Page 29 - Environment

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 ...

Assam to set up special group to protect rhinos of Pabitora

The authorities will set up special rhino protections groups following reports that poachers from other states are targeting Assam's Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary that has the highest density of rhinos in the world. According to the intelligence reports, poachers from neighbouring Nagaland and Manipur in collusion with local miscreants have targeted the sanctuary where no poaching was reported during the past three years, Morigaon Superintendent of Police Swapnil Deka said. The special rhino protection groups will consist of villagers in vulnerable and sensitive areas near the famed rhino habitat and they will report any suspicious movement of people to the authorities to prevent poaching, he said. "The success of no poaching during the last three years in the sanctuary was possible only due to the efforts of the villagers and they must continue to cooperate with the forest and police departments in preventing such incidents," Deka said. The SP called upon villagers to ...

Forest fire serious problem in hilly areas: SC

The Supreme Court Monday said forest fire is a serious problem in the hilly states, especially in summers and the reason behind it is the large presence of pine trees in most of the areas. A vacation bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai allowed the petitioner to file a copy of the directions of the Uttarakhand High Court on the issue of forest fire. "Petitioner-in-person prays for sometime to place additional documents or papers on record. He is permitted to do so. List thereafter," the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea by advocate Rituparn Uniyal seeking urgent steps to protect forests, wildlife and birds from wildfire in Uttarakhand, saying forest blazes have increased over the years and cause huge loss to the environment. At the outset, the apex court said the petitioner should approach the high court as it will have a better view of the matter. However, Uniyal said the Uttarakhand High Court has already passed a slew of directions on the issue and sought time ..

Minister admits irregularities in 'Jalyukta Shivar' scheme

Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant on Monday admitted that there have been irregularities in as many as 1,300 works under the government's flagship 'Jalyukta Shivar' water conservation programme. The water conservation minister was responding to a question raised by NCP member Vidya Chavan in the state Legislative Council. "Complaints have been filed with the water conservation department about irregularities in some 1,300 works under the Jalyukta Shivar scheme. Prima facie, there is truth in those complaints," Sawant said in the House. "The water conservation department has sought an open inquiry in this matter, and it is being conducted by joint director for water and soil conservation," he added. Leader of Opposition in the House Dhananjay Munde then demanded an inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in these 1,300 works allotted under the scheme. However, Sawant rejected the demand for an ACB probe, citing that the issue was "technically critical". Munde then ...

Medical groups warn climate change is a 'health emergency'

As Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare for their first 2020 primary debate this week, 74 medical and public health groups aligned on Monday to push for a series of consensus commitments to combat climate change, bluntly defined by the organisations as "a health emergency." The new climate change agenda released by the groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association, comes amid early jostling among Democratic candidates over whose environmental platform is more progressive. The health organisations' policy recommendations, while a stark departure from President Donald Trump's approach, represent a back-to-basics approach for an internal Democratic climate debate that has so far revolved around the liberal precepts of the Green New Deal. "The health, safety and well-being of millions of people in the US have already been harmed by human-caused climate change, and health risks in the future are dire without urgent action to fight climate ...

Man killed by wild elephant in C'garh's Korba

A 45-year-old man was Monday trampled to death by a wildelephantin Chhattisgarh's Korba district, a forest official said. The incident took place in the morning near Baigamar village under Kudmura forest range when Malikram Rathiya had gone to collect mahua fruits, he said. "The tusker slammed him to the ground, killing him instantly. His kin has been provided immediate compensation of Rs 25,000," he said. The official said the same tusker had killed two persons, including a forest guard, in Chhal forest range of neighbouring Raigarh district on Jun 19. Officials said five people each have been killed in jumbo attacks in Raigarh and Jashpur districts in the past one-and-half months. An official said forest staff has been directed to keep a tab on the movement of different groups of around 50 elephantsin Korba forest division.

Water stress: Can we bring down water usage in agri sector by 20 pc, asks eminent scientist

As many parts of India faced rising water stress, eminent scientist K Kasturirangan Monday called for promotion of agricultural crops and practices that bring down water usage by the sector by 20 per cent. A former Rajya Sabha member, he noted that agriculture accounts for 80 per cent of all water usage. "Can we bring it down to 60 per cent? What kind of agricultural practices can do this?" Kasturirangan said when asked to share his thoughts on the water crisis in parts of the country. Speaking to PTI, he suggested increasing dryland and short-term crops. "Why can't usage of bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet), instead of rice, be thought of in mid-day meal programmes, as these dry farming crops are nutritious for children?" asked Kasturirangan, a former member of the now defunct Planning Commission of India. He also said there should be some level of parity and policy framework for upstream, mid-stream and down-stream users of water. Kasturirangan, a former chairman of the .

BJP-led govt at Centre discreetly aiding Karna on Mekedatu: DMK

The opposition DMK Monday charged the BJP-led government at the Centre with 'discreetly' aiding Karnataka in going ahead with the construction of a dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu. Karnataka's insistence on going ahead with the dam was contrary to the Cauvery Tribunal's final award, as well as the Supreme Court judgement, which barred it from opting for such dams that would affect the quantum of water to Tamil Nadu, DMK President M K Stalin said. "It is condemnable that Karnataka is adamant on constructing the dam, which is inhuman.. so is the discreet support to it by the BJP-led Central government," he said in a statement. The BJP is aiding Karnatala for "political reasons," he alleged. He further said Karnataka had written to the Centre, seeking environmental clearance for the project, even while recalling the opposition in Tamil Nadu earlier against the clearance for the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The DMK saw Karnataka approaching the Centre as "not helping" in inter-state .