Page 484 - Environment

Cabinet okays plan to electrify 13,000 route km of rail tracks

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a proposal for electrification of the last leg of more than 13,000 route kilometres of railway tracks Wednesday, a statement from the ministry said. The remaining un-electrified broad gauge routes comprising 108 sections, covering 13,675 route kilometers (16,540 track kilometers) at a cost of Rs 12,134.5 crore, has been approved, it said. The electrification is likely to be completed by 2021-22. The major trunk routes on the railway network have already been electrified and are operational. "Considering the requirement for seamless operation of rail traffic across the network, it is necessary that the bottlenecks created by the need to change traction are done away with. "The proposed electrification, which is mainly for missing links and last mile connectivity, will increase the operational efficiency, enhance line capacity and improve the average speed of trains," the statement said. After ..

5-ft long rat snake rescued from NCERT campus in Delhi: Wildlife SOS

A five-foot-long rat snake was rescued from the campus of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) here, a wildlife conservation NGO said Wednesday. The Indian Rat Snake, commonly known as 'Dhaman', is a non-venomous species which is harmless for humans, but are often misidentified as cobras due to their resemblance to the highly venomous snakes. The snake is currently under observation and once deemed fit, it will be released back into its natural habitat, the Wildlife SOS said. The NGO said a two-member team was dispatched to carry out the rescue operation Tuesday afternoon after they were informed that a snake was spotted on a tree inside the NCERT campus. The team carefully moved the snake from the tree to a safe transport carrier, it said. "Very few snake species in Delhi are actually venomous and even these snakes will not attack until provoked or threatened. However, due to their resemblance to cobras, rat snakes are often misidentified as the highly ...

German consumer body to file Volkswagen class action suit over diesel tests

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen will face another class action lawsuit over its rigging of diesel emissions tests, this time at home when Germany introduces a new law in November.

This dam will be disastrous: Sindhi body to Pak

World Sindhi Congress (WSC) has condemned the Pakistan government's decision of building a dam on the River Indus.Expressing concern, the global association of the Sindhis said that the Diamer Bhasha Dam will adversely affect the ecology and geography of the region.The WSC said that Sindh and its indigenous people are already suffering from the shortage of agriculture water. Constructing a dam will aggravate their situation, depleting them of their already meagre resources."Unfortunately, since the inception of the country, every water, and energy project is planned and executed keeping Punjab's interest only. Pakistan has a long history of depriving lower riparian of their fair share of the water, bypassing local and international laws," they said in a statement.The statement further read that the constructions of mega-dams will imbalance the relationship between water, land and indigenous people by destroying the existing ecosystem, which has taken years to develop.Suggesting an ...

Britain outlines post-Brexit farm policy in bill

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will introduce legislation on Wednesday for agricultural policy after it leaves the European Union that will link support for farmers to the provision of public benefits such as tackling climate change or preserving beautiful landscapes.

China mooting rail link between Kolkata and Kunming: Envoy

Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwu said Wednesday his country was mooting a bullet train service between Kunming and Kolkata, traversing through Myanmar and Bangladesh. With joint efforts of India and China, a high-speed rail link could be established between the two cities, Zhanwu said at a conference here. "It will only take a few hours to reach Kolkata from Kunming if the rail link becomes a reality," he asserted. The envoy also said that Myanmar and Bangladesh would benefit from the project. "We may have a cluster of industries along the route. That increases the possibility of economic development of countries involved in the 2,800 km-long project," he maintained. The project had also found mention at the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) meet in Kunming in 2015, he said. The rail route was aimed at boosting trade flow in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor, Zhanwu said, adding that his country has been striving for the revival of Silk Route to .

WB govt seeks GRSE's aid to rebuild collapsed Majerhat bridge

IPO-bound Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Wednesday said its help has been sought by West Bengal government to build a bridge at Majerhat, after last month's collapse that killed one person. It has also been approached to build a bridge replacing a collapsed one at Siliguri and is in touch with authorities in flood-hit Kerala for building bridges, its chairman and managing director, Rear Adm (Retd) VK Saxena told reporters here. "We see orders by state governments and other civilian agencies to build bailey bridges as a major opportunity. West Bengal government has approached us to help them build a bridge at Majerhat in 10-15 days," he said. He elaborated that the plan is to build two bridges, one each catering to traffic in one direction and the GRSE is in talks with the government for building one quickly before the Durga Puja festivities. No contract has been signed yet and the price for the construction is yet to be negotiated, he said. This will be .

Six labourers die in explosion in petro-chemical factory

Six labourers died while two others were seriously injured in an explosion in a boiler of a petro-chemical factory here Wednesday, police said. According to the police, one labourer is still missing. The blast took place around 8 am when the boiler of the factory producing ethanol was being repaired. "There was a blast in the Mohit Petro-Chemical Factory located on Nagina Road. In the blast, labourers Balgovind, Ravi, Lokendra, Kamalveer, Vikrant and Chetram died. Two labourers were brought to a hospital in a serious condition. One labourer is said to be missing." Superintendent of Police Umesh Kumar Singh told PTI. UP Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar in Lucknow said, "The injured labourers are out of danger." "As per information gathered so far, the boiler of the factory was not functioning for the past few days. Today, while it was being repaired, there was a blast in the boiler while welding work was going on," the Superintendent of Police said. Singh said efforts are on to trace .

'NASA satellite to measure Earth's melting ice'

NASA is set to launch a satellite equipped with the most advanced laser instrument of its kind in to space, to provide critical observations of how the Earth's ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice are changing. Scheduled to launch on September 15, the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will measure the average annual elevation change of land ice covering Greenland and Antarctica, capturing 60,000 measurements every second. "The new observational technologies of ICESat-2 -- a top recommendation of the scientific community in NASA's first Earth science decadal survey -- will advance our knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea level rise," said Michael Freilich, from NASA's Science Mission Directorate in the US. ICESat-2 represents a major technological leap in our ability to measure changes in ice height, NASA said in a statement. Its Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) measures height by timing how long it takes ...

Analysis: Hengli's high-tech petroleum complex breathes down PetroChina's neck

DALIAN, China (Reuters) - On reclaimed land on the island of Changxin near the port of Dalian, workers are putting the finishing touches on a plant that is the future of China's refining and petrochemical industry.

NASA to launch satellite tracking Earth's melting ice on Saturday

NASA is set to launch its Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2 -- that will track Earth's melting poles and disappearing sea ice -- on Saturday.

US to miss Paris climate pact target by a third

The United States will fall short by a third on its commitment under the Paris climate treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released Wednesday in San Francisco. A crescendo of efforts at the sub-national level by states, cities and business to shrink the country's carbon footprint will not fully compensate for President Donald Trump's decision to scrap his predecessor's climate policies and promote the use of fossil fuels, it found. "The Obama target was always going to be a stretch," co-author Paul Bodnar, managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, told journalists. "This work shows definitively that states, cities and businesses have the power to bring the nation to the brink of that ambitious target through their own authorities." Financed by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the "Fulfilling America's Pledge" report kicks off the three-day Global Climate Action Summit, a gathering of several thousand governors, mayors, business leaders and

China slashes 2018/19 soybean import forecast as U.S. trade war crimps buying

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday slashed its forecast for 2018/19 soybean imports as farmer reduce their use of the bean in animal feed because of the Sino-U.S. trade conflict, leading the government to raise its supply deficit estimate.

Six killed in explosion in petro-chemical factory

At least six labourers died while two others were seriously injured in an explosion in a private petro-chemical factory here Wednesday morning, police said. According to the police, one labourer is still missing. The blast took place around 8 am when the boiler of the factory was being repaired. "There was a blast in the Mohit Petro-Chemical Factory located on Nagina Road. In the blast, labourers Balgovind, Ravi, Lokendra, Kamalveer, Vikrant and Chetram died. Two labourers were brought to a hospital in a serious condition. One labourer is said to be missing." Superintendent of Police Umesh Kumar Singh told PTI. "As per information gathered so far, the boiler of the factory was not functioning for the past few days. Today, while it was being repaired, there was a blast in the boiler while welding work was going on," he said. Singh said efforts are on to trace the owner of the factory.

Planet sending a clear message to act now: UN Environment's Eric Solheim (IANS Interview)

The planet is sending a clear message -- to act and that too within a short time-frame or lose the ability to turn things around, says United Nations Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim.

Hostage crisis of power utility employees ends

The three-day-long hostage crisis involving employees of the Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Ltd (BRBCL) and their family members in Bihar's Aurangabad has come to an end, officials said. The impasse was resolved during a meeting on Tuesday evening, where it was decided that BRBCL would supply power to villages till the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) provides electricity connection. "The deadlock has been resolved," Aurangabad District Magistrate Rahul Ranjan Mahiwal told PTI, but refused to elaborate on the issue. Representatives of Aurangabad district administration, BRBCL and the villagers who held around 150 of its employees and their family members hostage since Sunday, demanding restoration of power in their villages, attended the meeting. The 1,000-MW power plant located in Aurangabad is a joint venture between the NTPC and the railways. When contacted, Nabinagar Circle Officer Rakesh Kumar said, "An agreement has been reached between villagers and the BRBCL .

Airline fuel efficiency improves but lags industry goals: study

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Airline fuel efficiency on transatlantic flights has improved by one percent a year since 2014 as carriers buy modern planes, but the industry still lags its own climate goals, a study released on Wednesday said.

Punjab to supply pigs to Nagaland

Punjab will supply live pigs to the north-eastern state of Nagaland, a minister said on Tuesday.

Haryana CM slashes power tariff, opposition raises questions

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Tuesday announced a sharp reduction in electricity tariff, a decision ahead of the Lok Sabha election year that provoked a noisy exchange in the state assembly. "I am the chief minister of the state. I know what I can do, Khattar replied curtly to Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala later in the day when he challenged the CM's authority to fix power rates. The chief minister announced varying slabs of rebates for households consuming up to 500 units of electricity per month. Those who use up to 200 units will pay 2.50 per unit instead of Rs 4.69 from next month. Those consuming up to 500 units will pay Rs 4.68 per unit instead of Rs 5.55. The subsidy will cost the state government Rs 677 crore per year. Khattar called this a historic decision that would benefit 41.53 lakh domestic consumers. The chief minister said he has now fulfilled his promise to reduce power tariffs in the state. He also announced free electricity connections to ...

3-day hostage crisis of power utility employees ends

The 3-day-long hostage crisis of employees of the Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Ltd (BRBCL) and their family members ended Tuesday evening in Bihar's Aurangabad, officials said. The impasse was resolved during a meeting where it was decided that the BRBCL would supply power to the villages till the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) provides electricity connection to the villages. Representatives of Aurangabad district administration, BRBCL and the villagers who held around 150 of its employees and their family members hostage demanding restoration of power in their villages, attended the meeting. The 1,000-mw power plant located in Aurangabad is a joint venture between the NTPC and the railways. "The deadlock has been resolved," Aurangabad District Magistrate Rahul Ranjan Mahiwal told PTI but refused to elaborate on the issue. When contacted, Nabinagar Circle Officer Rakesh Kumar said, "An agreement has been reached between the villagers and the BRBCL management ...