Page 412 - Environment
Nearly 35 lakh tonnes paddy procured in Punjab
Nearly 35 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured in Punjab this season, food and supplies officials in the state said on Sunday.
Four bovine smugglers held in J&K
Four suspected smugglers were arrested and 73 animals rescued Sunday as police foiled separate attempts of bovine smuggling in Ramban and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Three trucks transporting 54 bovines to Kashmir without permit were intercepted near the highway township of Ramban along Jammu-Srinagar national highway and rescued, the officials said. They said the truck drivers were arrested and a case under relevant sections of law was registered against them. Another 16 animals were rescued from a truck after a chase at Kallar in Rajouri district, the officials said. The vehicle was seized and a hunt has been launched to nab its driver who managed his escape, they added. One more person was arrested after three bovines were recovered from his load carrier during checking near Salani bridge in Rajouri district, the officials said.
France investigates spike in babies born with arm defects
France's health minister on Sunday announced a new investigation into the births of several babies with upper limb defects in various parts of the country in recent years, saying it was "unacceptable" no cause had been found. Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said she and her environment counterpart Francois de Rugy had decided to look more closely at what caused 14 babies to be born with stunted or missing arms since 2007, two weeks after health authorities said they had failed to find an explanation. The cases have been concentrated in three French "departments" or administrative areas -- Ain near the Swiss border, which had seven cases between 2009 and 2014, Brittany on the West coast which had four cases between 2011 and 2013, and Loire-Atlantique, south of Brittany, which had three cases in 2007-2008. In an October 4 report France's public health agency said that while the number of cases in the Ain area were not above the national average the numbers in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique .
Delhi's air quality oscillates between poor and very poor; authorities warn of further deterioration
Delhi's air quality oscillated between "poor" and "very poor" category Sunday as authorities warned of days of severe pollution ahead. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 292, while the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research reported an AQI of 318, which falls in the "very poor" category. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". An official said the air quality of Delhi might deteriorate to "severe" category in the coming days as the air becomes heavier and results in formation of smog. While Faridabad and Gurgaon recorded "very poor" quality air, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida reported "poor" air quality. On Saturday, a haze had engulfed the national capital and the worst air quality of this season was recorded at 324. Anand Vihar, Mundaka, Narela, Dwarka Sector 8, Nehru ...
Air quality gets better in nearly 350 Chinese cities
More than half of China's cities saw air quality improve year-on-year in September, the Chinese Environment Ministry has said.
Maha: Banned plastic seized from Chakan godown
A huge cache of banned plastic was seized from an industrial unit in Chakan in Pune district of Maharashtra Saturday night, thanks to the alertness shown by state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam. The minister spotted a tempo carrying some plastic material while he was on his way to Ahmednagar district, a Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) official said. "While the minister was on his way to Ahmednagar district, he spotted a tempo carrying some plastic material and upon enquiring with the driver it was revealed that thematerielbelongedto a packaging firm in Chakan," said the official. The tempo driver led the minister and the officials accompanying him to the godown in the industrial town, located over 40 kms away from Pune. Officials from Revenue as well as MPCB were summoned at the spot at the behest of the minister, he said. "We have seized around 200 tonnes of raw material (used in the manufacture of packaging products such as bubble sheets, granules etc) ...
Green buildings: We have 'late mover advantage', says Prabhu
Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu Sunday said that India had "late mover advantage" when compared to the Western world in creating infrastructure in a "green, clean and environment friendly" way. He added that construction could be the biggest contributor to the "green concept" and this, in turn, could make the world better. Prabhu was speaking at the inaugural function of a state-of-the-art green building of cement major ACC and Goa's Alcon group in Kundaim Industrial Estate in Ponda. Speaking about green buildings in the Indian context, Prabhu said. "So far, India is a country where much of our infrastructure is yet to be constructed. That is a good thing because we have late mover advantage." "You go to Europe, they have fantastic infrastructure but that is also a disadvantage because that infrastructure is created without considering the green compatibility and sustainability," the minister explained. "But we will have infrastructure that would be created in a ...
Rosatom ships equipment for Kudankulam N-plant unit 4 to India
Russia's state atomic energy corporation Rosatom has manufactured and shipped out a set of equipment for Unit 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu, a statement said. The equipment includes moisture separator reheaters (MSR-1000-1). There will be four sets of moisture separator reheaters, of which two sets have already been shipped, Rosatom said in the statement. Moisture separator reheaters are designed to remove water condensed from the process stream to maximise thermal efficiency and reliability of the low-pressure turbine. The weight of the separator is 47 tonnes, height is around six metres and diameter is four metres. The life span of the product is 30 years. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is jointly constructed by Rosatom and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Each unit of the plant has a capacity of 1,000MW. Atomenergomash is the supplier of the main equipment for the reactor and turbine islands. The KKNPP Unit 1 was synchronised ..
Kerala prioritises seed procurement to rehabilitate flood-hit farmers
Two months after floods caused havoc in Kerala and flattened major standing crops, leading to losses estimated at over Rs 2,000 crore, the state government has decided to distribute crop inputs, particularly seeds, as a part of the rehabilitation package for affected farmers.
Similipal National Park reopens in November
The Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district will be reopened from November one after remaining closed for above three months due to monsoon. The tourists will be allowed to enter the Park from Pithabata and Kalipani check gates, Field Director of Similipal Tiger Project Sashi Paul said in a notice Saturday. A maximum of 35 four-wheelers and 25 four-wheelers will be allowed to enter the Park every day through Kaliani and Pithabata gates respectively, he said. He also said that no tourist would be allowed to stay inside the Park after 4 pm. However, the tourist could make night halt in specific places like cottages made under eco-tourism projects inside the park. The Tiger Reserve at Similipal along with the national Park and adjoining wildlife sanctuary remained closed for tourists since June 16 in view of monsoon rain.
Grain pain: Japan's ageing rice farmers face uncertain future
A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival. Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market. Kazuo Ogura, a 66-year-old farmer, is one of the lucky ones. His son Yuichi decided to follow him into the family business. Ogura senior looks on proudly as his 38-year-old son uses a specially designed machine to plant this year's harvest, splashing through golden paddy fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. Surviving in this tough environment is all about "producing quality food at a reasonable price" and harnessing economies provided by large-scale production, Ogura told AFP. The future of his establishment in Kazo, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Tokyo, looks .
56 years after Indo-China war, Arunachal villagers get Rs 38 cr land compensation
More than 56 years after India's war with China, villagers of Arunachal Pradesh have received nearly Rs 38 crore as compensation for the land acquired by the Army to set up its bases, bunkers and barracks. At a special function held here, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu distributed the cheques to the villagers of West Kameng district on Friday. "A total of Rs 37.73 crore has been given to the villagers. Those were community land. So the huge amount they received will be distributed amongst the villagers," Rijiju told PTI. Among those who received the cheques include Prem Dorjee Khrimey, who received Rs 6.31 crore, while Phuntso Khawa got Rs 6.21 crore andKhandu Glow received Rs 5.98crore. After the 1962 India-China war, the Army had acquired huge tracks of land to set up its bases, bunkers, barracks, construct roads, build bridges and other installations. However, no compensation was given to the land owners till last ...
Indonesia to renegotiate fighter jet deal with S.Korea to ease FX burden
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is seeking "lighter" financial terms in a renegotiated project with South Korea to jointly develop a mid-level fighter jet, in a move aimed at supporting the rupiah by reducing use of the country's foreign exchange reserves, a senior Indonesian official said.
Delhi's air quality remains poor, authorities warn further deterioration
Delhi's air quality remained in the "very poor" category for the second consecutive day Sunday even as authorities warned that it may further deteriorate in the next couple of days. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 301, which falls in the 'very poor' category, said the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). On Saturday, a haze engulfed the national capital and the worst air quality of this season was recorded at AQI 324. Anand Vihar, Mundaka, Narela, Dwarka Sector 8, Nehru Nagar and Rohini all showed 'very poor' air quality and are inching towards severe pollution levels, it said. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". The Supreme Court appointed Environment Protection Control Authority (EPCA) on Friday held a meeting with state governments and Delhi government officials to discuss the pollution situation in the ...
Air purifier makers expect rise in sales as pollution level worsens
Air purifier makers are again looking at a big spike in their sales like previous years since the air quality in the national capital region and adjoining areas is likely to deteriorate further in the coming weeks. The companies are again expecting Delhi NCR to drive their sales this year, though, they are also witnessing a rise in demand from smaller and tier II cities, other than metros. "Around Diwali, we have seen in the past the air quality levels going down further and some of it will surely convert into a heightened awareness and demand for the category," Eureka Forbes chief transformation officer Shashank Sinha said. Unfortunately, the air purifier sales peak only when consumers see the pollution levels rise to a dangerous level, he said, adding that the winter season contributes to over half of the volume in this category. Although the air purifier industry is small in size and limited to metro cities, but makers are witnessing a high double digit growth in the segment due to
New material harvests Sun's heat for cheaper electricity
Scientists have developed a material that can be used to harvest electricity from the Sun's heat, paving the way for generating cheaper solar power on cloudy days and at nighttime. The innovation is an important step for putting solar heat-to-electricity generation in direct cost competition with fossil fuels, researchers said. "Storing solar energy as heat can already be cheaper than storing energy via batteries, so the next step is reducing the cost of generating electricity from the Sun's heat with the added benefit of zero greenhouse gas emissions," said Kenneth Sandhage, a professor at Purdue University in the US. Concentrated solar power plants convert solar energy into electricity by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a lot of light onto a small area, which generates heat that is transferred to a molten salt. Heat from the molten salt is then transferred to a "working" fluid, supercritical carbon dioxide, that expands and works to spin a turbine for generating ...
NTPC to use biomass to co-fire coal-based power plants, cut emissions
NTPC Ltd, India's largest power producer, plans to start biomass co-firing across all its coal-based thermal power stations in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut pollution, official sources said. Co-firing is the use of two different types of fuel for generation of electricity. NTPC plans to burn biomass like scrap lumber, forest debris, crop residues, manure and some types of waste residues along with coal to generate electricity. Biomass can typically provide between 3-15 per cent of the input energy into the power plant. Sources said NTPC will start procurement of biomass pellets and torrefied biomass pellets/briquettes for co-firing across all its coal fired power plants and will soon float a tender. The objective behind the move, they said, is to reduce air pollution caused due to burning of surplus agricultural residue in fields by creating an alternate market for its large-scale utilisation in power plants as well as to reduce carbon emission from coal-fired power
Philippine police: Gunmen kill 9 people who occupied farm
Philippine police say gunmen have killed nine members of a farmers' group who occupied a part of a privately owned sugarcane plantation. Police say the victims were resting in a hut Saturday night when about 10 gunmen opened fire. At least four farmers survived the attack at the plantation in Sagay city in central Negros Occidental province, which has a history of bloody land feuds. The National Federation of Sugar Workers condemned the killings of their members, who it said were forced to plant vegetables and root crops to feed their families on land that's covered by the government's land reform program but remained undistributed to poor farmers. A police investigation is underway.
Delhi: Air quality slips to 'poor' post Dussehra celebrations
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 278 on Saturday night, which falls in the 'poor' category.According to the latest AQI data, the air quality in Delhi's Lodhi Road area showed levels of prominent pollutants PM (particulate matter) 10 at 278.The deterioration of air quality comes after firecrackers went up in the air on the occasion of Dussehra even after repeated appeals by authorities to conduct eco-friendly celebrations.The air quality temporarily improved on Friday after a drizzle, but did could not last for long.An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".Recently, Grammy award-winning Canadian singer Bryan Adams, who was in the national capital for a live concert, posted an image on Instagram highlighting the alarming pollution levels the region is grappling with."New Delhi, India ???? you we're incredible tonight. In this photo, if
Delhi's air pollution spikes, severe in some regions
The National Capital saw a sudden spike in the air-pollution on Saturday, a day after Dussehera.
