Page 274 - Environment
Guterres calls for unity in New Year's message
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday said the UN will continue to bring people together to build bridges and create space for solutions in 2019.
NTPC to hike power production in Assam by 250 MW
NTPC Ltd will add 250 MW to the existing 500-MW capacity in Assam's Kokrajhar district after its third unit is commissioned in February, a senior company official said on Saturday. A total of 750 MW power generation is to be shortly made available, Dipankar Bose, Chief General Manager of NTPC, Bongaigaon, told PTI. "This will certainly be able to meet the power crisis in the region in a big way," Bose said. NTPC is also mulling installation of 950 KW solar roofs in the plant area, he said. He also said the company undertakes several community welfare services in the area.
Manipur man creates brooms from plastic bottles to combat pollution
Usham Krishna Singh a Manipur based innovator has introduced a new technique of recycling used plastic water bottles into brooms with an aim to fight against severe environmental hazards caused due to pollution.The 58-year-old has succeeded in generating income by manufacturing brooms carved out of disposable plastic water bottles.Singh, who is a farmer by profession, has his home located close to a local garbage dumping site where a large number of plastic bottles are dumped every day. It was this regular sight which prompted him to find a way in which he could reuse the disposed plastic bottles productively.Singh told ANI, "I started making brooms out of discarded bottles, so that I could contribute to saving the environment at least to some extent. This has also given employment to many people. I took a lot of hard work, patience and ample techniques and procedures to churn out brooms from plastic bottles."Elaborating upon the procedure of making the broom, he stated that for ...
India submits sixth national report to Convention of Biological Diversity
India on Saturday submitted its sixth national report (NR6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) highlighting the progress it has made in achieving the 12 National Biodiversity Targets (NBT) set under the convention process.
Seven nabbed in Assam for possessing tiger skin, bones
Sleuths of the Kaziranga national park in Assam have arrested seven poachers for their alleged involvement in killing a Royal Bengal tiger, forest officials said on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh gears up to host millions for Kumbh Mela
The Uttar Pradesh government has made extensive arrangements to host millions of people in the city of Prayagraj (earlier known as Allahabad) for the 2019 Kumbh Mela starting on January 15, a minister said here on Saturday.
India among first five nations to submit Sixth National Report: Env Ministry
India is among the first five countries in the world, the first in Asia and the first among the biodiversity-rich mega diverse nations, to have submitted Sixth National Report (NR6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Environment Ministry said Saturday. The report was submitted online to the CBD Secretariat by Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan during the inaugural session of the 13th National Meeting of the State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). "While globally, biodiversity is facing increasing pressure on account of habitat fragmentation and destruction, invasive alien species, pollution, climate change and oversuse of resources, India is one of the few countries where forest cover is on the rise, with its forests teeming with wildlife. "I am also happy to note that India is on track to achieve the biodiversity targets at the national level and it is also contributing significantly towards achievement of the global .
Leopard kills calf, injures another in village near Coimbatore
: A leopard killed a calf and injured another in a village near here, sources in the forest department said Saturday. The attack on livestock by the big cat took place on Friday evening and has since spread panic among the residents of the village and people in the Madukkarai forest range, the sources said. The forest officials went to the area and assured the villagers of trapping the leopard, they added.
Stray cattle posing a threat to public safety, crops in Agra districts
Bulls and cows are a growing nuisance and pose a threat to public safety in several districts of Agra.
Varanasi: PM dedicates Rice Research Institute to nation
With an aim to double farmers' income, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (IRRI SARC) in Varanasi on Saturday.The Prime Minister dedicated the country the 6th IRRI SARC campus here which will serve as a hub for rice research and training in South Asia and SAARC region.This new Centre is expected to deliver advanced research, teaching and services in order to improve crop production, seed quality and the nutritional value of rice. It will also work with national partners to enhance farmers' knowledge and income.Not only that, the education and training arm of IRRI SARC, IRRI Education, will also teach scientists and agriculture leaders about the latest technologies and innovations for sustainable farming; and laboratories for digital crop monitoring and assessment, and demonstration fields where variety testing is conductedThe major aim of IRRI is to improve livelihood and nutrition, abolishing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition among those ...
PM inaugurates Rice Research Institute, to improve production of crop
It will also work with national partners to enhance farmers' knowledge and income and deliver advanced research, teaching and services in the connection
Over 3,000 TN fishermen chased away by Sri Lankan navy
: Over 3,000 Tamil Nadu fishermen were allegedly chased away by Sri Lankan Naval personnel Saturday for fishing near Katchatheevu islet, a senior fisheries department official said here. The fishermen had put out to sea this morning in 514 boats and were fishing off the islet when the naval personnel came there in 15 boats and chased them away, Fisheries department Deputy Director Kathawarayan told reporters. They also cut the nets of 15 boats, he said.
Denied forest rights, people take to streets in Himachal's Kinnaur
Denied forest rights, over 1,000 people of remote Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday held a protest in Rekong Peo against the government for not implementing the Forest Rights Act.
Pradhan seeks Odisha CM's intervention in removing hurdles on
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaiks intervention in removing hurdles in the setting up the Rs 150 crore LPG bottling plant in Khurda. Pradhan urged the chief minister to direct the concerned authorities to allot the land to IOCL for the plant. Odisha government is not supporting in land allocation for the Khurda LPG bottling plant, Pradhan wrote to Patnaik. The letter dated December 28, 2018 said an estimated investment of Rs 150 crore is getting delayed the for past 19 months. The project will benefit all the LPG consumers in the state as the setting up of the bottling plant will reduce transportation charge from bottling plant to the distributor. Stating that LPG is used by the common people, the union minister said the government's inaction and attitude of non-cooperation is ultimately affecting the common people, it said. The letter, which was shared with the media on Saturday, said the Shree ...
Harsh Vardhan stresses on Green Good Deeds to strengthen biodiversity
Emphasising that the Green Skill Development Programme will go a long way in reaping demographic dividends for the country, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday stressed on the need for societal awareness programmes like Green Good Deeds to strengthen biodiversity.
PM dedicates IRRI's South Asia Regional Centre to nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday dedicated the International Rice Research Institute's South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) campus to the nation in Varanasi. The centre will serve as a hub for rice research and training in South Asia. Later addressing a gathering, Modi said the institute will help farmers of the region to develop varieties of paddy which grow in minimum water and have low sugar content and high nutritional value. The centre is expected to play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region, he said. India's association with the IRRI dates back to the 1960s, and Modi was the first Indian PM to visit IRRI headquarters in Manila, Philippines in November 2017, during which he discussed agricultural innovations and research advances in the rice sector. During his brief visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, the prime minister inaugurated 15 projects worth more than Rs 180 crore. On the day, Modi also went to Bada Lalpur area of the city to ...
AP town gets FSTP for safe treatment of human waste
Narsapuram in West Godavari district has set up a Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) for safe treatment of human waste and also generate biochar under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The town, which is now implementing ODF Plus, has emerged as a model for others with many urban local bodies across the country seeking to replicate the initiatives, civic body sources said. Biochar is a form of charcoal that is used for agricultural purposes. Hyderabad-based Administrative Staff College of India and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported this initiative that is based on 'Pyrolysis' technology. Explaining the Pyrolysis technology, ASCI Director (Urban Governance) Prof Srinivas Chary said, "The septage is pasteurised to make the plant bio-safe even before the actual treatment process is carried out." Separation of solid and liquid that occurs after pasteurisation enables one to treat the liquid and solid part, using a packaged sewerage treatment plant for liquid and ...
2 poachers arrested, 13 bird carcasses seized in Chilika
Wildlife personnel arrested two poachers from Chilika area and seized 13 dead birds, belonging to four different species, from their possession, officials said Saturday. The accused, identified as Akhaya Das and Gouranga Behera, both residents of Gopinathpur in Puri district, were arrested on Friday night, when they were hunting waterfowls inside the Chilika lake. The anti-poaching squads arrested the duo during patrolling, the Range Officer of Tangi Wildlife Range, Subhas Chandra Behera, said. The wildlife personnel seized carcasses of eight Gadwalls, three Little Grebe, a Common teal and a Eurasian wing, Behera said. The poachers confessed that they used to kill birds for supplying the bird meat to nearby hostels, a wildlife personnel said. The meat of aquatic birds are reportedly high on demand in the towns such as Bhubaneswar, Balugaon and Berhampur, official sources said. They said 19 anti-poaching camps are working in Chilika lake area. Patrolling has been ...
Himachal's Sirsa river facing ecological disaster: Green group
Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, a Himachal Pradesh-based watchdog, has asked the River Rejuvenation Committee and the Special Environment Surveillance Task Force to look into ecological issues facing the Sirsa river, a tributary of the Satluj river.
World's first single-use plastic free passenger flight takes off
If you observe closely, the amount of single-use plastic on a passenger airline is enough to contribute significantly to global pollution. Portuguese airline Hi Fly decided to bring about a change by introducing single-use plastic free flight.The flight took off on Wednesday from Lisbon to Natale, Brazil, without a single piece of single-use plastic on board. There were no plastic cups, plastic silverware, plastic cocktail stirrer, and plastic food containers, Fast Company reported.Although this was only a test run for the company hoping to completely ban single-use plastic from all its flights in 2019, more test runs like these will see plastic containers and cutlery replaced with more natural bamboo cutlery, compostable containers, and other items made of plant-based, renewable, low-carbon or recycled materials.Other airlines such as Air New Zealand and Alaska Airlines are also following similar approaches to reduce their plastic usage onboard.