Page 468 - Environment
Farmland fences will have beehives, says Minister
Fence with beehives would be set up on farmland on forest fringes in Tamil Nadu to keep wild elephants away, state Minister of Forests Dindigul Srinivasan said Friday. Talking to newsmen here after inaugurating a forest range office, he said the elephantsreportedly enter farms and destroy the crops, which also leads to man-animal conflicts. "We will set up beehives on the fence to prevent the elephants from straying into the farmland. Such fences are more safe and natural than an electrified fence," the Minister said. It is reported that the buzzing of bees would drive the elephants away. The Minister further said steps would be taken to regularise the service of 'Vettai Thaduppu Kavalargal' (Hunting Prevention Guards). Also, the Minister laid the foundation stone for the Agasthiar Park at Kalakadu Mundanthurai Tiger Sanctuary.
Amarinder orders release of pending tubewell connections to farmers
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday ordered the release of the pending tubewell connections to farmers who had already made payments. He has set a deadline for November 15, 2018, for the same. The directive came during a meeting with representatives of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharash Committee here, according to an official spokesperson. The chief minister has directed the chairman of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to ensure adherence to the November 15 deadline and issue necessary directions to the field staff across the state for strict compliance. The chairman Powercom assured the chief minister that the nearly 7,000 pending tubewell connections would be released within the stipulated timeframe, said the spokesperson. Responding to another demand of the committee, the chief minister asked the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Agriculture to ensure that the farmers get the subsidised agri-implements/equipment before October 15 for in-situ management of paddy stubble in .
Drought relief work to start in 14 talukas of 3 Guj districts
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Friday said that drought relief works would begin from October 1 in 14 talukas of Kutch, Patan and Banaskantha districts. These talukas have been declared "scarcity hit" after getting deficient rain, less than 125 mm, during the current monsoon. "In these talukas, drinking water will be provided through tankers while subsidised cattle fodder will be made available to farmers and cattle breeders," Rupani said. He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of a multilayer packaging board plant in Bharuch, about 110 kilometres from here. Gujarat is staring at water scarcity as it has received just 73.87 per cent of rainfall this monsoon, a Gujarat government release had stated Thursday It had informed that Kutch had received just 26.51 per cent of average rainfall so far, while north Gujarat got 42.93 per cent, central Gujarat 66.83 per cent, Saurashtra 72.20 per cent and south Gujarat got the highest of 94.79 per cent.
Six of 11 lions in Gir die in infighting: Forest Department
As many as six of the 11 Asiatic lions found dead during the last eleven days in their only abode, Gir forests, died fighting among themselves, according to Gujarat Forest Department officials. The cause of death of the other five is yet to be ascertained.
First General Assembly of International Solar Alliance on Oct 2
The inaugural General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will take place on October 2 here, the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday. The ministerial level assembly will be held in Greater Noida the following day, it said. The Founding Conference of the ISA was jointly hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron here in March this year. The ISA, formation of which was initiated by India and France, aims to bring all countries together for cooperation on solar energy. During the founding conference, Modi had announced India's commitment to extend nearly USD 1.4 billion worth of lines of credit (LOCs) to cover 27 projects in 15 countries, especially in Africa. In connection with the forthcoming first General Assembly, T S Tirumurti, the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, chaired a meeting on for more than 50 resident foreign missions here on Thursday, the statement said. Anand Kumar, the Secretary in the ..
Punjab govt releases Rs 670.29 crore for power subsidy, development projects
The Punjab government Friday said it has released Rs 670.29 crore towards pending power subsidy, VAT/GST refund, along with various development projects. The government has released Rs 150 crore on account of power subsidy, Rs 93 crore for Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and Rs 88 crore for Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), an official statement said here. A sum of Rs 65.31 crore has been released for environment, forestry and wildlife under the National River Conservation Plan, while Rs 20.62 crore would be spent on Externally Aided Projects (EAP) and Rs 29.85 crore on the schemes funded by NABARD. Another Rs 24 crore has been released for Punjab Education Development Board (PEDB) and Rs 23.48 crore for AMRUT scheme. A total of Rs 37.49 crore has been released on account of VAT as well as Rs 6.46 crore of GST refunds, the statement said. "A sum of Rs 17.88 crore has also been released against Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Rs 15.97 crore for ...
Shrachi arm wins Rs 230cr contract for B'desh power project
City-based BTL EPC Ltd, part of the Shrachi Group, has bagged a Rs 230 crore turnkey project in Bangladesh, a top official said Friday. This is the first international project for the company which it won from BHEL for Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL). "For the past two years, we have completed several projects successfully for NTPC and BHEL. By winning the order in Bangladesh, we have a new-found confidence for international projects now," Ravi Todi, Managing Director of BTL EPC told PTI. He said as of now, the focus will be on completing the Bangladesh order on time following which the company will bid for other international projects more aggressively. "We have submitted a number of (engineering) drawings to German engineering and consultant firm Fichtner for the 30-month project in Bangladesh. After 6-9 months, we will proactively bid for other international prohects," Todi said. Maitree STPP (Maitree Super Thermal Power Project) is a 2 X 660 ...
19 smuggled exotic birds recovered in Bengal
Nineteen exotic birds smuggled into India from Bangladesh in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, were recovered on Friday. One person has been arrested.
Irrigation via separate agri feeders by March 2019: Sushil
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Friday said that power would be supplied for irrigation purpose through 1,312 dedicated agriculture feeders in the state by March 2019. "After making power available to every households in all the villages and hamlets, the state government would supply power for irrigation purposes through 1,312 separate and dedicated agriculture feeders in the state by March 2019. The separate agri feeders would be laid out at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore," Modi said. He was addressing a seminar on "Pathways Towards Prosperity of Aspirational Districts in Bihar", organised by Bihar Institute of Economic Studies here. Modi, who is also the finance minister, said that farmers would be benefited the most from separate agriculture feeders as dependence on diesel use for irrigating lands will reduce. Farmers' irrigation cost would come down to Rs 200 per acre from Rs 1,500 per acre which they incur on diesel expense for irrigation, he ...
HC notice to top poll official on plea against flagpoles
The Madras High Court has issued notice to authorities, including the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, on a petition seeking a ban on erecting flagpoles of political parties permanently or temporarily in public places. A division bench, comprising Justices N Kirubakarn and M V Muralidharan, before which a petition from social activist A Radhakrishnan came up Thursday, directed the authorities to submit their replies in four weeks. The petitioner submitted that one of the guidelines of the State Election Commission was removal of flagpoles of all political parties already erected in public places. The commission had earlier issued a direction to the police and revenue officials to remove the flagpoles and hoardings. Alleging that most of the parties encroached upon roadsides, parks, playgrounds and common places without government permission, erected flagpoles permanently and hoisted the flags, the petitioner said they posed a hindrance to traffic. Sometimes, they ...
Punjab govt approves 4,000 MW thermal plant at Rupnagar
The Punjab government has approved a super critical thermal plant of 4,000 MW capacity for Rupnagar, state power minister G S Kangar said Friday. Besides, a 60 MW biomass plant and a 100 MW solar plant are also coming up soon, he said. He sought to clarify that closure of 880 MW thermal units in Bathinda and Rupnagar by the government earlier would lead to dominance of private players in the power sector in times to come. "The closure of these units by no means amounts to dominance of private sector; it is just a switchover from the existing technology to the cheaper, greener, state-of-art technology," Kangar said while interacting with a delegation of power employees, as per an official release. In December last year, the state government had announced to shut down these units describing them as inefficient. Kangar assured the delegation that a joint committee of representatives of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, and Employees Associations would be formed to re-examine the ..
ACME commissions 200 MW solar power plant at Bhadla
Independent power producer ACME Solar Friday said it has commissioned its 200 MW solar power plant at Bhadla in Rajasthan. "With the commissioning of the Bhadla solar park, ACME's total operating capacity in solar power now stands at 2.4 gigawatt peak (GWp) and the company's total portfolio of solar projects stands at over 5.5 GWp, making it the largest solar power portfolio in the country," the company said in a statement. ACME Solar won the contract for developing 200 MW at the Bhadla solar project with a historic low tariff of Rs 2.44/unit till now in India, Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Founder and Chairman of ACME Group said in the statement. The company has invested Rs 980 crore in setting up the Bhadla solar power plant.
PM Modi to visit Odisha and Chattisgarh tomorrow
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Odisha and poll-bound Chattisgarh on September 22.Modi, who will be in Odisha for just one day, is slated to launch a slew of projects including a fertilizer plant at Talcher and inauguration of a new airport in Jharsugada. While the fertilizer plant in Talcher will produce natural gas and will contribute immensely to the country's energy requirements, the airport in Jharsugada will bring western Odisha on the country's aviation map, and facilitate regional air connectivity through the government's UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme.Prime Minister Modi will also dedicate the Garjanbahal coal mines and the Jharsaguda-Barapali-Sardega rail link to the nation. He will also unveil a plaque to mark the commencement of coal production and transportation from Dulanga coal mines.In Chattisgarh state, which goes to polls end of the year, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Janjgir Champa, where he will visit an exhibition on traditional handloom
Cricketer Rohit Sharma pledges support to conservation of rhinos: WWF India
Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has pledged his support to WWF India's conservation efforts for rhinos, now found only in select pockets in India and Nepal with their numbers dwindling to just around 3,500, the wildlife body said Friday. In a statement, WWF India said globally, Sharma will join several other celebrities supporting its conservation activities. Sharma is the current captain of the Indian men's cricket team for the ongoing Asia Cup 2018. In India, he will join Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Vidya Balan, and fellow cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, who have supported the body's work in the past, it said. "Rohit Sharma, renowned Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian men's cricket team for the ongoing Asia Cup, has pledged his support to WWF-India's rhino conservation efforts in the country," according to the statement. The announcement was made on the eve of World Rhino Day, it said. WWF-India has been working on rhino conservation for over
Acme commissions 200-mw solar plant at Bhadla in Rajasthan
Independent power producer Acme Friday said it has commissioned its 200 megawatt (mw) solar power plant at Bhadla in Rajasthan. With the commissioning of the Bhadla solar park, it's total operating capacity in solar power now stands at 2,400 mw and the company's total portfolio of solar projects stands at over 5,500 mw making it the largest solar power portfolio in the country, Acme said in a statement. The company won the contract for developing 200 mw at the Bhadla solar project at a low tariff of Rs 2.44 per unit till and it has so far invested Rs 980 crore in setting up the plant, it added. ***************** Qbera raises $3 mn funding led by Essel's E-City Ventures * Digital lending platform Qbera Friday said it has raised funds worth USD 3 million in a round led by E-City Ventures, a part of Essel group. Qbera will utilise the latest capital infusion towards ramping up its technology and analytics capabilities, along with expansion of its team across functions, ...
CM asks U.S Keralites to contribute liberally to rebuild state
: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday urged Malayalees in the U.S.A to contribute liberally to rebuild the flood-hit state and said he hoped Rs 150 crore would be raised from them. Vijayan made the appeal at his first public function in New York early Friday after completion of his medical treatment. The Chief Minister, who had left for the U.S for medical treatment at Mayo Clinic on September 2, is expected to be back in Kerala on September 24. Addressing the gathering of Keralites, Vijayan said everyone should cooperate for revamping the state, which had last month witnessed the worst deluge of the century. He said Keralites willing to contribute should become members of the global salary challenge, which envisages each participant contributing a month's salary for the state. State finance minister Thomas Isaac will visit the U.S next month to collect the financial assistance, he said. "Only through your cooperation can a new Kerala be built", he said, adding .
EU-India innovation platform to be launched on Oct 10: EU envoy
An EU-India innovation platform that seeks to bring together innovators, start-ups and incubators from both sides for interaction would be launched on October 10, the European Union's envoy in New Delhi said Friday. Ambassador of the EU to India Tomasz Kozlowski also said that to take the EU-India partnership forward, policy dialogues and engagement must go beyond government level. "We need to take all stakeholders along, the government, the states, businesses and NGOs," he said. Kozlowski said this while addressing a gathering of business representatives from several European and Indian firms, foreign diplomats, among others at an event hosted here by the FICCI on 'India and EU - creation of projets on clean energy and climate change'. The envoy also recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Brussels in 2016 for the EU-India Summit, had agreed on EU-India clean energy and climate partnership. Kozlowski mentioned various areas in which the two sides have ...
KVIC distributes 'charkhas', bee-boxes to tiger-victims' widows in Sunderban
In a bid to provide sustainable earnings to the widows of tiger victims and poor residents of Bali Island in Sunderban, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has distributed 'charkhas' and bee-boxes with live bee colonies among 125 families. KVIC, under its 'Employment Generation Programme', donated 75 high-yield eight-spindle new model 'charkhas' (NMCs) and 500 bee-boxes to the members of 50 families, a statement issued by KVIC said. KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena distributed 'charkhas' and bee-boxes at the inauguration of the 'Tiger Victim Khadi Katai Kendra' at a village of Sunderban area. He said since many of the inhabitants have to go deep into the forest either for collection of 'wild honey' or for fishing in the canals and rivers for their daily livelihood, they are often killed by the tigers or poisonous snakes, subsequently making their families helpless. "We want to bring down human deaths due to tiger attack to zero. Keeping this in mind, we will help ...
PM to visit Odisha, Chhattisgarh on Saturday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha on Saturday to launch a series of projects including an airport at Jharsuguda and a fertilizer plant at Talcher.
HC: Ban on DJ, Dolby systems to stay for Ganesh immersion, Navratri
The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to lift the ban imposed by the Maharashtra government on the use of hi-tech sound-amplifying systems such as DJ and Dolby sound during Ganpati immersion and the coming Navratri festival. The ongoing Ganesh festival will culminate with immersion processions across the state on Sunday. A division bench of Justices Shantanu Kemkar and Sarang Kotwal rejected a plea for interim relief by the Professional Audio and Lighting Association (PALA) which has challenged the ban on sound-amplifying systems. The association "miserably" failed to prove that such audio systems can be used without breaching the permissible noise limits, the high court said. The bench took note of the submissions made by the state government at the previous hearing, where Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had said that DJ and Dolby audio systems are a major source of noise pollution. The moment a DJ or a Dolby system is switched on, the noise level goes over 100 decibels, way ..