Page 28 - Environment

Lucknow: PRV sirens to play 'Jagte Raho' tune to alert public

As a pilot project, all Dial-100 Police Response Vehicles' (PRV) sirens will play tunes of "Jagte Raho" (stay awake) in Lucknow, Abhay Mishra, Circle Officer, Hazratganj said on Tuesday."The tune will be played in PRVs all night to alert the public, like watchmen used to do. It has started in Hazratganj as a pilot project. Its success will be monitored and will be applied elsewhere in future," Mishra told ANI here.Police are trying this unique measure to curb the menace of criminals in the area.The sirens will be used to alert the people in the area and if found to be successful, the recorded messages can be applied to other areas such as traffic management as well.

Alerts issued in France as intense heat wave envelops

The sunset had an orange glow and so does the new heat alert level for Paris. More than half of France, including around Paris, was placed on an orange alert for intense heat Monday the second-highest level on the scale as very hot temperatures were predicted across continental Europe this week. The national weather agency Meteo France said the heat wave beginning Monday is expected to last all week with temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country just as the summer tourist season shifts into high gear. The peak is expected Thursday. In Paris, charity organizations were patrolling the streets to provide water to homeless people and local authorities organized air-conditioned places where the public can seek shelter. French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, deciding it was too hot to study, ordered national exams by students heading to high school postponed from Thursday and Friday to next week. Meteorologists say the heat wave is ...

Researchers build AI drone that can dodge objects in the air

One of the biggest concerns with commercial drone technology is the threat it poses to the birds in the sky. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Zurich have devised a method to help drones identify and dodge objects while flying.Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), event cameras, and a sonar system, the researchers enabled a drone to detect and dodge objects thrown at it, Mashable reports.The system has an overall success rate of 70 per cent and could help drones and birds safely co-exist in the sky. It can also help law enforcement agencies.

Rs 2000 given to 5 lakh farmers in Jharkhand

Five lakh farmers were on Monday given Rs 2,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi Yojana through direct benefit transfer in Jharkhand. Addressing a programme at Khelgaon here to mark the occasion, Chief Minister Raghubar Das said that Rs 5,000 crore will be given to farmers within two/three months. "This amount will strengthen the rural economy. In July benefits under Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirvad Yojana will also be given to the farmers. Under this scheme Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 will be given to those farmers having one to five acre of land. Together with the central and state schemes, the farmers will be given a minimum of Rs 11,000 and a maximum of Rs 31,000," Das said. Stating that due to lack of land records some farmers are being deprived of the benefit of the scheme, Das said that the state government has requested the Centre to amend the rule in the interest of Jharkhand, benefiting the farmers. Das said the Centre has included farmers of all sections under the

Saudi Arabia accused of nixing emissions mention at UN climate talks

Saudi Arabia has moved to block mention of the findings of a landmark report on global warming from decisions taken at United Nations' climate talks, delegates and sources close to the negotiations told AFP Monday. Nations are gathered in the German city of Bonn for their annual discussion on how to proceed under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with some of the most dire warnings yet of the risks posed by rising temperatures still ringing in delegates' ears. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's leading authority on the matter, said in October that in order to stay within a safer cap of 1.5C of warming, drastic cuts in fossil fuel use would be needed within just a few years. The IPCC report built on the 2015 Paris climate deal, which agreed to limit global temperature rises to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) in order to stave off the worst social, economic and environmental impacts caused by our heating planet. By ...

Maha to step up mechanism to redress farmers' issues: Minister

The Maharashtra government Monday said it will step up its vigilance mechanism to ensure fast redressal of grievances regarding drought mitigation. There will be tehsil level committees of officials which will take care of crop insurance payments to farmers, the government said. Agriculture minister Anil Bonde, while replying to the debate on drought and agrarian crisis over the last three days in the Assembly, admitted the state government had received a lot of complaints. Legislators cutting across party lines complained about poor compensation paid by the crop insurance companies, Jalyukt Shivar's failure to store water, complaints about the farm loan waiver among others. "It is true right from the agents, company officials to agricultural officers are not available for farmers when it comes to the paybacks of the crop insurance. Farmers do not get response from toll free numbers. This has led to unrest against crop insurance companies among the farmers," he ...

Maha to get solar power generation plants in four dams

Maharashtra is all set to get floating solar power generation plants in four dams, state Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan told the Legislative Council Monday. In a written reply to a question raised by NCP MLC Hemant Takle, Mahajan stated the backwater of Wardha, Bebala, Khadakpurna and Pentakli dams has been selected for setting up the floating solar panels as per the Swiss Challenge method. He said the estimated investment per megawatt is Rs 4.45 crore, with a total installed capacity of 500 MW. A committee headed by executive director of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) is currently scrutinising the detailed project report and drafting the tenders, the minister said. The work to set up the plants is under progress as permitted under the Maharashtra Infrastructure Development Enabling Authority Act, he added.

Power trips during MP Energy minister's function in Indore

Madhya Pradesh Energy Minister Priyavrat Singh found himself in an embarrassing situation after his function at a hotel in Indore's south Tukoganj area was hit by a power outage, possibly due to inclement weather. As the incident went viral on social media, red-faced Electricity department officials on Monday ordered an inquiry to find out if the power infrastructure in the hotel was in order. Singh was attending a function of engineers and contractors on Sunday when rain, accompanied by squall, knocked out power supply. As the hotel didn't have alternate power arrangements, the participants shone light using their mobile phones. MP Power Distribution Company Superintendent Engineer Ashok Sharma said, "We have got information that electricity arrangements in the hotel were in disarray. Sparks from power supply lines have been noticed. For public safety, I have directed the electricity inspector to probe it." The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, which was unseated .

Mandya farmers protest over water crisis enters 4th day, Kumaraswamy asks Centre to intervene

As farmers protest over water entered the fourth day, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday shifted onus to the Centre and asked it to direct the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to resolve the issue.Farmers in Mandya have been demanding diversion of Cauvery and Hemavati waters to their canals in order to save their produce."Now the Central government has already constituted Cauvery Water Management Authority which had asked Karnataka government to release 9 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu," Kumaraswamy told ANI."There is a shortage of water in Karnataka. The central government has to take the decision. They have to direct authority. It is not in my hands," he said.Earlier in the day, Deputy CM G Parameshwara met the farmers who have been protesting since Friday.Tamil Nadu, which too has been grappling with the scarcity of water, on Thursday demanded that 9.19 TMC feet of water should be released immediately in accordance with the recent decision of the CWMA.Participating in a ..

In drought-hit Bundelkhand, village returns to age-old water conservation techniques

While most parts of Bundelkhand is reeling under severe water crisis, a village in the drought-hit Banda district of UP has gone back to traditional conservation techniques to revive existing water bodies and is serving as a role model to others.While villages in this region grapple with water scarcity, Jakhni village, popularly known as 'Galgram' (water village) that is situated around 20 kilometres from Banda city has its ponds, wells and other water bodies brimming with water.The village has now 32 wells, 25 handpumps and four ponds (two of which are undergoing rejuvenation) -- all filled with water.This was not the case always, as some eight years ago residents of Jakhni fed up with their water problems, decided to adopt traditional water conservation techniques to revive water bodies in the village. Villagers say they did this without any assistance from the government.Due to the abundance of water, farmers and youth who had migrated to cities are slowly returning.Residents of ...

TN CM Palaniswami urges Modi to reject Mekedatu Dam project

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject the Mekedatu dam project proposal put forth by Karnataka."The Government of Tamil Nadu has been conveying its strong objections and has been urging the Government of India to reject outright and return the Detailed Project Report of the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir Project of Karnataka," Palaniswami wrote."The proposed Mekedatu Project is not in conformity with the final order of the Tribunal and the judgment of the Supreme Court, since the project is not a designated reservoir for the release of water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu in terms of the final order of the Tribunal as modified by the Hon'ble Supreme Court," he added."Cauvery, being a deficit Basin, construction of Mekedatu or any project in any place by upper riparian states will drastically affect the lower riparian states in getting due share of water as per the final order of the Tribunal as modified by ..

Tigers spotted for first time in MP's Kheoni Sanctuary

Five tigers have been spotted for the first time in Madhya Pradesh's Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary, some 110 km from Dewas district headquarters, an official said Monday. A tiger, two tigresses and two cubs have been captured for the first time by the night-vision cameras set up in the sanctuary, Dewas Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) PN Mishra told PTI Monday. The streak of tigers was seen drinking water, he said, adding that vigil had been tightened across the sanctuary. As per the ENVIS (Environment Information System) Madhya Pradesh website, the primary fauna found in Kheoni Sanctuary are cheetal, sambhar, blue bull, four-horned antelope, wild boar, barking deer, wolf etc. Kheoni sanctuary in Kannod tehsil in Dewas was established in 1955 and is spread over an area of 123 square kilometres.

AP CM orders demolition of govt building

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy Monday ordered demolition of a government building on a riverbed here, constructed during the tenure of his predecessor N Chandrababu Naidu, saying it was built in "violation" of rules and "involved corruption". The 'Praja Vedika' (grievance hall) was built by the AP Capital Region Development Authority on the Krishna riverbed near the residence of Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party President and the present Leader of the Opposition. The order of Jagan effectively meant rejection of Naidu's plea to him earlier this month that the hall, used for official meetings in the previous regime, be declared as 'residence annex' of the Leader of Opposition. The chief minister made the announcement in his inaugural speech at a two-day conference of district Collectors and Superintendents of Police that began Monday as the gathering of state ministers and top bureaucrats greeted it with applause. We have all assembled here, in this big, ..

Over 90 pc of Maha covered by south-west monsoon: IMD

The south-west monsoon has arrived in more than 90 per cent of Maharashtra and is likely to cover the entire state in the next four to five days, an India Meteorological Department official said Monday. Among the regions yet to be covered is Mumbai, he added. "Monsoon has covered 92-93 per cent of the total area in Maharashtra. In next four to five days, the entire state is likely to come under monsoon," he said. "The remaining seven to eight per cent area in the state comprises Mumbai, northern part of Konkan and extreme northern part of central Maharashtra," the IMD official said. He said since the monsoon is active, widespread rain is likely in Konkan and neighbouring Goa. "Central Maharashtra is likely to get widespread rain between June 26-28. Marathwada got widespread rain on Monday but it will reduce partially from Tuesday," he informed. Rain is also expected in the state's Vidarbha region, he said.

TN CM seeks Modi's intervention on Mekedatu issue

The Tamil Nadu government Monday sought the Centre's 'urgent' interevention on the Mekedatu reservoir issue, saying Karnataka seeking environmental clearance for the project was in violation of an award of the Cauvery Water disputes tribunal and a Supreme Court judgment. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Palaniswami requested him to direct the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to "reject outright" Karnataka's proposal. Palaniswami sought Modi's "urgent personal intervention" to deny permission to the proposal of Karnataka's Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Niyamita seeking environmental clearance for the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and Drinking water project. The neighbouring state seeking such clearance was in "utter violation" of the final order of the Cauvery water disputes tribunal and a judgment of the apex court in February 2018, he said. Palaniswami said the Tamil Nadu government has been conveying its strong objections and ..

Import of plastic waste banned from August this year:

The government has banned import of plastic waste from August 2019, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in Rajya Sabha Monday while listing out steps taken to curb pollution. Replying to a query during Question Hour, the minister informed that about 20,000 tonnes of plastic wastes get generated every day in the country and out of that only 13,000-14000 tonnes are collected. "We have taken a decision to ban imports of plastic waste from August 2019," Javadekar said. The minister highlighted various steps taked by the government to protect environment and control air pollution. Through school nursery, he said, children are taught to grow trees. After the successful pilot projects, the government is taking up this on a large scale. That apart, he said the government has taken a decision on fencing urban forest area and then converting them into forest with peoples participation. Javadekar said the Centre has already notified six waste management rules in 2016, ...

Govt has sanctioned 298 projects under clean ganga drive: govt

The Clean Ganga drive is a continuous process and the government has sanctioned 298 projects of over Rs 28,000 crore under the plan, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said during the question hour that the Government has taken up various interventions to ensure cleaning of the river at the earliest in a sustainable manner. He said 98 projects have been made operational while remaining are at different stages of implementation. The Minister said the initiatives include 100 per cent funding under central sector scheme and dedicated allocation to ensure adequate finances to take up comprehensive interventions. He said 150 Sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up with a sanctioned cost of Rs 23,130.95 crore for creation of new sewage treatment capacity of 3729.92 MLD, rehabilitation of 1114.39 MLD sewage treatment capacity and laying of around 4972.35 KM sewerage network. As on May 2019, he said, 43 of these ..

Kejriwal urges Centre to increase Delhi's water share; promises 24x7 water supply by 2024

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday urged the Centre to increase Delhi's water share, which has remained "unchanged" since 1994, and said his government would provide round-the-clock supply of clean drinking water to every resident of the city by 2024. The chief minister said the city's population has increased from 1.25 crore in 1994 to 2.25 crore in 2019, but its water share has not been augmented proportionally. "Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal called on Union Jal Shakti Minister Mr Gajendra Singh Shekhawat @gssjodhpur and demanded fresh allocation of Delhi's water share... ," a government spokesperson tweeted. Earlier, at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for Chandrawal Phase-2 water treatment plant, Kejriwal said, "Delhi does not have a water source of its own. It's allocation (quota) of Yamuna and Ganga water was decided in 1994." "In the last 25 years, the city's population has increased from 1.25 crore to 2.25 crore, but its water quota remains unchanged, barring ...

Karnataka: Locals rescue girl, her grandmother stranded on bank of canal

Using a rope and ladder, locals in Karnataka's Koppal district rescued a girl and her grandmother, who were stranded on the bank of a canal following heavy rainfall.The duo was rescued near Sanganala village on Sunday.The locals came to know about the two stranded persons when they heard shouts for help and brought a ladder and a rope to rescue them.

NASA Curiosity rover detects high levels of methane on Mars

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has found the largest amount of methane ever measured during its mission on the Red Planet -- about 21 parts per billion units by volume (ppbv), the US space agency said. One ppbv means that if you take a volume of air on Mars, one billionth of the volume of air is methane, according to the US space agency. The finding came from the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) tunable laser spectrometer. It is exciting because microbial life is an important source of methane on Earth, but methane can also be created through interactions between rocks and water, NASA said in a statement. Curiosity does not have instruments that can definitively say what the source of the methane is, or even if it is coming from a local source within Gale Crater or elsewhere on the planet. "With our current measurements, we have no way of telling if the methane source is biology or geology, or even ancient or modern," said SAM Principal Investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard ...