Page 34 - Environment
Farmers can now form cooperatives
Farmers in the country can now practise cooperative farming by forming groups and the Center has made a law that promotes such type of farming, the government Friday informed the Rajya Sabha. Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Purshottam Rupala said the law has been sent to states and farmers can now form cooperatives or sign MoUs to practise cooperative farming. "Farmers can now officially get together and form MoUs and Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs) to do cooperative farming as per the new law," he told members during Question Hour. The minister was responding to a question on what steps the government is initiating to promote cooperative farming. Rupala said the state and central governments will also offer all kind of help to such farmers for doing cooperative farming as per the new law. Earlier in a written reply on whether the area under cultivation is decreasing in the country, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar replied in the ...
Germany's Lufthansa restricts Iran-area flights
German airline Lufthansa says it is no longer flying planes over the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman after the shooting down by Iran of an American reconnaissance drone. The carrier says that the flights were suspended over the two bodies of water on Thursday, and that the zone was expanded on Friday to include surrounding areas of land. For the meantime, the airline, Germany's largest, says its flights to Tehran will continue. Lufthansa says the decision was based upon its own assessment of the situation.
Kaleshwaram project is a gift from Maharashtra people to Telangana: Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis affirmed that Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is a gift from the people of Maharashtra to the people of Telangana."Telangana completed this project at record speed. This project will change the face of Telangana," Fadnavis said.Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday inaugurated the Kaleshwaram Project at Medigadda Barrage in Kaleshwaram.Medigadda Barrage is the starting point of the irrigation project which envisages construction of three barrages between Yellampally and Medigadda.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was also present during the inaugural function.The Telangana Chief Minister along with his wife also participated in the yagam being performed at Medigadda barrage.
L&T completes Medigadda Barrage construction; delivers proj in 24 mths
Engineering major Larsen & Toubro said Friday said it has completed construction of Medigadda barrage under Kaleshwaram project in Telengana in just 24 months. The largest barrage in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project was inaugurated Friday by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the presence of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan. Besides, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh were also present on the occasion when the Medigadda barrage was opened. The estimated Rs 80,000 crore project was built on Godavari river, which originates in Maharashtra, flows through Telangana before merging with the sea in Andhra Pradesh. The project has set several records in terms of use of voluminous material like concrete and steel. Magnitude of the project can be gauged from from the fact that 1.8 crores cubic meters of earthwork excavation, 18.5 lakh cubic meters of concreting work (equivalent to 7 times that of
SC issues notice to U'khand govt, seeks stay on construction of roads connecting Rajaji National Park
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Uttarakhand government on hearing a petition filed by an NGO, seeking a stay on the construction of roads which connects it to the Rajaji National Park in the state.A vacation bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Deepak Gupta and also comprising Justice Surya Kant also stayed the construction of the road which connects with the Rajaji National Park in the state.On May 3, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests, National Board for Wildlife and National Tiger Conservation Authority to provide a report by August 31, on alleged illegal road construction in part of the buffer area of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Haridwar.The tribunal observed that the construction of a minor road in Laldang-Chillarkhal road is in the buffer area of the aforementioned tiger reserve.
Telangana CM KCR innagurates Kaleswaram irrigation project
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday inaugurated the Kaleshwaram Project at Medigadda Barrage in Kaleshwaram.Medigadda Barrage is the starting point of the irrigation project which envisages construction of three barrages between Yellampally and Medigadda.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was also present during the inaugural function.The Telangana Chief Minister along with his wife also participated in the yagam being performed at Medigadda barrage.
Jagan, Fadnavis by his side, KCR inaugurates Rs 80,000 crore mega irrigation project
The Kaleshwaram project, touted as the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation scheme and boon to Telangana, was inaugurated by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at Medigadda in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district Friday. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh were present on the occasion when the Medigadda barrage was opened. The estimated Rs 80,000 crore project was built on Godavari river, which originates in Maharashtra, flows through Telangana before merging with the sea in Andhra Pradesh. Rao and his wife participated in 'Jala Sankalpa Mahotsava Yagam' at the Medigadda barrage earlier. The scheme would provide irrigation facility to 45 lakh acres for two crops, according to the state government, which said that it would also provide water to the ambitious Mission Bhagiratha drinking water supply project. The project would also help in supplying drinking water to one crore .
Indian, Pak officials hold discussion over locust outbreak
Indian and Pakistani officials have held a discussion over an outbreak of locusts, believed to be the worst since 1993, and possible joint action to tackle it.The officials, including scientists, met on Wednesday at the border village of Munabao for more than four hours and deliberated on the issue of joint action to deal with the menace, according to Indian officials.They said an alert has been issued in all districts adjacent to the Pakistan border and surveys are being conducted to tackle the situation.After sightings of locusts in villages around Jaisalmer near the border with Pakistan late last month, the Jodhpur-headquartered Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) had started gearing up to tackle any major attack by the tropical grasshopper.Locust attacks were reported in the region after a gap of 26 years, according to LWO officials."Locusts have been seen in Jaisalmer. These have come from Pakistan and may spread to places such as Barmer, Jaisalmer, Phalodi, Bikaner and Suratgarh. .
India's forest cover up in one year
India's green cover has gone up by one per cent in the last one year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said for one tree chopped for development work, three to four are planted either in the same area or elsewhere. According to a latest report, over 24.39 per cent of the country's geographical area now constitutes of green cover. Former union minister Maneka Gandhi (BJP) cautioned that at times satellite pictures include sugarcane crop as trees, hence presenting a misleading picture. Javadekar said satellite pictures are taken at regular intervals and, therefore, such inconsistencies are ruled out. He also said that 125 crore trees would be planted along highways to increase green cover.
Minor girl killed in leopard attack in J-K's Reasi
A 10-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in a remote village in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Friday. The girl, Ruksana Bano, was feeding cattle near her 'dhok' (mud-house) at Neeram village in Mahore area when she was attacked and taken away by the wild beast Thursday evening, a police official said. He said the body of the girl was later recovered by a joint search party of police, wildlife employees and locals from the nearby forest area and handed over to her family for last rites after completion of legal formalities. Efforts are on to track down the leopard which had caused panic among the local residents by frequently venturing into human habitat from the nearby forest, the official said.
UN General Assembly reverberates with chants of 'Om' to mark International Yoga Day
In a first of its kind yoga celebration, the iconic UN General Assembly hall reverberated with chants of 'Om', 'Shanti' as UN officials and diplomats joined hundreds others to commemorate the International Yoga Day with the underlying message of yoga's valuable contribution in addressing climate change and promoting tolerance and peace. The General Assembly hall, where world leaders come together every year for the high-level UN session, was packed with UN diplomats, officials, yoga gurus and practitioners, children and people from various backgrounds as India's Permanent Mission to the UN organised the commemoration of the 5th International Day of Yoga Thursday. It was the first time a grand yoga event was held inside the iconic UNGA hall, five years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi first proposed to mark June 21 as International Yoga Day in his 2014 address to the annual General Debate from the famed General Assembly podium. The event 'Yoga with the Gurus', with the theme of Yoga .
Disproportionate assets: ACB raids public servants across Karnataka
Karnataka Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on Friday carried out searches at properties of public servants in the state who alleged to have disproportionate assets.The searches in the state are currently underway, the ACB said.The ACB is conducting searches at premises of Joint Commissioner Tax Narayanaswami M B, Manager at BAMUL Dr Shivashankar, Junior engineer at Panchayath Raj engineering subdivision Arshad Pasha and Assistance Engineer Special subdivision in PWD Channegowda H S.More details are awaited.
With a message of 'No littering', 'Wall of Hope' constructed using 15,000 discarded plastic bottles near Mussoorie
In order to encourage the tourists towards better practice of 'No littering', a 1,500 feet long and 12 feet wide 'Wall of Hope' with a message of 'litter free hills' was constructed using 15,000 discarded bottles in Mussoorie's Bungalow ki Kandi village.The installation was unveiled by the Gram Pradhan of the village Reena Rangal.The design of the wall was suggested by the founder of the Museum of Goa Subodh Kerkar."In order to construct the wall, around 50 volunteers from schools and colleges came forward. Locals of the village also took part in the initiative. They all worked effortlessly to make this project a success," said Arvind Shukla, project manager of Hildaari group, the main team behind this installation.Hilldaari project aims to spread awareness about plastic waste management and the need for creating a plastic-waste free environment.While the Hildaari team thanked waste-collectors, locals and restaurant owners for assisting them in the project, the Pradhan appreciated the
Must shift rail tracks, shutdown quarries to save Gir lions: Guj HC told
Shifting rail tracks out of the Gir forest and shutting down all stone quarries located around it are some of the steps suggested to save lions in a report submitted to the Gujarat High Court Thursday. The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the forest spread across several Gujarat districts, is the last abode of Asiatic lions in the world. The steps were suggested in the report submitted to the division bench of Justices S R Brahmbhatt and A P Thaker by senior advocate Hemang Shah, who was appointed amicus curiae in the matter by the HC last year when it admitted a PIL over the issue of death of Gir lions. After taking into consideration the findings of the report, the bench asked the state government to file its reply and posted the matter for further hearing on July 11. In his report, Shah pointed out that lions are being run over by trains which ply through the forest area. He said at least 20 goods trains pass through the forest area and most of them run during night, a time when ...
Srei Equipment gets USD 30 million from Netherland bank
Srei Equipment Finance Ltd on Thursday said it has received credit approval worth USD 30 million from FMO, a Netherlands-based development finance bank. "The loan will be fully dedicated to re-financing of green activities of Srei Equipment, primarily through the financing or leasing of equipment used for solar and wind projects," the company said in a release. Srei Equipment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd, has an environmental and social management system in place for over a decade, and this debt investment by FMO will further help the company amplify its ongoing efforts towards responsible financing, it said. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set an ambitious target to install renewable energy capacities to the tune of 225 GW by 2022.
K'taka: Sadanand Gowda writes to Jalashakti Minister, asks him to release water for Mandya
Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Thursday wrote a letter to Union Minister for Jalashakti, Gajendra Shekhawat to release 2 TMC water from KRS dam in Karnataka's Mandya district.Shekhawat was asked by Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh to help in releasing water immediately "to overcome the loss of standing crop and mitigate the problems of farmers."The Union Minister further said that agriculture is the predominant occupation and the single largest contributor to Mandya's economy."The main crops grown are paddy, sugarcane, jowar, maize, cotton, banana, ragi, coconut, pulses, and vegetables. Moreover, cultivation depends upon the water which is being stored and released through canals from KRS dam," the letter read."Nowadays there is a deficit of natural rain the entire district and the farmers are facing acute shortage of water," it said.Shekhawat has also written a letter to Chairman of Cauvery Water Management Authority, Masood Hussain in this regard.
Maharashtra: farmers sow HT cotton to protest ban on GM crops
Members of Shetakari Sanghtana, a farmers' organization, Thursday sowed aherbicide-tolerant (HT) variety of cotton which is banned in India by way of "civil disobedience" in Jalna district of Maharashtra. The Sanghatana had announced that it was going to sow HT cotton to protest the ban on genetically modified (GM) crops. HT cotton was sown at Revgaon in Jalna tehsil of the district, followed by a sit-in protest, the Sanghatana said in a statement. HT cotton does away with the need of manual weeding as farmers can use herbicides instead and save on labour charges. Agriculture department officers took samples of the cotton that was sown to asecertain if it was a banned variery. HT varieties of bothcotton and brinjal are banned by the Maharashtra governmentsince2015 for fear that GM crops may have harmful impact on humans and the environment. Santosh Mohite, a member of the Sanghatana, argued that GM cotton and brinjal are permitted in many countries as they benefit ...
Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project to be inaugurated by Telangana CM tomorrow
The world's largest lift irrigation scheme Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project will be inaugurated on June 21 by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandra Shekar Rao at Kannepalli Village here, said B Srinivas Reddy, Director, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) on Thursday.Speaking to ANI, Reddy said, "MEIL has successfully engineered the world's biggest pumping scheme in India. To achieve that, we used world-class technology involving the best agencies that have delivered quality.""The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation (KLIP) Project would cater irrigation water to 37.08 lakh acres of land; another 18.82 lakh acres of command area will be stabilized with it. The project requires 7152 MW of electricity to pump 3 TMCs of water daily," Reddy said."In the first phase, 4992 MWs of electricity is being used for pumping 2 TMCs of water. A total of 43 machines are being established for Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla Pump Houses, each having 40 MWs capacity. These three pump houses ...
Centre will spend Rs 25 lakh crore to enhance agricultural productivity: President Kovind
In order to enhance agricultural productivity, an investment of Rs 25 lakh crore will be made in the coming years, said President Ram Nath Kovind while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday."Only on the foundation of a strong rural economy, it is possible to build a strong national economy. Our farmers are the pillars of the rural economy. All possible efforts are being made by the Central government to provide adequate assistance to the States for agricultural development," said Kovind."Large scale investments have been made to strengthen rural India. In order to enhance agriculture productivity, an investment of Rs 25 lakh crore will be made in the coming years," he said.He said that to double the income of farmers by 2022, several steps have been taken in the last five years. Kovind said that the government has made the agriculture policy both production-centric as well as income-centric."Be it the decision to increase the MSP, or approval for 100 per cent FDI in ..
Avg power usage spikes by 25 per cent in Delhi this summer: Study
The hotter it gets, the more power we use to run air conditioners, which in turn, puts all climate change mitigation and energy security actions in the red, a study has revealed. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Thursday said the average power consumption in the national capital during peak heatwave days in June increased by 25 per cent compared with the season's average. Environment experts suggested that buildings must be designed for thermal comfort to minimise the use of mechanical cooling systems. The CSE's new study, "A Midsummer Nightmare", based on eight-year trend analysis of electricity consumption in Delhi, said, "Average electricity consumption in Delhi during the peak heatwave days of June 7-12, 2019, increased by 25 per cent compared to the season's average. This trend is expected to worsen nationally as the heat index and climatic stress are continuously increasing." CSE Executive Director (Research and Advocacy) Anumita Roychowdhury said if ...