Page 251 - Environment
Samples collected from Banka found positive for bird flu
Culling of birds have been ordered in Barahat block of Banka district after samples were found positive for bird flu, a senior state government official said Saturday. "So far, we have found samples positive for bird flu from three places- two places in Munger and one in Patna i.e. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park known as Patna zoo. But today, we received positive result for bird flu from the samples collected from Barahat block of Banka district," Animal and Fish Resources Department's Secretary N Vijayalakshmi told reporters here. "We immediately sent teams comprising officials and veterinary doctors to Banka. Culling of birds will begin from tomorrow," Vijayalakshmi said. Around 3-4 crows were found dead at an orchard behind Barahat block of Banka district a week ago, official sources said. The department has collected samples from various places, including various poultry farms in different districts,she said adding that the department had collected samples from ...
Punjab: Forest conservator booked for submitting fake appreciation letter to govt
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has booked a forest conservator for allegedly submitting a fake appreciation letter to the state government for removal of adverse remarks in his annual confidential report (ACR). A case has been filed against Indian Forest Service officer Harsh Kumar, posted at Hoshiarpur, and a private person Ajay Palta, director of a Jalandhar-based firm, under relevant sections, including 420 (cheating), of the Indian Penal Code, an official release said. Chief Forest Conservator (CFO) Kuldeep Kumar Lomis had written some adverse comments in Harsh's ACR for the year 2014-15. Harsh had attached a copy of the letter, apparently issued by Ashok Kumar, in-charge of Genetic and Tree Production Department, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, with a written request to the state forest minister to omit the negative notes in the report. During investigation, it was found that the letter dated May 4, 2015, had not been issued by Ashok Kumar. The CFO wrote to the FRI to ...
Hundreds of stranded passenger vehicles cleared despite snowfall in JK
Over 500 passenger vehicles were cleared Saturday despite snowfall which disrupted traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, officials said. The traffic on the 270-km highway was suspended around 11 am as a precautionary measure due to slippery conditions between Shaitani nallah and Verinag zig, leaving hundreds of Srinagar-bound vehicles stranded, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic National Highway, Pardeep Singh Sen, told PTI. However, over 500 passenger vehicles which were left stranded between Banihal and Ramban were allowed to move towards Srinagar later in the day after authorities pressed men and machines to clear the snow which had accumulated on the ground around Jawahar Tunnel the gateway to Kashmir Valley. High altitude areas including Jawahar Tunnel experienced fresh snowfall, while plains were lashed by incessant rains during the day owing to a fresh western disturbance. Almost all the ...
2 elephants die after coming in contact with high tension wire
Two elephants were killed probably after coming in contact with a high tension wire at a potato field in West Midnapore districts Saturday, a forest department official said. The carcass of two tuskers, including that of an adult, were found early this morning near Nippura village under Kotowali police station area. Divisional Forest Officer Rabindranath Saha said it appeared that the elephants had come to eat potato in the field and came in contact with a loose high tension wire that was hanging nearby. Post-mortem examination would reveal the exact reason of the deaths of the two animals, he said.
Snowfall hits traffic on Jammu-Srinagar NH
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded Saturday as fresh snowfall hit traffic on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, officials said. "The traffic on the highway was suspended this afternoon after fresh snowfall across Jawahar Tunnel -- the gateway to Kashmir valley," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic National Highway, Pardeep Singh Sen told PTI. Kashmir-bound traffic on the highway was stopped at Banihal and Ramban due to the slippery conditions between Shaitani Nallah and Verinag Zig, he said. "Rains in plains and snowfall in upper reaches was going on since 11.00 am and the decision to suspend traffic was taken as a precautionary measure," the officer said. Clearance of snow will start once weather improves and necessary arrangements have been made for the safety of the passengers, officials added. Currently, the traffic on the highway has been restricted to one side and plies alternatively between the ...
National Wildlife Board clears ONGC Trishna gas project
The state-owned ONGC Tripura Asset would soon start extracting natural gas from Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in Belonia subdivision of Gomati district following National Wildlife Board's clearance of its proposal, a top official said Saturday. We have discovered 10-12 gas bearing wells long back in Trishna Wildlife sanctuary. As the gas bearing zones are in the wildlife sanctuary, we needed permission from the National Wildlife Board. The National Wildlife Board, following recommendations from the state Wildlife Board, has cleared the project on Thursday," Gautam Kumar Singha Roy, Asset Manager of ONGC Tripura Asset told reporters here. He said that after the state Wildlife Board sanctioned the project on September 17, the state government had taken up the issue with National Wildlife Board. He said ONGC has already began laying the pipeline and the entire process would be completed shortly. The gas extracted from Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary would be transported to the ...
Andhra CM lays foundation for Iconic Bridge over Krishna river
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday laid the foundation for the construction of Iconic Bridge with a 170-meter long pylon over river Krishna.The 3.2 km long bridge will connect Amaravati with Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway. The bridge will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1387 crore. There will be six lanes on the bridge and 2.5 meters wide pavements on both sides for pedestrians.With this bridge, Amaravati will be directly connected to Hyderabad and Jagadalpur. The distance from Amaravati to those two cities will be reduced by 40 km. Further, this bridge will minimise traffic problems in Vijayawada.Along with the bridge, a water treatment plant will be constructed on the Krishna river with an estimated expenditure cost of Rs 745.65 crores, the foundation of which was also laid today by Naidu. This system will provide round the clock drinking water facility in the Amaravati as per the international standards.As part of the project, two ...
Alappad mining issue: Ker govt ready for talks, protesters refuse
The Kerala government Saturday expressed willingness to hold conciliatory talks on the Alappad mining issue but the protest council said it was not in favour of any discussion until the mining stopped. Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said, being a public sector enterprise, the Indian Rare Earth (IRE) should engage in responsible mining without affecting the erosion of shoreline in the area. "Being a public sector undertaking, the IRE must do the mining in a responsible manner. They should engage in mining by protecting the shore. This is what the people want and the government stands by the people," she told the media here. "The environmental committee of the legislative assembly has already done an impact study in this regard. They have suggested the sustainable manner in which the mining should take place. Industries ministry will take necessary actions to initiate discussion with the protesters in this regard," she added. However, members of the anti-mining People's Protest ...
Adani Green Energy acquires remaining 51% stake in Kodangal Solar Parks
KSPPL was incorporated in August, 2015 and has set up 20 MWac Solar Power Project at Bagewadi, Karnataka.
Delhi air pollution again reaches 'severe' levels
Owing to a rise in humidity and light winds, the overall air quality of the national capital slipped to the 'severe' zone on Saturday, despite the authorities predicting it would remain in the 'very poor' category.
Now, a new mathematical model can help save species from extinction
One thing that species like the blue whale, Bengal tiger and the green turtle have in common is the fact that all three of them are at the brink of extinction and are classified as endangered species.The risk of extinction varies from species to species depending on how individuals in its populations reproduce. Now, a new study says that understanding the dynamics of survival and reproduction can support management actions to improve a species' chances of survival.Notably, mathematical and statistical models have become powerful tools to help explain these dynamics. However, the quality of the information we use to construct such models is crucial to improve our chances of accurately predicting the fate of populations in nature.According to associate professor Fernando Colchero, author of a new paper published in Ecology Letters, a model that over-simplifies survival and reproduction can give the illusion that a population is thriving when in reality it will go extinct.Colchero's ...
Refugee row, incursion, river contamination kept Arunachal in news in 2018
Political developments, Chinese incursion, the Chakma-Hajong refugee row and concerns over contamination of the Siang river marked the year 2018 for Arunachal Pradesh. It witnessed a major shift in the political scenario with the National Peoples' Party (NPP), the party from neighbouring Meghalaya, being able to set a footprint in the state's politics by gaining seven MLAs without contesting the 2014 battle of ballots. The party led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma received a shot in its arm during July, when seven of nine Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA) MLAs switched over to NPP's fold. The remaining two PPA MLAs on September 20 joined the Congress. After the development, the PPA, the lone regional party of the state was left with no MLA in the 60-member state assembly. In early January, a similar Doklam-like situation brewed up at Gelling in Upper Siang district of the state with reports that a Chinese road-building team entered the state's territory with bulldozers on .
Pak SC imposes Re1 per litre charge on mineral water, beverage firms
In a landmark decision, Pakistan's Supreme Court on Saturday imposed a levy of Re 1 for every litre of surface water extracted by companies selling mineral water and beverages, according to a media report. The judgement was issued on a suo motu case pertaining to selling by the companies of water extracted from underground sources without any charge as well as the quality and fitness of the same for human consumption, Dawn newspaper reported. The revenue so collected will used for construction of the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams. Authored by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, the judgement also required the provincial governments as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory administration to set up separate and distinct accounts to receive the amounts collected under the water charges, the report said. The amounts will then be deposited in the dams fund already created by the apex court. The apex court made it clear that the funds so collected would not be diverted in any circumstances to any
Giant whale washed ashore in Odisha
A 40-feet-long endangered whale was washed ashore in an estuary close to Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Odisha's Kendrapara district, Forest department officials said Saturday. The gargantuan mammal weighed around 12 tonne. "It has become an uphill task for the Forest personnel to extricate the mammals body from the estuary near Talchua coast. We are planning to press into service a crane to remove the marine animals body," said Forest Range Officer, Subrat Patra. The whale was washed ashore on Friday. The mammal's body bore injury marks. The species figures in the list of threatened marine species. The mammal is a schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. We are still undecided whether to bury the carcass after its post mortem, said the forest official. As there are injury marks, the mammal might have perished after being hit by either ship or trawl propellers. After necessary legal formalities like post mortem examination is over, we would seek ...
California sea lions killed to protect migrating fish
Authorities in the western US state of Oregon have euthanised four sea lions in the last month as part of a program to protect salmon runs and steelhead trout that are at risk of going extinct. A spokesman for the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife told AFP the lethal removals of the California sea lions began in mid-December and would continue through May. Rick Swart said the killings were necessary to save migrating steelhead that have been ravaged by the sea lions in recent years as they swim upstream from the ocean to spawn. "Our scientists believe that if these sea lions aren't removed, that run of steelhead could go extinct anytime," Swart said. He said salmon were also threatened by the sea mammals, whose population has exploded since the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972. "What's going on here is we have a run of wild native Oregon steelhead and they are moving right now from the ocean upstream to spawn," Rick Swart said. "And when they get to Willamette ...
Naveen Patnaik unveils Odisha agriculture fair Krushi
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on Friday unveiled the logo of Krushi-2019 featuring a "Sweet Potato". Like previous year, the state agriculture fair Krushi Odisha 2019 is scheduled to be held from January 15 to 19 in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).Chief Minister Patnaik will inaugurate Krushi Odisha-2019 on January 15. Since Odisha occupies number one position in "Sweet Potato" production, it has been chosen as the logo of Krushi-2019.The developments in Agriculture and Allied sector and modern technologies are showcased in the fair. The key objective is to showcase the power of the farming and Agriculture Industry in the state and highlight the investment opportunity in this sector.There will be seven farmers' scientist's interaction workshop during the four days. All about 120 best farmers selected from 30 districts representing various enterprises like Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry will be felicitated in the occasion.As many as ..
U.S. shutdown sends grain traders, farmers hunting for data
CHICAGO (Reuters) - When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that a slew of key farm reports would not be released on Friday due to the partial government shutdown, the phones at crop forecaster Gro Intelligence blew up.
CMs of six states sign Renukaji Dam project agreement
Chief Ministers of six north Indian states signed an agreement for Renukaji Multipurpose Dam here on Friday, which aims to fulfil the water needs of these states, said an official statement.
Fish Fest begins to aware people of govt achievement
The three-day 'Bengal Fish Fest 2019', organised by state Fisheries Department, began here Friday to make the people aware the achievement of the state government in this area where the state was a front-runner, Fisheries Minister Chandra Nath Sinha said. West Bengal has a tremendous potential in the fisheries sector ranking second in fish and first in fish seed production in the country, Sinha said at the inaugural function of the festival. The minister said 'Bengal Fish Fest' gives a platform for showcasing the improvement in fish production, existing policies and those policies that are in the pipeline. On employment potential of the sector, Sinha said the youth is being motivated to come into fish farming and exporting, thereby boosting employment in the state. The state is also looking into the possibility of revival of certain variety of fishes and crabs, the minister said adding women members of self help groups are also being encouraged to start working in allied
GMO technique needed to solve world's hunger problem, says Nobel laureate
The Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) technique is needed to address the issue of global hunger, Nobel laureate scientist Sir Richard Roberts said here on Friday. Contrary to claims that genetically-modified plants were dangerous, the GMO technique was safer than traditional breeding of plants, he said. Roberts was in the city to receive the "UDCT Alumni Association-Institute of Chemical Technology Dhirubhai Ambani Lifetime Achievement Award", instituted by the Reliance Industries. "Over 800 million people across the world, mostly in developing countries, go to bed hungry every night. They need the GMO technique, because this is the best way to improve the crops," he said. Roberts, a molecular biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1993. Currently, he is the chief scientific officer at the University of Sheffield in the UK. "The reason we need the GMO technique is that most of the developing world's crops have never been improved by plant ...