Assembly on bicycle

Rajasthan Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas Friday reached the State Legislative Assembly riding his bicycle. The minister has decided to ride bicycle once a week to reach the secretariat or to attend the House proceedings, he said. In days to come he also intends to reach the assembly or the secretariat by walking or on a motorcycle, the minister said. The minister told reporters here that problems such as rising fuel prices, air pollution, increasing traffic could be dealt if everyone started using cycle once a week.

Review ground-level action to curb pollution: CPCB to municipal commissioners, district magistrates

The Central Pollution Control Board-led task force on Friday recommended that municipal commissioners and district magistrates review ground-level action by their teams on a daily basis to tackle increasing air pollution in Delhi. The task force also sought a daily action-taken report to CPCB and Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority. The IMD informed the task force that the air quality will gradually improve and rain and higher wind speeds are expected on Monday. In view of this, the task force said there is no need to invoke additional measures. However, measures already in force must be intensified by implementing agencies particularly in Bawana, Mundka, Nehru Nagar, R.K. Puram, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, and Gurgaon, which showed higher levels of pollution. "Construction and demolition activity, open dumping and burning of municipal solid waste, traffic congestion, which have been extensively reported by field teams, may require ...

CM asks officials to expedite irrigation works

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao Friday asked officials to expedite works on irrigation projects aimed at irrigating 1.25 crore acres in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 2.25 lakh crore. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed the officers concerned to speed up the works on the irrigation projects, a release from his office said. Rao, who held a meeting with officials on irrigation, made it very clear that there was no greater priority than providing water for irrigation to Telangana farmers, it said. There is no dearth of funds for construction of projects and government would clear bills from time to time as and when they were due, he said. "For construction of irrigation projects in Telangana so far an amount of Rs 77,777 crore has been spent. In addition to this, for land purchase, compensatory afforestation and for rehabilitation and resettlement packages another Rs 22,000 crore has been spent. The total expenditure as of now is Rs 99,643 .

HP govt to consider setting up agri commission: Minister

The Himachal Pradesh government will consider setting up an agriculture commission, a state minister said Friday. Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda during a meeting of Himachal Kisan Union here said that he would raise the matter with the chief minister. The Union has demanded setting up og an agriculture commission. The minister said that the state government is committed for protecting the interests of farmers and several steps have already been taken in this direction. The agriculture minister said that the government is considering to set up maize based industry in Mandi, tomato based industries in Solan and chips based industries in Kangra to benefit thousands of farmers of the state. The farmer union also raised the issue of damage to crops by stray animals. The Minister said that the state government is working on war footings to overcome this problem. The government is giving 80 percent subsidy to farmers for installing solar fencing so their crops can be saved from stray .

Baijal reviews Delhi's air pollution situation

Lt. Governor Anil Baijal on Friday reviewed the air pollution situation in Delhi and asked agencies to direct field officers to visit hotspot and heavily penalise instances of burning of waste, polluting units and dust-generating activities. Baijal also asked the Delhi government to ensure greening of areas where waste has been lifted to control dust pollution. "To control air pollution, night patrolling need to be conducted by teams comprising representatives from MCDs, revenue department, DPCC. Industrial associations/market traders associations, citizen groups are to be sensitised," he said in a statement. Baijal chaired a meeting convened by chairman, EPCA, on Friday at Raj Niwas to review air pollution, waste management and sealing of industries operating in non-conforming areas like Narela, Bawana, Mundka and adjoining areas. The meeting was attended by Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain; Bhure Lal, Chairman, EPCA. The LG directed DJB to ensure drinking water supply in ...

Delhi air improves; sufficient rains can bring relief: SAFAR

The national capital saw a little improvement in its air on Friday as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) turned from 'severe' to 'very poor' due to an increase in the wind speed.

Kashmir to get additional 100 MW power

Kashmir valley will get additional 100 MW of power supply in view of the harsh weather conditions during winter season, officials said. On the directions of the Advisor to Governor, Kewal Kumar Sharma, the Power Development Department Friday purchased an additional 100 MW of electricity through power exchange, they said. The step has been taken to supplement the power supply in the valley and also address the interruptions in supply. "By way of the initiative, the electric supply in the valley which is witnessing a harsh weather conditions these days would improve to a large extent," they said.

Govt approves setting up of three new naval air squadrons

The government has approved setting up of three new naval air squadrons in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to bolster the Indian Navy's overall strength, officials said. The government has also sanctioned recruitment of manpower for manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier surveillance squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands, they said. A contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd two years back and their delivery is commencing soon. The new Dornier 228 maritime surveillance aircraft to be delivered to the navy are fitted with improved 'state of the art' sensors and equipment which includes glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, optical sensors and networking features, the defence ministry said. "The aircraft would enhance maritime domain awareness of Indian Navy through round the clock sensor based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea," it ...

Punjab CM announces Rs 208 cr grant for Malwa region

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday announced a development grant of Rs 208.40 crore for funding various infrastructure works in rural and urban areas of several districts in Malwa region. The infrastructure work would be carried out in Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Patiala, SAS Nagar (Mohali) and Rupnagar districts under the umbrella programme of Smart Village campaign and Urban Environment Improvement Plan (UEIP), according to an official release. The announcement came during pre-budget deliberations with Congress MLAs of Malwa-I comprising these districts, the release said. The chief minister asked the MLAs to prioritise the development works within their assembly constituencies and submit the list of works to be undertaken to their concerned Deputy Commissioners by January 31, 2019. He said rural and urban infrastructure works would be executed through the Rural Development and Panchayats department and the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board respectively. He ...

IRB Infra to start work on Rs 2,043-cr highway proj in Guj

IRB Infrastructure Developers Friday said it will soon commence work on a Rs 2,043-crore highway project in Gujarat, part of the upcoming Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. The company had won the 23.74 km project on hybrid annuity mode from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in March 2018. "VK-1 Expressway Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, has received an Appointed Date from NHAI for 23.740 km long Padra (Kim) - Vadodara Hybrid Annuity project, which is part of the upcoming Vadodara - Mumbai Expressway. "The SPV, in line with the NHAI's Appointed Date, is now set to commence the construction work on the project soon," the company said in a statement. Appointed date is understood as the date from which the scheme comes into force. The project pertains to eight laning of 23.740-km long stretch on between Padra and Vadodara in Gujarat. The project recently achieved the financial closure, the company said. ..