Page 243 - Environment

How clean is River Ganga? Here's a fact check

Around 97 towns and cities located on the banks of Ganga discharge over 3.2 billion litres of untreated sewage into the river daily. To keep the water from getting polluted, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) took up a big challenge to clean and rejuvenate the holy river through the launch of several projects.Among the new sewage treatment plants set up by NMCG is Salori STP near Bakshi Bandh in Prayagraj. The 14 MLD sewage treatment plant funded by NMCG was launched in 2016 at a total cost of Rs 24.25 crore and uses modern SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor) technology to treat the water and make it suitable for discharge back into the river Ganga."We have been treating this water to less than 10 BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand). Such a treatment is not available with other technologies. Less than 10 BOD means a good treatment, which can be visible by comparing raw sewage and the treated one," said Durgesh Kumar, Assistant Project Engineer, Salori STP.Chemicals and bacteria in ...

Bring in structural changes to make agriculture resilient, sustainable and profitable: VP

Inaugurating Agri-Vision 2019, a two-day conference on 'Envisioning Agro Solutions for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture' at Hyderabad, he stressed the need for a concerted action from all stakeholders to find comprehensive, long-term solutions to the multiple challenges faced by the agriculture sector. Short-term measures like loan waiver would provide temporary relief and would not be beneficial to the farmer in the long run.

Accelerate resources to fortify fiscal position: Finance Commission chief to NE states

The 15th Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh on Thursday suggested the northeastern states to accelerate resources and revenue to strengthen fiscal position.

Farm loan waiver only a temporary step, says Vice President

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Thursday that farm loan waiver was only a temporary step to alleviate problems faced by farmers as he stressed the need for finding long-term solutions to improve the agriculture sector. He also emphasised the need for bringing structural changes in the agriculture sector through policy interventions at central and state levels. "Loan waiver is only temporary. You waive loan this season, (and) next season who will give loan? One has to understand...very serious matter," he said after inaugurating 'Agri-Vision 2019', a two-day conference on 'envisioning agro solutions for smart and sustainable agriculture' here. Stating that he was not against loan waivers, Naidu said one must have the capacity and the wealth to execute loan waiver. "You must have the capacity. You must have the wealth, then only you can distribute. If there is no wealth, how do you distribute it? You will become a pauper. "So we have to think in the long-term by providing ...

Starfish, jellyfish to benefit from climate change: Study

Seafloor predators and open water feeding animals like the starfish and the jellyfish will benefit from climate change, while those associated with sea ice for food or breeding are most at risk, a study said on Thursday.

Japan's Hitachi freezes British nuclear project

Hitachi said Thursday it would freeze construction of its stalled nuclear power station in Wales due to problems financing the project, a blow to Britain's nuclear strategy and a costly decision for the Japanese firm. The company said in a statement the decision was made "from the viewpoint of Hitachi's economic rationality as a private enterprise". Shelving the project at the Wylfa Newydd plant on Anglesey, a small island off the Welsh coast, will cost the Japanese firm 300 billion yen (USD 2.8 billion), it said. Hitachi launched the planned construction after acquiring Britain-based Horizon Nuclear Power in 2012. The British government had reportedly agreed to finance two thirds of the three trillion yen construction cost, with Hitachi as well as Japanese and British investors scheduled to cover the balance. But Hitachi's fund-raising efforts have been deadlocked at home while its request for additional investment from the British government has been shelved with London consumed by

Over 30 arrested for showing black flag to PM Oli

Over 30 people were arrested by the Nepal police Thursday for protesting against the construction of a dry port here and displaying black flag to Prime Minister K P Oli who laid the foundation stone for it. The local people are demanding compensation for the land being used for the dry port and also address the problems related to protecting the environment of the area before starting the construction works. The protestors were arrested after they displayed black flag to Oli and chanted anti government slogans, a police officer of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range said. The construction of the dry port is in the area occupied by erstwhile Himal Cement Company, which was closed some two decades ago. The Chobhar Conservation Committee had urged the government to first resolve the existing land issues at the factory site and address the needs of local residents before constructing the dry port, My Republica reported.

China to launch 90 satellites for Argentinian firm

China will launch 90 earth observation satellites for an Argentinian company which, according to a Chinese space official, will be a landmark achievement for the country in the international space market. China has been using its space rockets to put satellites of several countries including Pakistan. China Great Wall Industry Corp, the international arm of State-owned space conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said on Wednesday that it recently signed a multiple launch services agreement with Satellogic, a private Argentinian company specialising in Earth-observation satellites. According to the contract, Great Wall will use multiple Long March 6 missions to deploy 90 of Satellogic's small, remote-sensing satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province. The Chinese firm is planning the first launch this year to deliver 13 Satellogic satellites to low-Earth orbit, state-run China Daily said, citing a statement of the firm. After the ...

Emission fiasco: NGT gives Volkswagen 24-hour deadline to deposit Rs 100 cr

The National Green Tribunal Thursday slammed Volkswagen for not depositing Rs 100 crore, imposed on the German auto major for damaging the environment through use of 'cheat device' in its diesel cars, and directed it to submit the amount within 24 hours failing which its directors would be sent to jail. The green panel on November 16, 2018 had said that use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to inference of environmental damage and directed it to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It had also stated the deposit was only an interim measure and constituted a joint team of representatives of the CPCB, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. The four-member committee has also recommended Rs 171.34-crore fine on Volkswagen as "health damages" for causing air pollution in Delhi due to excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) ..

Plant-based diet plan may prevent 'catastrophic damage' to planet

A 'planetary health diet' low on red meat and rich in plant-based foods may help avert the dual crisis of feeding a population of 10 billion by 2050, as well as tackling climate change, according to a study published in The Lancet journal on Thursday. Feeding a growing population of 10 billion people by 2050 with a healthy and sustainable diet will be impossible without transforming eating habits, improving food production, and reducing food waste, researchers said. The findings from the EAT-Lancet Commission provides the first scientific targets for a healthy diet from a sustainable food production system that operates within planetary boundaries for food. The research, published in The Lancet journal, outlines a planetary health diet consisting of approximately 35 per cent of calories as whole grains and tubers, protein sources mainly from plants. It also includes about 14 grammes of of red meat per day, and 500 grammes per day of vegetables and fruits. Moving to this new dietary ...

AI identifies unknown human ancestor

An artificial intelligence system has identified a previously unknown human ancestor that roamed the planet tens of thousands of years ago and left a genomic footprint in Asian individuals, scientists say. By combining deep learning algorithms and statistical methods, researchers from the University of Tartu in Estonia, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Spain and found that the extinct species was a hybrid of Neanderthals and Denisovans and cross bred with modern humans in Asia. The finding, published in Nature Communications, would explain that the hybrid found last year in the caves of Denisova -- the offspring of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father -- was not an isolated case, but rather was part of a more general introgression process. Researchers used deep learning for the first time ever to account for human evolution, paving the way for the application of this technology in other questions in biology, genomics and ...

Indonesian woman mauled to death by crocodile

An Indonesian woman has been mauled to death by a crocodile in Sulawesi after she fell into its enclosure, officials said.

Rainfall detected on Saturn's moon Titan

Scientists, using data from the Cassini spacecraft, have found evidence of methane rainfall on the north pole of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. The rainfall would be the first indication of the start of a summer season in Titan's northern hemisphere, according to the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. "The whole Titan community has been looking forward to seeing clouds and rains on Titan's north pole, indicating the start of the northern summer, but despite what the climate models had predicted, we weren't even seeing any clouds," said Rajani Dhingra, a doctoral student at the University of Idaho in Russia. "People called it the curious case of missing clouds," Dhingra said. The researchers identified a reflective feature near Titan's north pole on an image taken on June 7, 2016, by Cassini's near-infrared instrument, the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. The reflective feature covered about 46,332 square miles and did not appear on images from ...

BHEL to set up Solar Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers along Delhi-Chandigarh Highway

The establishment of EV chargers at regular intervals over the entire 250 kms stretch between Delhi and Chandigarh would allay range-anxiety among the Electric Vehicle users and bolster their confidence for inter-city travel.

NGT tells Volkswagen to deposit Rs 100 cr by Friday

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed German auto major Volkswagen to deposit Rs 100 crore by Friday in accordance with its November 2018 order or face punitive action.

Engage with urban population to save tigers in Asia: Study

The future of tigers in Asia can only be safe if conservation authorities engage with people in the cities as the big cats' population is linked to the path of demographic transition among humans, says a new international study.

3 labourers choke to death in sewage treatment plant in Thane

Three labourers died after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a sewage treatment plant of a local civic body in Thane district of Maharashtra, a police official said Thursday. The deceased were daily wage labourers and had no formal training in sewage cleaning, he said. The incident took place on Wednesday when the labourers were cleaning a chocked valve in a chamber of the non-operational sewage treatment plant located in Mira Road area, an official at Thane rural police's control room said. One of the labourers climbed down into the sewage treatment plant to clean it, but felt suffocated and collapsed, he said. Two more labourers later went inside to check their colleague but they also inhaled toxic gas and died, he said. Another 17-year-old labourer, who also inhaled the toxic fumes, was admitted to a hospital where he was undergoing treatment, the official said. The labourers were hired by a civic contractor from near the Mira Road railway station for the cleaning work

Raymond gets MAHA RERA registration for realty project

Raymond will also perform a ''Bhoomi Pujan'' at the project site on 21 January 2019.

Elephants killed, tusk missing in Jharkhand

An elephant was shot dead by the suspected poacher and took away the tusk in Jharkhand's Palamau district.

Owners of stray cattle to face Rs 5,000 penalty

The Noida Authority on Wednesday doubled the penalty imposed on owners of animals and cattle found roaming at public places and roads in the city, officials said. So far, a penalty of Rs 2,500 is imposed on offenders, besides another Rs 1,000 which is remitted with the authority, the officials said. Now, they will be required to pay Rs 5,000, the Noida Authority said in a statement. "All owners are requested to keep their animals tied at appropriate spots and not let them stray out on roads, or in public places, which is leading to accidents. Failing to keep them in appropriate places, the authority will forfeit them a penalty will be imposed and punitive proceedings could be initiated against offenders, the authority said. As many as 475 cattle have been captured and shifted to a cow shelter in Sector 94 in the past six months. During the same period, 75 cattle owners approached officials to get their cattle released, it said. The cow shelter is spread over an area of seven acres and