Page 465 - Environment
Rains might damage kharif crops in Punjab
Incessant rains in Punjab and Haryana could cause damage to kharif crops and dip in their yield, farm experts said Monday. As rains set to delay paddy harvesting for a few days, farm experts are also apprehending their would be a short window to manage the crop residue, before sowing wheat. A few parts of northern region, including Punjab have been witnessing widespread rains for the last two days. According to weatherman, rainfall activity will start receding tomorrow. Though Punjab and Haryana are in the process of assessing damage to kharif crops, farm experts anticipate dip in yield due to continuous rains. "Paddy grown in low-lying areas is vulnerable to damage due to rains as it usually gets submerged in water," Director at Punjab Agriculture Department J S Bains said. According to farmers, paddy, which is at maturing stage, has got flattened at several areas because of rains. "We have asked district agriculture officers to assess the damage caused by rains," Bains said. Punjab .
Indonesia teen rescued after 49 days adrift at sea
An Indonesian teenager survived seven weeks adrift at sea after his tiny fishing trap lost its moorings and ended up some 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) away in waters near the Pacific island of Guam, his family said Monday. Aldi Novel Adilang's harrowing tale began in mid-July when the 18-year-old was working solo on a fishing hut anchored about 125 kilometres off Indonesia's Sulawesi island. His job was to keep the vessel's lamps lit to attract fish. Its owner would reportedly come by weekly to drop off food, clean water, fuel and other supplies. The floating fishing trap, known as a rompong, had no engine and was anchored to the seabed with a long rope, but heavy winds knocked it off its moorings and sent Adilang out to sea, local media said. Rompongs are a traditional form of trapping fish in Indonesia, but are often unmanned, secured by buoys and ropes. Local media reported that the owner of Adilang's rompong had as many as 50 moored in the surrounding waters "His boss told my ...
Fish import from Bangladesh to Tripura stopped for 20 days
Fish import from Bangladesh has been stopped for 20 days that created huge crisis in Tripura markets, officials said here on Monday.
Gadkari dedicates to nation upgraded NH-44 in Meghalaya
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday dedicated to the nation the renovated and upgraded National Highway-44, which would boost industrial development in Meghalaya. The Minister for Road Transport and Highways will also review problems and issues faced in the execution of National Highway projects in the north-east here, over the next two days. "The NH-44 (Jowai to Ratacherra at the Assam border) is important for development of industries in Meghalaya," Gadkari said. He said trucks coming from Guwahati can move smoothly in record time to Silchar, providing connectivity to the south eastern parts of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura. The construction for the 102-km long highway began in November 2015 and was completed in March this year, two months ahead of schedule, officials said. Gadkari said it incurred a total cost of Rs 683 crore and the stretch has three major and 44 minor bridges, and a 143-meter tunnel.
EU sends second warning to UK, seeking 2.7 billion euros of duties
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Monday it had sent Britain a second warning to recover 2.7 billion euros ($3.18 billion) in customs duties it failed to collect on Chinese imports between 2011 and 2017.
Nepal's tiger population doubles
Nepal has been able to almost double the number of wild tigers within a decade.
Himachal rains: 19 people rescued in Kullu
An Indian Air Force chopper on Monday rescued 19 people stranded on an islet on the swelling Beas river at Dobi in Kullu district. The rescued people were then flown to the local airfield of Bhuntar.Beas river had swelled and as a result of which small islets were formed in the river wherein people were stranded.At the request of state government of Himachal Pradesh, one MLH class of helicopter, piloted by Squadron Leader Vipul Gupta with Squadron Leader Dhiman as the co-pilot, was launched from the Mighty Armour unit of Western Air Command, based at Sarsawa for the rescue operation.Earlier today, two more people were also rescued on another small strip of land in the river. The helicopter, which was available at Bhuntar was launched and these two people were winched up since there was no place for the helicopter to land.The helicopter and its crew have been instructed to wait at Bhuntar airstrip if any more rescue operation is needed to be carried out."Today restricted space, high ...
NGT asks committee to look into pollution caused by plastic industries in Narela, Bawana
The National Green Tribunal has asked to form a committee to look into a plea alleging pollution by industries making shoe soles and other plastic goods in Narela and Bawana area. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel constituted a panel of the Central Pollution Control Board and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to look into the matter and file a report within a month. "Allegation in this application received by e-mail is that pollution is being caused by the plastic industry making shoe soles...They are not maintaining the pollution and waste management norms. They are throwing their industrial waste here and there in the area which is creating problem to residents and the environment and is health hazard. "Let the above allegation be looked into and an appropriate action taken in accordance with law by a joint committee of the Central Pollution Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee within one month. CPCB will be the nodal agency," the bench .
HC bans slaughtering of birds at Ghazipur mandi
The Delhi High Court today banned slaughtering of birds in the Ghazipur murga mandi here. Only selling of live birds will be permitted in the area, the court said in its interim order. "Taking note of the circumstances and the inaction of the authorities, we have no option but to direct that in the Ghazipur murga mandi, no slaughtering of birds will be permitted henceforth. Only sale of birds will be permitted," said a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao. The court asked the authorities to file within a week the compliance report on its order. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that poultry birds are being traded and slaughtered illegally at the Ghazipur mandi in east Delhi. The court asked the authorities to come up with a plan to set up a designated slaughter house in the area and till then the interim order will remain in operation. The bench noted that after conducting an inspection at the mandi on April 24, the Delhi Pollution .
Indonesian teen survives after 48 days adrift in sea
An Indonesian teenager survived 48 days adrift at sea in a floating fish trap before he was rescued by a cargo vessel and taken to Japan, officials said on Monday.
Odisha targets 55 lakh tonne paddy procurement during Kharif season
The Odisha cabinet on Monday approved the food and procurement policy for the Kharif marketing season 2018-19 with a target to procure 55 lakh tonnes of paddy from farmers.
Rain causes waterlogging on Delhi streets, slows down traffic
Heavy rains lashed several parts of the national capital on Monday, causing waterlogging and traffic snarls on major intersections in the city. The Delhi Traffic Police has been constantly updating the commuters about traffic conditions in the city through its Twitter handle. Roads such as Fatehpuri T-point on S P Mukherjee Marg, Rajdhani Park, Mehrauli-Badarpur T-point and Pramod Mahajan Marg were waterlogged. A breakdown of a truck on Nangloi flyover further caused congestion on the road from Nangloi towards Peeragarhi. In the morning, city witnessed light rain as the mercury dipped to 24 degrees Celsius, according to the MeT department. The weatherman had predicted cloudy sky with moderate rainfall and scattered thundershowers.
NASA's MAVEN marks 4 years in Mars orbit with selfie
NASA's MAVEN spacecraft released a selfie image of the spacecraft at Mars, celebrating its four years in orbit studying the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet.
Himachal roads closed after heavy rains
Himachal Pradesh on Monday continued to experience heavy to extremely heavy rains, causing major landslides and blocking highways and link roads, while all major rivers and their tributaries were in spate, officials said here.
Rains affect life in Punjab, Haryana; damage paddy, cotton crop
Moderate to heavy rainfall continued in most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh for the third day on Monday affecting normal life.
Tiger population doubles in Nepal
While the number of tigers in many countries is witnessing a decline, a recent survey led by the Government of Nepal has shown that the population of tigers has almost doubled in under a decade in the country.According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an organisation dealing with wildlife conservation and endangered species, this news can help Nepal become the first country to double its national tiger population since the ambitious TX2, a goal to double tiger numbers in the wild by 2022, was set in 2010.The survey was conducted with the help of camera traps in the transboundary Terai Arc Landscape and concluded that there are now an estimated 235 wild tigers in the country, in comparison to an estimated 121 back in 2009.Leonardo DiCaprio, WWF-US board member and chairman of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, said, "This significant increase in Nepal's tiger population is proof that when we work together, we can save the planet's wildlife - even species facing extinction. Nepal has been .
'India will focus on reformed multilateralism at UNGA'
India's Ambassador to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, said that India will focus on reformed multilateralism at the United Nations General Assembly."There are threats and challenges facing the multilateral system. We are by tradition and inclination multilateralist and we will be helpful in articulating our positions on how we need to strengthen the multilateral system and move towards a reformed multilateralism," he said while addressing the media here."Second, Secretary General feels climate change is perhaps the most serious of threats that we're facing. India has a good story to tell. So climate action will be our second priority," he added.Speaking on health care and India's focus in the area, Akbaruddin said, "This general assembly will address several issues of global health. Non-communicable diseases, Tuberculosis and later in the assembly, India will focus on deliberations relating to universal health coverage. The Prime Minister launched Ayushman Bharat - our health ...
Guj lion deaths: Forest dept forms teams for screening, rescue of big cats
The Gujarat Forest department has formed 64 teams to screen and shift sick lions to rescue centres after carcasses of 11 big cats were found the state's Gir forest, a senior official said on Sunday. The 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. A team comprising top officials and experts from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA) and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), probing the death since arriving here on Saturday, has stated in its preliminary report that the deaths were mainly due to infighting, and infection caused by resultant injuries. Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) Rajiv Gupta told reporters Sunday in Junagadh that viscera samples of the 11 lion carcasses had been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) to find out the exact cause of death. "After analysing the reports from NIV, we will devise a .
Tiger population in Nepal increases to 235: Census report
Nepal's Tiger population has gone up to 235 from 198 in 2013 as the country plans to increase the number of wild cats to 250 by 2022, according to a latest tiger census report unveiled here on Sunday. The Chitwan National Park has the highest number of adult tigers at 93 followed by 87 in Bardiya National Park, said the new census report. The number of tigers in the Bankey National Park has also reached 21 followed by 18 in Parsa National Park and 16 in Shuklaphanta National Park. Nepal is likely to attain the goal of doubling tiger population by 2022 to 250 assuming 2009 as the base year, when 125 tigers roared in various Nepal forest. "We need to work hard and intensify our conservation efforts of we are to achieve the target of 250 tiger population by 2022, remarked Ghana Shyam Gurung, country representative of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal. While most of the national parks have witnessed a surge in tiger population, number in Chitwan National Park has gone down from 120 in 2013 .
Japan lands robot rovers on asteroid's surface
Japanese space agency JAXA has claimed that it created history on Saturday by successfully landing two unmanned rovers on an asteroid.After the rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft and landed on the asteroid Ryugu, JAXA, in a statement, said that the two rovers are in good condition and are transmitting images and data, CNN reported.Known as MINERVA-II1, the rovers are collectively world's first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid.Expressing his joy over the success of the project, Takashi Kubota, a spokesman for the space agency, said that he felt awed by the achievement and that it is a real charm of deep space exploration.Asteroids are believed to have rich information about the formation of the solar system billions of years ago.JAXA, in a statement, claimed that a kilometer-wide diamond-shaped space rock is rich in water and organic materials that would allow scientists to clarify interactions between the building blocks of Earth and the ...