Page 453 - Environment
Nepal, China to boost energy cooperation
The first ever bilateral meeting of the Nepal-China Joint Implementation Mechanism on Energy Cooperation concluded here as the two countries plan to implement a historic agreement on energy collaboration. During the meeting on Friday, both sides presented their respective power system scenarios, investment prospects, power markets and future plans to make each other familiar with their energy sectors. The Chinese delegation was led by He Yang, Deputy Director General, National Energy Administration of China and the Nepalese delegation was led by Energy Secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyay. The meeting is considered as a stepping stone to implement the historic MoU on energy cooperation signed by the energy ministers of both countries during the visit of Nepal Premier K P Oli to China in June. The meeting also deliberated on possible energy collaboration, according to a press release issued by Nepal's ministry of energy. Possibilities on developing cross border interconnection were also ...
Punjab to curb bogus milling menace: Minister
With thousands of bags of illegally stocked rice being recovered during raids on rice mills in recent days, Punjab's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Saturday said the Punjab government was committed to check the bogus milling menace.
China launches satellite on low-cost solid-fuel rocket
China on Saturday launched its Centispace-1-s1 satellite on a Kuaizhou-1A low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket. It was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. This is the second commercial launch by the Kuaizhou-1A rocket, a low-cost solid-fuel carrier rocket with high reliability and a short preparation period, designed to launch low-orbit satellites weighing under 300 kgs, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The first launch in January, 2017 sent three satellites into space. The Kuaizhou-1A was developed by a rocket technology company under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). The Centispace-1-s1 was developed by Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is a technology experiment satellite for the low-orbit navigation enhancement system being developed by Beijing Future Navigation Technology Co, the report said.
PM Modi to visit Gujarat on Sunday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat Sunday to inaugurate a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, an Amul chocolate plant and development projects in Rajkot, Anand and Kutch districts. In Rajkot, Modi will inaugurate newly-built Mahatma Gandhi Museum at Alfred High School. The school, from where Gandhi passed his matriculation in 1887, was renamed Mohandas Gandhi High School after independence. It was closed in 2017 after the authorities decided to convert it into a museum. The prime minister's day-long visit will begin with inauguration of a chocolate plant of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), owner of the Amul brand, at Mogar in Anand district and address a gathering of farmers. The plant, built with an investment of Rs 190 crore, will produce 1,000 tonnes of chocolates every month against the capacity of 600 tonnes of the existing plant. From the same venue, Modi will launch via video link a solar energy cooperative society at Mujkuwa .
Punjab govt to appoint nodal officers to check stubble burning
The Punjab government has decided to appoint nodal officers in 8,000 paddy growing villages in a move to check stubble burning. The villages have been identified by the Agriculture department as those where paddy stubble is traditionally being burnt, according to an official spokesperson. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had earlier directed the department to actively engage its machinery for on-ground activities at the village-level to effectively tackle the menace of stubble burning. Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna said all the deputy commissioners have already been asked to depute the officials for each of the affected villages to spread awareness on the dangers of stubble burning for health and environment. The nodal officers would also be tasked with keeping a strict vigil over the post-harvesting operations. Khanna said the staff of cooperation, revenue, rural development and panchayats, agriculture, horticulture and soil conservation departments, .
Nepal, China to facilitate joint investment in power sector
Nepal and China have agreed to facilitate joint investment in the power sector, according to a joint statement issued by both sides after a meeting here.
Goa, Portugal sign MoU for water, sewage management
The MoU between the Portuguese Environment Ministry and Goa Public Works Department (PWD) will help Goa manage its water resources better, Portuguese Environment Minister Joao Pedro de Matos Fernandes said on Saturday.
Portugal, Goa ink MoU on water management, sanitation
The Goa government Saturday inked an MoU with Portugal and said that the coastal state was looking at the European nation, with which it has a historical link, for its model of development. Goa Public Works Department Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and Portugal's Minister of Environment Joao Pedro de Matos Fernandes Saturday signed an MoU in the the field of water supply, waste water management and sanitation to be implemented in the state. "Goa is proud to have an understanding with Portugal because it was ruling Goa prior to 1961 and, at the time, had implemented development works," Dhavalikar said. "Considering all this, we can definitely think, in future, regarding the development of Goa based on the Portugal basis (model)," he told reporters. "It is the duty of the Goa government to take the help of Portugal and implement some of their good things here," he said. Dhavalikar told reporters that the issue of Portuguese-era houses in Goa, which are in a dilapidated ...
Training for women and transgenders to make cotton bags: BeMC
Ahead of the proposed ban on plastic bags in parts of Odisha from October 2, the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) has started imparting training to women self help groups and a transgender batch on making cotton bags. About 100 women are taking training on making cotton bags which will be required after imposition of ban on use of plastics, BeMC Commissioner Chakravarti Singh Rathore said Friday. The training is being provided under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) programme. The state government has announced to ban the use, stock and manufacture of plastic or polythene bags from October 2 in five municipality corporations, including Berhampur and Puri municipal area in the first phase. "As an alternative to plastic bags, people and shop owner can use the cotton bags," he said. "The basic training on cotton bag making is being given a person for three to five days," nodal officer of NULM, Geetanjali Samantaray said. Samantray said the members of SHGs ..
Treated water at Fukushima nuclear plant still radioactive
The operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday that much of the radioactive water stored at the plant isn't clean enough and needs further treatment if it is to be released into the ocean. Tokyo Electric Power Co and the government had said that treatment of the water had removed all radioactive elements except tritium, which experts say is safe in small amounts. They called it "tritium water," but it actually wasn't. TEPCO said Friday that studies found the water still contains other elements, including radioactive iodine, cesium and strontium. It said more than 80 per cent of the 900,000 tons of water stored in large, densely packed tanks contains radioactivity exceeding limits for release into the environment. TEPCO general manager Junichi Matsumoto said radioactive elements remained, especially earlier in the crisis when plant workers had to deal with large amounts of contaminated water leaking from the wrecked reactors and could not afford time to stop the ...
UN chief urges immediate action on climate change
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that climate change is absolute priority, while urging the international community to take immediate action.
Mass tourism poses threat to wildlife: Expert
Renowned conservation biologist Raghu Chundawat on Friday said tourists travelling in large numbers to the forests in India is a threat to the wildlife and ecosystem as most of the tourists are "not responsible".
UP seeks better planning, organised development in NCR
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday directed officials of the National Capital Region (NCR) falling in the state to ensure that smaller cities in the region are better planned.
1,400 Kg cannabis seized in Tripura
About 1,400 Kgs of cannabis, stored in plastic vats hidden underground, was recovered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and state police at two separate locations in Tripura's Sepahijala district, an official statement said on Friday.
Amarinder urges ADB for expeditious clearance of loans
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday urged Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama to expeditiously clear the state's loan proposals to ensure early implementation of development projects worth Rs 3,127 crore. The projects include 24X7 surface water supply system for Jalandhar and Patiala, besides conservation of historical monuments and buildings across the state. At a meeting here, the chief minister apprised Yokoyama that Punjab was facing acute scarcity of potable water, especially in the four major cities of Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana. Amarinder said the state government had prepared a comprehensive plan to shift these cities from tubewell water to canal water to provide the people with quality drinking water. Making a detailed presentation, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board CEO Ajoy Sharma said the total cost of the proposed surface water supply system was Rs 700 crore in Patiala and Rs 1,227 crore in Jalandhar. He said the ...
Foundation stone laid for developmental projects in AP
The Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister K E Krishna Murthy Friday laid the foundation stone here for various developmental projects. They include: Rs 68-crore stormwater drainage system in Machilipatnam municipality that would be completed by March 2019; Rs 2.25-crore new buildings of revenue divisional office; Rs 90-lakh buildings for tahsildar office; and a Rs 1.1-crore aqua laboratory. Speaking to reporters here, the deputy chief minister said the state government has begun the process to sanction house sites to the 40,000 families living in the hilly areas of Vijayawada. He said a recent survey has confirmed that the families deserve to be promised house site as they belong to the urban poor category. Also, he distributed pattas to the eligible 333 families belonging to Machilipatnam rural and urban areas, and assured them of sanctioning houses on the respective sites.
38 smuggled exotic birds recovered in Bengal
Around 38 exotic birds smuggled into India from Bangladesh through the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal were recovered and one person was arrested, an official said on Friday.
100 MPs contribute Rs 43.66 cr for relief work in flood-hit Kerala
As many as 100 parliamentarians from all over the country have contributed Rs 43.66 crore from the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund for relief and rehabilitation works in flood-hit Kerala, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said Friday. The MPLADS has provision for parliamentarians to contribute funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction works in the areas affected by severe calamity, the ministry said in a statement. Once the heavy rain and flood situation of Kerala in August 2018 was declared by Ministry of Home Affairs as severe in nature, an appeal to all Members of Parliament (MPs) was issued on August 24, 2018 by Minister of Statistics Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda to contribute from their MPLADS fund for rehabilitation works in affected areas of Kerala. As per guideline of the MPLAD Scheme, an MP can contribute up to 1 crore from their MPLADS fund for rehabilitation works in affected areas. Till now, 100 MPs ..
No plastic in Nagaland from November: CM
Come November, Nagaland will be declared a 'No Plastic' state, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said on Friday
Punjab urges ADB to clear loan proposals
The Punjab government on Friday urged the Asian Development Bank to expeditiously clear the state's loan proposals to ensure early implementation of developmental projects entailing an expenditure of Rs 3,127 crore.