Page 47 - Environment
Bountiful cherry crop in Himachal brings cheer to farmers
A good, sweet cherry crop -- largely organic as less pesticides are used in its cultivation -- has brought cheer to its growers in Himachal Pradesh, with production expected to be over 520 tonnes this season, up from 225 tonnes last year.
Chhattisgarh CM meets PM; urges to resolve pending issues related to tribals, poors
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and urged him to resolve at the earliest long pending issues related to 70 lakh tribals and 58 lakh poor families in the state. Baghel said the Congress government in the state has purchased paddy from farmers on minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,500 per quintal due to which paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh has increased. He urged Modi to keep the interest of farmers in mind and allow sufficient stock of rice in central pool, in addition to the requirements under public distribution system (PDS). He asked the prime minister to provide 100 per cent grant for a scheme providing drinking water through tap connection to each household in the state. He said there was a need to put extra efforts at national level to provide drinking water facility to each household similar to the efforts made by the Centre to ensure cent per cent electrification of villages across the country. Referring to ...
Bangladesh's coal-fired power plants puts Sunderbans on 'natural sites in danger': report
The official advisory organisation on natural World Heritage has recommended putting the Sundarbans on a list of natural sites in danger as Bangladesh has continued implementing a coal-fired power plant project near the forest, a media report said on Saturday. The World Heritage Committee of 21 governments is scheduled to decide on the recommendations by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its annual meeting in Azerbaijan from June 30 to July 10, the bdnews24.com reported. The Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest such forests in the world (140,000 ha), lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. It is adjacent to the border of India's Sundarbans World Heritage site inscribed in 1987. The recommendation came after the UNESCO in July, 2017, withdrew a plan to inscribe the Sundarbans in the list of heritage sites in danger by 2018 in case of the failure to meet the mission's recommendations. A reactive monitoring
G-20 energy, environment chiefs meet amid M-E tensions
G20 energy and environment ministers gathered in Japan on Saturday for talks likely to focus on energy security concerns following the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, as well as environmental issues.
J-K administration approves phase 2 of flood management plan
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has approved the second phase of a comprehensive plan for flood management work on the Jhelum river at a cost of over Rs 5,400 crore, an official spokesman said on Saturday. The State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik on Friday evening, accorded in-principle approval to the Comprehensive Plan for Flood Management Works on Jhelum-II at a cost of Rs 5411.54 crore, the spokesman said. He said the project is proposed to be implemented part-wise with Part A amounting to Rs 1,684.60 crore approved under Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) and Part B for which source of funding is to be identified. The project has been formulated to achieve short-term goal of mitigating the flood threat at Sangam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district. The SAC directed Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Departments to proceed with the implementation of Part A of ..
Bangladesh risks Sundarbans getting listed as World Heritage
The official advisory organisation on natural World Heritage has recommended putting the Sundarbans on a list of 'natural sites in danger' as Bangladesh has continued implementing a coal-fired power plant project near the forest.
Denmark's Andersen takes over as UN Environment head
Danish economist and environmentalist Inger Andersen on Saturday took up her new role as Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, promising to prioritise greater action on climate change, bio-diversity loss and pollution during her four-year tenure.
Close to $1bn approved for environment, climate action
Countries have approved programmes and projects worth almost $1 billion to tackle growing threats to the environment and to help some of the earth's most vulnerable people adapt to climate change at two consecutive Global Environment Facility (GEF) meetings in Washington this week, it was announced on Saturday.
PM writes personal letter to village pradhans on saving rainwater
Concerned about the water crisis in rural areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a personal letter to 'Gram Pradhans'(village chiefs) requesting them to conserve rainwater during the forthcoming monsoon.
Wild elephant tramples man to death
A 20-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Kathalia village in Dumka district on Friday, a forest official said. Robin Tudu went to a hilly area in search of his cow when the incident happened, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Saurabh Chandra said. Agitated villagers blocked the Dumka-Seuri road demanding compensation to the family of the deceased. The DFO said compensation could be given only after post-mortem examination of the body. He asked the villagers not to venture into the hilly area as the lone elephant is still there.
Feathers came before birds, finds study
A new study has discovered that feathers came into being around 100 million years before birds, thus changing our understanding of feathers themselves, their functions and their role in evolution.The key discovery came earlier in 2019 when feathers were reported in pterosaurs (an ancient reptile). If the pterosaurs really carried feathers, it means these structures arose deep in the evolutionary tree - much deeper than at the point when birds originated."The oldest bird is still Archaeopteryx first found in the Late Jurassic of southern Germany in 1861, although some species from China are a little older," said Professor Mike Benton, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Trends in Ecology & Evolution."Those fossils all show a diversity of feathers, down feathers over the body and long, vaned feathers on the wings. But, since 1994, paleontologists have been contending with the perturbing discovery, based on hundreds of amazing specimens from China, that many ...
Offshore casinos to stay, to be checked for pollution: Cabral
Goa Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral Friday ruled out shutting down offshore casinos mounted on vessels, but assured to conduct a study to find out if there is any water contamination by these ships which are parked in the Mandovi river. He said authorities will be asked to check the river water around the offshore casinos, a popular tourist attraction in the state, for any contamination. "It is not practical to shutdown the offshore casinos as they generate employment and also help ancillary industries, Cabral told reporters, reacting to the Congress demand to move these ships out of Mandovi. The minister, however, said he would ask the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to conduct an audit of water management by these half a dozen offshore casinos. He said a study would also be conducted on whether there is any contamination of water due to these vessels, anchored in Mandovi off Panaji. During the press conference, Cabral gave details of how the offshore ...
Integrate area's development with economic growth of people: Yogi
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday stressed upon the need of an all-inclusive development of an area, integrating it with the economic growth of the local people. Accordingly, Adityanath asked development authorities of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna expressway industrial areas to ensure the development of their respective areas while providing for employment opportunities to local youths in various projects by imparting requisite skills to them, if needed. The chief minister outlined his vision of development during a joint review meeting of the workings of New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA), Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA). It will not be proper to develop areas ignoring the aspiration of local youths, said Yogi, adding the development of areas should ensure an improved living standard of the local people. With the top brass of three development authorities attending .
Power generation affected in Gujarat due to cyclone 'Vayu'
Power generation from over a dozen plants of Gujarat State Electricity Company Ltd (GSECL) were shut for two days due to a drastic drop in demand amid the cyclonic storm 'Vayu', an official said Friday. These GSECL-operated plants, numbering 15, are located at Gandhinagar in North Gujarat, Wanakbori in Central Gujarat, Ukai in South Gujaratand Sikka near Jamnagar in the Saurshatra region, he said. The coal-fired plants were shutdown for generation on June 11 and 12 as electricity transmission and distribution were impacted due to the cyclone, which eventually moved away from the Gujarat coast, the official from GSECL told PTI. The disruption in transmission and distribution led to a sudden decline in demandfor power, leading to the temporary closure of these plants, he said. As against the average daily demand of 18,000 MW in the past few days due to heatwave conditions, June 11-12 saw requirement for about 11,000 MW when the cyclone was moving towards the state, he ...
Relief for Pondy fishermen's kin during fishing ban period
Health and Fisheries Minister Malladi Krishna Rao Friday launched the government's scheme to provide Rs 5,500 to each of the families of fishermen who have forgone income during the 61-day-long ban on fishing in the Union Territory. Rao told newsmen after kickstarting the scheme that each of the 19,290 fishermen families was being extended the relief at an expenditure of Rs 10.60 crore. The ban was in force on fishing operations from April 15 to June 14. Members elected from constituencies having fishing villages were present at the launch of the scheme.
P Christie becomes new Director of XLRI
XLRI - Xavier School of Management, one of Indias premier B-Schools, has appointed Fr. P Christie as its new Director, a XLRI press release said Friday. After the completion of his second term, Fr. E. Abraham handed over the reins to Fr. P. Christie as the new Director of the countrys leading management institute Thursday, it said. Fr. P. Christie has taken over the responsibilities as the new Director of XLRI with immediate effect. Fr. E. Abraham, has been the longest serving Director of XLRI. His total tenure as Director spanned for over 16 years across two terms. He himself is also an alumnus of XLRI. Prior to joining XLRI, Fr. Christie has been serving as the Director of Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai for 11 years. His association with LIBA goes back to 1999, where he started as Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences and later became the Dean before taking up the responsibility of the Director. Fr. Christie holds a MBA and Ph.D. in ...
Mismanagement by Haryana govt responsible for power crisis in state: Surjewala
Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala Friday sought a clarification from the Haryana government on the power situation, claiming that people were reeling under power cuts due to its apathetic attitude. "People of Haryana are suffering due to declared and undeclared electricity cuts and the BJP government is directly responsible for the crisis," the Kaithal MLA alleged in a statement here. Surjewala blamed the "mismanagement and maladministration" on the part of the government for the problem. "There is no power shortage in the state but the state government has created the problem by stopping six power plants in the state on one or the other reason," he added. Surjewala said only two power plants of 250 MW each were functional in Panipat while four others with a capacity of 110 MW each were shut "citing renovation". The other two power plants of 210 MW each were shut "citing no demand", the leader added. The Congress leader claimed that the power plants at Khedar village in .
TN paddy procurement has gone up to 17.50 lakh tons:Minister
The procurement of paddy from Tamil Nadu has gone up in the last five years as a result of increase in minimum support price (MSP) offered to the crop, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said Friday. Reviewing the performance of the Food Corporation of India in the southern region, Paswan said the MSP went up from Rs 15.10 per kg in 2016-17 to Rs 17.70 per kg during 2018-19, Paswan said. Procurement went up from 2.11 lakh tonnes in 2016-17 to 17.50 lakh tonnes in 2018-19. Tamil Nadu, he said, is having enough stocks for meeting the buffer and strategic reserves with 11.16 lakh tonnes of rice and 88,000 tonnes of wheat as on date. On the storage front too, Paswan said the Tamil Nadu region has seen an increase in capacity from 6.35 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 to 12.87 lakh tonnes in 2018-19. Damage to foodgrains in storage has been reduced to zero during the current year as a result of strict monitoring and improvement in scientific storage methods, he said in a ...
DERC notifies two metering frameworks for Delhi
In a big push for renewable energy in the national capital area, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has notified two frameworks for the city - Group Net Metering (GNM) and Virtual Net Metering (VNM) Framework.GNM shall be applicable for all consumers of the national capital territory while VNM shall be applicable for residential consumers, group housing societies, offices of Government and local authorities and renewable energy generators registered under Mukhya Mantri Kisaan Aay Badhotari Yojna.This move is set to benefit the deployment of renewable energy projects in the residential and agricultural sector benefiting lakhs of citizens and farmers.Consumers can, aggregate their demand and investment as residential welfare associations (RWAs) or Cooperative Group Housing Societies (CGHS) and avail GNM, while consumers can also collectively own solar power generating systems.Under the GNM, the surplus electricity exported into the grid through a net meter will be ...
Power regulator DERC notifies net metering framework paving way for rooftop, agri solar plants
Delhi's power regulator DERC has notified group and virtual net metering framework, paving way for installation of rooftop and agri-solar plants in residential areas and villages in the city. The net metering framework aimed at promoting solar and other forms of renewable energy was notified with approval of Power minister Satyendar Jain, a Delhi government statement said. Jain hailed the notified net metering framework as helpful in implementing the Delhi government's vision of sustainability and decentralisation and in-line with the government's political vision of 'Bijli Swaraj' (power self-reliance). Group net metering (GNM) will be applicable for all consumers of Delhi while virtual net metering (VNM) will involve residential consumers, government offices and solar energy policy for farmers, it said. "This will allow thousands of resident welfare associations(RWAs) and lakhs of individuals to take advantage of the Delhi government scheme in the solar energy sector with a ...