Page 282 - Environment
Cong duping farmers: Javadekar
The BJP Monday accused the Congress of "duping" farmers in states ruled by it by "not" waiving off their loans as promised and dubbed the party as "anti-farmers". Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the Congress had promised waiver of all farm debt in the five states of Karnataka,Punjab,Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan but has now turned back on its promise. He told reporters that the Congress had promised a waiver of Rs 45,000 crore of farmers' loan in Karnataka but had not paid even Rs 75 crore. Farmers in debt are feeling distressed and have been served notices by banks, Javadekar said, further alleging that 397 farmers have committed suicide in the six-month reign of the JD(S)-Congress government. Against the total farmers loan of RS 90,000 crore, the state's Congress government has not allocated even Rs 3 crore in the budget, he said. "The Congress is anti-farmers. It has duped ryots in the name of waiving their loans," he told reporters.
China imports zero U.S. soybeans in November for first time since trade war started
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's soybean imports from the United States plunged to zero in November, marking the first time since the trade war between the world's two largest economies started that China, the world's largest soybean buyer, has imported no U.S. supplies.
EPCA shuts industries in Delhi's pollution hotspots, bans construction activities till Wednesday
The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) on Monday banned industrial activities in pollution hotspots and construction work across Delhi-NCR till Wednesday in view the national capital's 'severe' air quality. Delhi is facing its highest pollution level since Diwali. The city's air quality remained in the 'severe' category for the third consecutive day on Monday as the wind speed and other meteorological factors remained "highly unfavourable" for dispersion of pollutants. Authorities have advised people to minimise outdoor activities and avoid use of private vehicles. Industries located in hotspot industrial areas of Wazirpur, Mundka, Narela, Bawana, Sahibabad and Faridabad will remain closed until Wednesday, EPCA Chairperson Bhure Lal said in a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev. The EPCA has also banned all construction activities in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida till Wednesday. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee ...
NASA's New Horizons detects anomaly ahead of next flyby
Just days ahead of its New Year's 2019 close encounter, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has detected an anomaly related to its next flyby target -- an icy world a billion kilometres past Pluto and more than 6.5 billion km from Earth.
Hazardous levels of pollution in Delhi on cold Monday morning
Pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) reached hazardous levels on Monday morning as minimum temperature slightly improved to 4.6 degrees Celsius, the Met said.
Pollution level severe for third consecutive day in Delhi
Pollution in Delhi remained in the 'severe' level for the third consecutive day as wind speed and other meteorological factors remained "highly unfavourable" for dispersion of pollutants on Monday, according to authorities. People have been advised by the authorities to minimise outdoor activities and avoid use of private vehicles. While the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at 'severe' level of 445, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed a higher AQI of 477. An AQI between 100 to 200 comes under the 'moderate' category, 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', while that between 401 and 500 is 'severe'. On Monday, 32 areas of the national capital recorded 'severe' air quality while five areas recorded very poor air quality, according to the CPCB. In NCR, Noida recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 464. Faridabad and Ghaziabad also recorded 'severe' air quality, the CPCB
South Korea to file complaint against BMW for 'delayed' response to engine fires
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's transport ministry said it would file a complaint against German luxury carmaker BMW with prosecutors for allegedly delaying recalls and concealing defects that led to several engine fires in the country this year.
Man eater leopard killed in in JK's Reasi district
A leopard, believed to be a man-eater after it killed two boys recently, was shot dead in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, officials said on Monday. The fully-grown leopard had killed eight-year-old Rehmat Ali and Wasim Akram (3) in the district's Mahore belt on December 8 and 17, respectively. The authorities had declared the leopard a man-eater and constituted teams to capture or kill the big cat, they said. "The leopard had ventured into the Sarh village in Mahore area on Sunday evening to look for prey and one of the teams, comprising of local hunters and wildlife officials, spotted it," the officials said. They said an attempt was made to capture the leopard, but it attacked the team, prompting them to open fire. It was shot dead, the officials said. "We are sure that this is the same animal (leopard), which killed the two boys recently," they said. The officials said all attempts were made to capture the leopard alive. But these failed as the animal was able to ..
Musk's SpaceX successfully deploys US GPS satellite into orbit
Billionaire Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has successfully launched and deployed a powerful next-generation GPS navigation satellite into orbit -- making it the company's first-ever US government-sanctioned national security space mission.
South Korea fines BMW USD 10 million over several engine fires
South Korea said Monday it will fine BMW 11.2 billion won (USD 9.9 million) and file a criminal complaint against the company with state prosecutors over an allegedly botched response to dozens of engine fires reported in the country. South Korea's Transport Ministry its investigation panel after a five-month review concluded that the German automaker deliberately tried to cover up technical problems and moved too slowly to recall vehicles after around 40 of its cars caught fire earlier this year. The ministry found the fires to be caused by faulty valves in the vehicles' exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers. BMW apologised and recalled some 172,000 vehicles of 65 different models in July and October over the fires. BMW AG's South Korean unit said in a statement that the ministry's findings were generally in line with the company's assessment that the fires were caused by leaks of coolants in the EGR coolers. Combined with carbon and oil sediment the leaks could combust and cause ..
China to remove import tariffs alternative meals from Jan 1
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's finance ministry said on Monday that it will remove import tariffs on alternative meals, including rapeseed meal, cotton meal, sunflower meal and palm meal, from Jan. 1, 2019.
Cruise ship rescues fishermen who had been adrift for weeks
A cruise ship has rescued two Costa Rican fishermen who had been stranded at sea for about three weeks. Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet tweeted that the sailors were saved Friday night between Grand Cayman and Jamaica by the Empress of the Seas cruise ship. Fleet says the cruise ship was not scheduled to be there but had taken an alternate route because of bad weather. Fleet tweeted Sunday that the fishermen left Porto Limon, Costa Rica, and had been adrift since December 1. They said they had fallen asleep while their nets were soaking and ran out of gas while trying to return. Both received medical attention onboard.
Tiger kills woman in Tadoba reserve
A 40-year-old woman was Sunday mauled to death by a tiger in Wasera village under Shioni forest range of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, a forest official said. Deputy Conservator of Forests (TATR) Buffer Gajanan Narwane informed that the incident took place around 12 noon. The big cat pounced on the woman, identified as Jyoti Kumre, in compartment number 265 in Wasera village, when she was collecting firewood in the forest, he said.
Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in sea to cost Maha exchequer
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's upcoming statue in Arabian sea off Mumbai coast will cost the Maharashtra exchequer Rs 3643.78 crore and construction of all aspects of the project will be over by 2022-23, the government said. The state cabinet on November 1, 2018 had extended administrative approval to the project report and sanction to total expenditure of Rs 3700.84 crore. As per the official sanction given by the state government, the cost is now down by Rs 56.70 crore, stated a government order (GR) issued last week. The Maharashtra government on December 19, extended administrative approval to the total expenditure of Rs 3643.78 crore over five years, which includes survey and investigation of site to implementation of security measures by the police. The construction of the statue would cost Rs 2581 crore, while Rs 309.72 crore would be the GST on the amount. Rs 236 crore would be spent on security infrastructure, Rs 45 crore for permanent water and electricity ...
Panther strays into village, creates commotion before getting captured
A four-year-old panther Sunday strayed into a village near here and triggered commotion with the villagers trying to scare it away and the wild cat attacking the crowd and injuring three of them before being captured. The panther was sighted Sunday morning in Laxmipura village under Ayana police station around 50 kms from here, said Kota DSP (Rural) Gopal Singh Lakhawat, adding after we received information about the beast, a police team and Forest Department officials were rushed to the village to rescue the beast. But before the rescue team could reach the village, the panther had already triggered panick among villagers, some of whom had been trying to chase away the beast, he said. But the animal, in turn, had attacked the chasing crowd and injured three of the villagers, he said. The injured villagers, who suffered minor injuries, were later treated at a hospital and discharged, he said, adding the injured villagers were identified as Bhimraj, Hariprasad and Ramdayal. The Forest .
Delhi air quality severe, CPCB urges people to minimise outdoor activities
Delhi recorded its second highest pollution level of the year on Sunday, with authorities advising people to minimise outdoor activities for the next couple of days and avoid use of private vehicles. Authorities said unfavourable meteorological conditions are likely to keep the air quality in the severe category for the next couple of days. While the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at 'severe' level of 450, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed a higher level at 471. This is the second highest pollution level so far this year. The highest was recorded on November 8, a day after Diwali, when the AQI touched 571. Taking cognizance, the Delhi environment ministry Sunday directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to monitor hotspots that are vulnerable to high pollution and keep a continuous vigil on violations, the Delhi government said. A CPCB-led task force has advised people to minimise ...
Himachal to establish controlled atmosphere stores
The Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) is working on a project to upgrade and establish controlled atmosphere stores and packing houses in the state, an official said on Sunday.
Adityanath unveils statue of ex-PM Charan Singh on his birth anniversary
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid tributes and unveiled the statue of late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his 116th birth anniversary in Patla town here on Sunday.
On Charan Singh birth anniversary, farmers' stir against land acquisition enters 82nd day
As Uttar Pradesh on Sunday celebrated 116th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Charan Singh -- popularly known as the 'champion of farmers' cause,' -- hundreds of displaced farmers continued their sit-in for the 82nd day at Chalesar, close to the Yamuna Expressway intersection, about 10 km from Agra.
Delhi govt, Jindal University come together to tackle air pollution
The Delhi government and O P Jindal Global University (JGU) have come together to tackle air pollution in the national capital, saying it needed joint efforts and coordination between different agencies. Speaking at a consultation on "Air pollution in Delhi NCR: What can be done?", organised by O P Jindal Global University (JGU) on Saturday, Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev said there was a need for joint efforts by the government and citizens and suggested a two prong strategy to deal with the problem. He said the strategy includes "fixing accountability of field level staff responsible for combating pollution along with convergence of efforts made by various stakeholders from the policy making to implementation level". Expressing serious concern over the ill effects of air pollution which, he said, can reduce life span by 10 years, JGU founding Chancellor Naveen Jindal said the seminar was organised with the aim to find practical solution to this problem. He said this is not .