Page 460 - Environment
Programme for proper disposal of e-waste in Bhubaneswar
The 'Clean E-Bhubaneswar' programme undertaken with the support of International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Union has led to proper disposal of huge e-waste in Bhubaneswar, officials said. Bhubaneswar generates approximately 2,700 tonne of electronic waste annually, coming primarily from households and bulk consumers like institutions, said an official. Odisha chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, who attended a workshop here Tuesday organised by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said the 'Clean E-Bhubaneswar' programme has enabled the formal sector to collect and properly dispose of several tonne of e-waste in a short span of time. The work undertaken at the grass-roots level has created an ecosystem and much-needed awareness among various stakeholders, Padhi said. "I am grateful to the European Union for its support and to IFC for the continued collaboration for the development of the state," said Padhi. The project being implemented by IFC under IFCEU ...
Nepalese poacher held with antlers in Dudhwa forest range
A Nepalese poacher was nabbed in the Dudhwa forests range under the Dudhwa National Park here and recovered antlers from his possession, an official said Wednesday. Deputy Director Mahavir Kaujlagi had received reports about some cross-border smugglers attempting to poach in the Dudhwa range, field director Ramesh Pandey told PTI. Following this input, Kaujlagi alongwith Dudhwa range officer Vipin Kumar Srivastava, foresters Ram Kumar and O P Singh lay seige in the area, activating the field intelligence and Tuesday nabbed a poacher, Navraj, he said. "Antlers (horns of spotted deer) were recovered from the possession of the poacher belonging to Motipur village in Vardiya district of Nepal," Pandey said. A case under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has been registered, the field director said, adding, the nabbed poacher is reported to be involved in illicit trading of leopard skins and further investigations are on. This is the sixth arrest of poachers in a week .
NASA spots silent Opportunity rover on Mars
A NASA Mars orbiter has spotted the agency's Opportunity rover on the Red Planet for the first time since it went into hibernation after a dust storm swept over the region a little more than 100 days ago and blocked sunlight from reaching the rover.
Godrej Properties adds new project in Thane
This deal is an outright purchase of land along with Godrej Fund Management.
Macron defends multilateralism, Paris Agreement
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, as much anticipated, strongly defended multilateralism and the Paris Agreement on climate change at the ongoing General Debate of the 73rd UN General Assembly.
Raveena Tandon named Sanjay Gandhi National Park's brand ambassador
Bollywood diva Raveena Tandon has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai.Maharashtra's Finance, Planning and Forest Minister, Sudhir Mungantiwar, announced the news at a function held on Tuesday inside the SGNP, in the presence of top Forest department officials, representatives of various organisations dedicated to nature conservation and wildlife experts.Speaking to ANI, the 43-year-old actor said, "I want to thank Sudhir Mungantiwar, who gave me the opportunity to handle the responsibility. I believe everyone should work to protect natural resources. We shared our thoughts on the same and will work together. This is going to be a successful partnership."Spread across 103 sq km, SGNP is the biggest national park in the world to be located within metropolitan limits. It houses more than 254 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 150 species of butterflies, and over 1,300 species of plants.Apart .
Islamabad faces backlash over dam construction on Indus
Expressing concern over the construction of a dam on the Indus River, Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) criticised Islamabad for continued disregard for the water rights of those residing in lower riparian areas in Pakistan."It is distressing to see that Islamabad has consistently shown total disregard for the point of view of the lower riparian province, specially the tragic situation in the coastal districts of Sindh where over three million acres of fertile land and several towns and villages have come undersea intrusion. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their livelihood and they have been displaced from their homes. They have never been paid any compensation and no government, present or past, has ever put in place legally binding safeguards to save depleting southern delta and Indus river ecosystem," said SANA president, Mohammad Ali Mahar."No obstruction on River Indus will be acceptable that has any latent or obvious potential to divert or choke ..
Haryana govt to install CCTV cameras in distilleries
The Haryana government has decided to install CCTV cameras in distilleries, bottling plants and breweries for close monitoring of movement of liquor consignments. The step has been taken to prevent any illegal movement of liquor, according to an official release. The release said that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Haryana Cabinet here Tuesday. The release said that the Cabinet approved the amendment in the Punjab Distillery Rules, 1932 as applicable to Haryana. As per the amendment, distilleries, breweries and bottling plants will bear the expenses for making necessary arrangements for effective monitoring and control over the manufacturing and despatches, it said.
Urban challenges call for efficient project management: Puri
Stating that urban areas in India face multi-pronged challenges, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said it requires efficient project management to solve the problems.
Gujarat HC's amicus curiae lists actions to save Gir lions
Stopping illegal mining around the Gir sanctuary and penalising people who put up electric fences around their fields are some of the measures suggested to save lions in a report submitted to the Gujarat High Court. The report was submitted last month by senior advocate Hemang Shah, who was appointed an amicus curiae by a division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi while admitting a suo motu PIL in March over the issue of death of lions in Gir. The Gir sanctuary in Gujarat is the last abode of Asiatic lions. The bench had issued notices to the Gujarat and central governments after taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance of news reports regarding the government telling the Assembly on March 5 that 184 Gir lions died in two years in 2016 and 2017 - 32 of them died due to "unnatural" causes. The unnatural causes included electrocution, lions falling into open wells and being hit by trains as well as other vehicles. Shah suggested installation of cameras and ..
Traders won't get any extension on plastic usage:Maha minister
Traders in Maharashtra will not get any further extension for using plastic and the ban will be enforced strictly, state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said Tuesday. Kadam held a review meeting on plastic ban with officials of his department. "Plastic ban in the state will stay. Traders now will not be given any further extension on the use of plastic. Strict action will be taken against companies that manufacture plastic and the traders," Kadam said. The state government imposed a ban on manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles, and thermocol items on March 23 this year. The government gave three months for the disposal of existing stocks. Retail packaging companies were further given an extension of three months to submit an undertaking over recycling of plastic materials.
Sitharaman praises Indian Coast Guard
The Indian Coast Guard's relentless surveillance efforts and their quick response to Kerala's natural calamity show they are a capable force in the region, said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.
WAYU device to purify air in Delhi: Harsh Vardhan
To filter particulate matter and dilute air pollutants in the national capital, Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday inaugurated air pollution control device WAYU (Wind Augmentation Purifying Unit) here.
Haryana to develop 5 new cities along KMP expressway
The Haryana government will develop five new cities over an area of 50,000 hectares on each side of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway.
Two traffic intersections in Delhi get air pollution control devices
Union Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday inaugurated air pollution control devices for traffic junctions at ITO and Mukarba Chowk in the national capital, an official statement said. The device, WAYU (Wind Augmentation Purifying Unit), is developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) as part of a technology development project being funded by the Department of Science and Technology. Speaking at the inauguration, Vardhan said that the prototype device that has been indigenously developed has the capacity to purify air in an area of 500 square metre. Vardhan, who also handles the Science and Technology and Environment, Forest and Climate Change ministries, further added that the device consumes only half a unit of electricity for 10 hours of running and has a maintenance cost of only Rs 1,500 per month. Delhi has been witnessing alarming levels of pollution over the past few years. "We are in
Haryana govt to institute award after Kalpana Chawla
The Haryana government on Tuesday decided to institute Kalpana Chawla Haryana Solar Award, named after the India-born US astronaut, to encourage the participation of scientists in solar sector. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Haryana Cabinet here, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Besides according approval for instituting the award, the Cabinet also gave approval for signing of memorandum of understanding between International Solar Alliance (ISA), which is aimed at promoting solar energy across the countries falling in the tropic of cancer and capricorn, and the state government. The ISA is a treaty-based body which intends to promote solar energy in the 121 tropical countries. "The objective of Kalpana Chawla Haryana Solar Award scheme is to create a platform for participation of women and men scientists in solar energy sector..," it was decided in the cabinet meeting, an official release said. It said such awards will ..
Domestic consumers will not have to bear cost of installation of solar panels: Delhi govt
To boost use of solar power for domestic use, the Delhi Cabinet Tuesday decided that such consumers will not have to spend any money for the installation of solar panels. According to a statement, there will be a tripartite agreement between the group housing society concerned, the service provider and the Delhi government for the purpose. The Delhi government is giving a generation-based incentive (GBI) of Rs 2 per unit on solar generation for a three-year period from 2016-17 to 2018-19 under the Delhi Solar Policy -2016, introduced in September 2015. The GBI is disbursed on annual basis by power distribution companies and the power department reimbursed this payment to discoms. About 100MW of solar power has so far been installed in the national capital. It has been mostly in government buildings such as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(20 MW), Delhi Jal Board, Mandoli Jail, Azadpur Mandi and Dwarka Court. The government said that in domestic sector, it is around 05 megawatt (MW). ...
One lioness dies in Gir forest, toll since Sep 11 rises to 14
A lioness died Tuesday in Gujarat's Gir forest, taking the death toll of big cats in the region to 14 since September 11, officials said. The lioness was found very sick during the ongoing screening of big cats and was brought to the rescue centre in Gir by Forest officials. "During the ongoing screening of the lions, we found that one lioness was very sick and another weak in the Dalkhania range," the forest department stated in a release. The lioness died at the rescue centre, it said. Efforts are on to capture another weak lioness from the area for administration of treatment, it said. Earlier, carcasses of 11 lions, including cubs, were found between September 11 and 19. Nine of those were recovered from Dalkhaniya range and two from the Jashadhar range of Gir forest. The toll rose to 13 Monday, after the death of a lioness and a cub due to illness in Gir forest. Forests officials have been claiming that infighting among lions and infection caused by injuries are the ..
Encourage people to use e-vehicles, Gadkari tells NE CMs
Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday urged the Chief Ministers of the eight northeastern states to encourage people to use electric vehicles.
Punjab to plant 550 saplings in each village
To mark the year-long celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Punjab government said on Tuesday that 550 saplings will be planted in each village of the state.