Page 350 - Environment

Bhubaneswar's 'Waste to Art' museum inaugurated

The First International Public Art Symposium (IPAS), jointly organised by the Artist Network Promoting Indian Culture (ANPIC), the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Tuesday.IPAS is the first open-air museum of waste-to-art where noted artists from 14 countries have come to participate and made different sculpture from waste materials and scraps.Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, "I wish to congratulate the artists for their wonderful exhibits which are being miraculously made out of junk. I congratulate them all from the bottom of my heart."ANPIC Managing Trustee Sashank Mohapatra said, "Art, that is not only a delight for the eyes but also sends out a strong social message is the need of the hour. This first Waste to Art Open Air Museum which is going to be a great tourist attraction would also create awareness on various environmental issues such as wildlife

Global sugar production to fall, but Indian output to rise: USDA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday forecast world sugar production will fall about 9 million tonnes in 2018/19 to 185.9 million tonnes, while global consumption swells to new records.

China industrial gas demand falters as heartland factories go bust

BEIJING (Reuters) - Industrial gas demand in North China is showing signs of a sharp slowdown as small manufacturers shut their doors or buy less gas, unable to cope with a drop-off in export orders and costs related to Beijing's pollution control and reform measures.

Telangana will become blind if Congress comes to power: KCR

Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) president and state's caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has said that if the Congress comes to power, the state will go blind.Talking about providing electricity to Siddipet district, Rao said during a public address, "Telangana state ranked number one in all the sectors. In the next two years, train will come to Siddipet. The TRS has set up a Medical College in Siddipet district. It has announced that 24-hour electricity would be given at free of cost to the farmers. But if the Congress comes in power, the state will become blind."He further said that food processing units will be set up in each constituency and their responsibilities will be handed over to women unions."Passbook for the farmers will be given by the officers at their houses. From next year Rs.10, 000 will be given to the farmers for one acre of land. Crops cultivated by farmers will be bought through women's unions in villages. Food processing units will be set up in each ...

Eel trafficking in the EU, the world's 'biggest wildlife crime'

Billions of euros worth of critically endangered eels are being trafficked each year from Europe, ending up on tables in China and Japan in what campaigners say is "the largest wildlife crime on Earth." Stocks of European eel (anguilla anguilla) have plummeted 90 per cent in three decades as mankind has developed the wetlands and dammed the rivers it needs to grow and feed in, and experts fear criminal gangs smuggling the lucrative fish are pushing it towards oblivion. Despite growing alarm from conservationists, hundreds of tonnes of eels are still legally and illegally fished each year. In France -- which catches more of the fish than any other EU state -- the issue has taken on political dimensions. "There's around 10 per cent of stocks left compared to 30 years ago due to habitat loss and what we've done to the migration pathways in Europe," Andrew Kerr, chairman of the Sustainable Eel Group (SEG) that works to conserve the species, told AFP. The eel's vertiginous decline has ...

Villagers around ordnance depot live in grip of fear

The residents of villages surrounding the explosive demolition ground at Pulgaon town in Wardha district of Maharashtra, where an explosion claimed six lives on Tuesday, have been living in the grip of fear. The residents of Kelapur, Sonegaon, Chikni and Jamni villages, located close to the ordnance depot, say they are scared of living so close to the ammunition and blasts all the time. They feel living in these villages has become quite dangerous. Vandan Jadhav (46), a farmer from Kelapur village, which has a population of around 1,200 people, says he felt "terrorised" after the explosion on Tuesday. "The trucks carrying unserviceable ammunition pass through the roads located along our houses. We are compelled to think what if that ammunition blasts while being transported to the demolition ground," he said. "Due to the ammunition blasts, the walls of our houses have developed cracks. The utensils kept in the houses and the tin roofs start making noise due to the tremors created by ..

Hosp, drones, cameras, ambulance network for Guj lions: Vasava

The Gujarat government Tuesday announced a range of new initiatives for the conservation of the Asiatic lions, including building a state-of-the-art hospital in Sasan-Gir to treat them as well as other wildlife. The hospital, to be built at a cost of Rs 100 crore, will have a laboratory to conduct various tests to ascertain the cause of infections among animals, Gujarat Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava said Tuesday. The announcement came in the wake of the deaths of 27 lions in and around Gir Wildlife Sanctuary during the last two months due to infighting, pneumonia, Canine Distemper Virus and Protozoa infection. Vasava made the announcement after attending the 14th meeting of the State Board for Wildlife in Gandhinagar. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who chaired the meet, sanctioned Rs 350 crore for implementing various initiatives for the long term conservation of lions in the state, Vasava told reporters after the meeting. "The state government will spend Rs 350 crore ...

Delhi's air quality continues to remain 'very poor'

Air quality in Delhi and adjoining areas continued to be 'very poor' on Tuesday and is expected to remain so over the next few days due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Under-fire UN environment chief resigns

UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said. The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment since June 2016. A UN audit found that Solheim had spent nearly USD 500,000 on travel and that he claimed unjustified expenses at a time when the world body is struggling with shrinking budgets. His globe-trotting raised accusations that he showed little regard for the environment and efforts to reduce carbon emissions generated by air travel. Solheim's resignation comes ahead of crucial talks opening in Poland on December 2 on implementing the Paris climate deal. A formal UN announcement on the resignation was expected later Tuesday.

Punjab farmers complete 77 pc of wheat sowing in record time

The sowing of wheat in Punjab has been completed in an area of 26.20 lakh hectares, which is 77 per cent of the total area to be sown under wheat, said Jasbir Singh Bains, Director, Agriculture, in a statement.Bains pointed out that the area sown under wheat is 3 per cent more than previous year. Last year wheat was sown in 25.12 lakh hectares till date achieving 74 per cent sowing. According to information received by the department, 97 per cent sowing has been completed in Patiala district while 98 per cent in Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts.He stated that a higher level of sowing has become possible due to the supply of a large number of crop residue management superior quality machines on subsidy by the state government. The remaining area for sowing was mainly under cotton and basmati where harvesting was still taking place as per the prevalent practice in the past, he further said.The Director also advised the farmers not to use more than one bag of DAP per acre of wheat ..

Gujarat launches Rs 351-cr project to conserve Gir lions

Alarmed over the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) outbreak that claimed the lives of 23 Asiatic lions in their only abode Gir in Saurashtra, the Gujarat government on Tuesday launched a Rs 351-crore project for the conservation of the wild cat.

Climate change: BASIC States ask developed countries to substantially scale up financial support

India, Brazil, South Africa and China Tuesday asked developed countries to "substantially" scale up their financial support and fulfil their commitments of mobilising USD 100 billion per annum by 2020 for developing nations. In a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the 27th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, the four nations said public finance is the fulcrum of enhanced climate ambition by developing countries and urged developed countries to fulfil their climate finance commitments. Meanwhile, India said despite much talk about financial support and technology transfer to the developing world by the developed nations, "unfortunately" they have only taken place in discussions and nothing has happened on the ground. "Our sincerity (in taking actions to tackle climate change) should not be taken for granted," Indian Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said, adding the BASIC group wants to assert this in a big way and make it a ...

Karna CM asks sugar factory owners to pay dues to farmers

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Tuesday asked sugar factory owners to pay the dues to sugarcane farmers in accordance with the price that was agreed upon at the time of supply. The Chief Minister, who held marathon meetings with sugar factory representatives, farmers and government officials at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat here, has called a meeting of factory owners on November 22. Sugarcane farmers have been protesting in Belagavi and other northern districts for the last few days demanding clearance of their pending arrears by sugar factories for the cane supplied and announcement of purchase price for sugarcane for the current season. They had intensified their protest Sunday by 'gate crashing' their loaded trucks into "Suvarna Vidhana Soudha", the legislature complex in Belagavi, protesting against Kumaraswamy cancelling his scheduled visit to meet ryots. Kumaraswamy said the state government would take all necessary steps so that owners pay the ...

Delhi's overall air quality 'very poor', artificial rain may be induced

Delhi's overall air quality was in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday while in some areas of the city it was 'severe', with authorities saying they might induce artificial rain by cloud seeding to wash away pollutants in the air, although no exact date has been set for it. Authorities said the 'very poor' air quality was due to low wind speed, which is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality in the city was recorded at 372, which falls in the 'very poor' category. Ashok Vihar, Anand Vihar, Bawana, Mundaka, Rohini, Sonia Vihar and Wazirpur, all recorded 'severe' air quality while 21 areas recorded 'very poor' air quality, it said. At 396, the overall air quality of Ghaziabad was the worst in the National Capital Region (NCR), just points below severe category. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Greater Noida too recorded 'very poor' overall air quality. On Tuesday, the PM2.5 (particles in the air with .

681 acres of encroached forest land recovered in J&K

The state government has recovered 681 acre (5,450 kanals) of encroached forest land in the last six months, official said Tuesday. As part of a major anti-encroachment drive, 455 acre (3,643 kanals) of forest land was retrieved in Jammu, while 224 acre (1,798 kanals) was recovered in Kashmir belt, an officer said. "In areas where there is a possibility of re-encroachment chain-link fences, toe walls and plantations are being raised," a forest department statement read. Further, demarcation pillars are being installed on the retrieved land, an official said, adding GPS co-ordinates were also being noted to maintain digital records of the recovered land. All forest areas vulnerable to encroachment are being mapped, he said.

'Promises by developed countries towards Paris Agreement not fulfilled'

Most of the promises made by the developed nations under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement on financial support to developing countries for climate action have not been fulfilled, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.

'Saubhagya' scheme brought positive changes in people's lives: Report

The Union government's "Saubhagya Yojna" has positively impacted people's lives, including the Ease of Living, education, income generation and health besides triggering a social change, a report said.

Panel ranks authorities on quality of disclosures under RTI

A committee to evaluate the quality of suo-motu disclosures made under the RTI Act ranked 838 public authorities in five grades with 158 of them getting Grade A, a statement said on Tuesday.

Authorities mull using artificial rain to clear air in Delhi, no clarity on date

In the wake of rising pollution in the city, authorities might seed clouds to induce artificial rain to wash away toxic pollutants in the air, although no exact date has been set. Delhi's air quality has deteriorated to alarming levels in the past three weeks while the overall air quality in the national capital was in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday, with some areas in the city experienced 'severe' pollution. Cloud seeding for artificial rain would be done once the meteorological conditions are stable, a senior official said. He said plans are to induce rainfall this week, but if the meteorological conditions are not found suitable then it would be done next week. However, a senior Environment Ministry official said, "No exact date has been set for this. This is a possible solution. We will give more details about it." A senior official said seeing the meteorological conditions there is no possibility of inducing artificial rain. "Even for artificial rain, we need clouds and ...

Mamata introduces 50 fire tenders, says new technology important in emergency services

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday introduced 50 new fire tenders and stressed the importance of using advanced technology in the emergency services.