Page 50 - Environment
Army cleanliness drive gives facelift to Jammu outskirts
Nagrota, which houses the headquarters of White Knight Corps, has been given a facelift in a month-long cleanliness drive "shramdan" by the Indian Army. The 16 Corps conducted the drive to clear the areas used for illegal dumping of garbage. Nagrota also houses the ancient temple complex of Kol Kondi, prestigious institutes such as IIT, IIM and IIFT and the biggest township of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. "White Knight Corps took the noble initiative of conducting a month-long cleanliness drive for a healthy and clean environment. Areas where illegal disposal of garbage was rampant were identified and later cleared," a senior Army officer told reporters. The Army's JCO and soldiers also constructed drains and levelled the ground to channelise the flow of rainwater to avoid accumulation, he added.
Telangana govt to buy 2000 mw additional power from NTPC
The Telangana government has sought 2000 MW additional power from NTPC to meet the growing power demand in the state, in view of the upcoming Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, a top TRANSCO official said Thursday. "We have requested the NTPC to give us 2000 mw of their unallocated power. We need it from July to November of this year. Once the Kaleshwaram project becomes operational, our power requirements will go up by 2000 mw additionally," TS Transco CMD, D Prabhakar Rao told PTI. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had Wednesday announced his decision to inaugurate the Rs 80,000 crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation Scheme on June 21. The mega project, a brainchild of KCR, is aimed at making water available for irrigation, industries and drinking to 70 per cent of the districts in the state thereby contributing to the overall development of Telangana, officials said. Telangana has total 16,300 MW installed capacity of conventional and non-conventional ...
Adani Australia receives final environmental approval for Carmichael mine
Adani Australia on Thursday received the final environmental approval needed to begin work on the Carmichael mine in Central Queensland, Australia.
Bahrain to ban plastic bags in July
Bahrain will start phasing out the use of plastic bags in July, the media reported.
Cyclone Vayu: Fishermen in Gujarat claim heavy losses, seek govt assistance
As very strong winds hit the region and the sea turned rough due to cyclone Vayu, the fishermen in Veraval coastal area of the district have claimed that at least 40 to 45 boats were damaged due to the impact of cyclone.Anwar Patel president of Veraval Fishermen Community said, "heavy winds and waves as of now have damaged 40 to 45 boats at Jaleshwar area of Veraval."Outlining the gravity of situation, he asserted that after 1982 he had witnessed such huge waves for the first time.Another fisherman, Gafur Bhai Patel demanded assistance from government and said, "These boats are our livelihood and government must help us during such loss is not easy to bear for us," he said.As of Thursday afternoon, Ministry of Earth Science had stated that very Severe Cyclonic Storm VAYU is very likely to move north-northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards skirting the Saurashtra coast affecting Gir Somnath, Diu, Junagarh, Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka with wind speed 135-145 kmph gusting
26 illegal stone-crushing plants closed in Kathua
Authorities have closed down 26 stone-crushing plants that were found to be illegally-operated in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said. District Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Kundal gave the order to close the plants located near Keerian-Gandial village as they did not have any no objection certificate and license. Kunday said the district administration would ensure that no illegal mining was done in the Ravi basin and Ujh river.
Work on Chandrawal Phase II water treatment plant to start in June-end: DJB
The work on the Chandrawal Phase II water treatment plant (WTP), the first to be set up in the national capital after a gap of 13 years, will begin this month, according to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The plant will augment the DJB's water supply by 106 million gallons of water per day. "We did not set up the plant earlier because we did not have water for it. It's pointless to have a plant when you do not have raw water. Now, water is available with us. The work is likely to start on June 24 or 25," DJB Vice-Chairman Dinesh Mohaniya said. The new WTP will be constructed at a cost of Rs 598 crores in three years. Currently, the utility is supplying 900 MGD of drinking water to the city on an average against the demand for 1,120 MGD. The peak production is around 935 MGD. There are a total of 11 water treatment plants in the national capital, a DJB official said. The BJP and the Congress have been trying to corner the AAP government in Delhi over the alleged water shortage. On Tuesday, .
Peacock hunter arrested in TN
A peacock hunter, named Vijaykumar, was arrested by forest department officials in Velayuthampatti near Melur in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district on Wednesday.A gun was also confiscated from him.Forest officials also recovered carcasses of seven peacocks when they were chasing the hunter.The carcasses of seven peacocks were recovered from a bag, which Vijaykumar was carrying on a motorcycle.
New diagrams explain how humans affect water cycle
Representations of the Earth's water cycle used in textbooks throughout the world need to be updated, say scientists who have drawn up a new set of diagrams to include effects of human interference. Leaving humans out of the picture contributes to a basic lack of awareness of how humans relate to water on Earth -- and a false sense of security about future availability of this essential and scarce resource, according to the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The team from the University of Birmingham in the UK, Brigham Young University and Michigan State University in the US has drawn up a new set of diagrams to promote better understanding of how our water cycle works in the 21st century. These new diagrams show human interference in nearly all parts of the cycle. In a sample of more than 450 water cycle diagrams in textbooks, scientific literature and online, 85 per cent showed no human interaction at all with the water cycle, and only two per cent of the images made .
Congestion didn't kill climbers on Everest: Nepal
Nepal's Department of Tourism (DoT) on Thursday claimed that high altitude sickness and other health reasons caused deaths on Mount Everest this spring season, not congestion.
Parrot world's endangered heavyweight faces new threat
An unprecedented disease outbreak has pushed the critically endangered kakapo, the world's fattest parrot, closer to extinction, New Zealand scientists said Thursday. One of the last kakapo populations on remote Codfish Island has been hit with a fungal respiratory disease called aspergillosis, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said. It said 36 of the parrots were receiving treatment and seven had died, including two adults -- a huge loss for a species which has less than 150 fully grown birds left. "Aspergillosis is having a devastating impact on kakapo," the DOC said in a statement Thursday. The setback comes just weeks after scientists hailed a bumper breeding season for the flightless, nocturnal bird, which was once thought to be extinct. An intense, decades-long conservation effort has seen kakapo numbers slowly rise from a low of about 50 in 1990, and earlier this year there was hope the species was turning the corner. The breeding programme resulted in 249 eggs laid, ...
In jolt to Pawar, govt stops dam water diversion to Baramati
The Maharashtra government has decided to stop diversion of water from a dam to Pune's Baramati area, the bastion of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and move the supply to some of the state's scarcity-hit areas, an official said Thursday. The decision of the BJP-led state government is being seen in political circles as a jolt to Pawar, who won several times from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, which is now held by his daughter Supriya Sule. Till now, some water from the Nira Deoghar dam in Pune was being diverted to Baramati and Indapur (a part of Baramati Lok Sabha constituency). During the recent Lok Sabha poll campaign, BJP leader Ranjit Naik-Nimbalkar raised the issue of distribution of "additional" water to Baramati. Naik-Nimbalkar, who switched over from the Congress and won the Lok Sabha election from Madha seat in Solapur district on BJP's ticket, claimed that Baramati and Indapur were outside the Nira Deoghar dam's "command area". Due to diversion of water to ...
Daily rituals remain unhindered at Somnath Temple amid cyclone alert
Daily rituals and prayers have remained unhindered at Gujarat's renowned Somnath Temple, located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, amid the alert issued in view of Cyclone Vayu.Gujarat Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama on Thursday endorsed the decision of the Shiva temple authorities to keep the shrine open despite the alert."Temples cannot be closed. We have requested tourists not to visit, but 'aarti' being performed for decades cannot be stopped. This is a natural phenomenon, only nature can stop it, who are we to stop nature," he told reporters on Thursday.However, despite the warning, many devotees visited the beach temple this morning. The shrine in Gir Somnath district was hit by strong winds while the sea remained very rough.According to the India Meteorological Department, the cyclone changed its trajectory overnight and moved further into the sea, bringing much-needed relief to the people in the coastal areas of Gujarat, where it was earlier predicted to make landfall on ...
US accuses North Korea of breaching UN fuel cap
The United States on Wednesday accused North Korea of violating a UN-imposed ceiling on fuel imports by conducting dozens of ship-to-ship transfers at sea that broke international sanctions.CNN reported that Washington in a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea also urged more than a dozen other countries to immediately halt fuel shipments to North Korea.The accusations came a day after President Donald Trump said that he received another 'beautiful letter' from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the first since the February summit in Hanoi ended abruptly between the two leaders without finalising a deal.An administration official described the letter as a "birthday greeting." Trump's birthday is on Friday and the official says Kim wished the President good health.The letter also rekindled new hopes on the possibility of future talks between Trump and Kim after the US President last month declared North Korea was "not ready to ...
Trishuli village has no electricity 71 years after India's Independence
The villagers of Trishuli in Balrampur district complained of being forced to live in darkness for the last seven decades despite the availability of electricity poles in the region.There are around 100 houses in Trishuli village. Locals have written to the collector demanding electricity supply."Since the time I was born I have not seen electricity in this village. Leaders come here at the time of elections. They are not willing to do anything for the development here," said a 70-year-old local.Narrating her ordeal Sukbi, a local told ANI, "Without electricity, at night they feel threatened by the scorpions, snakes and other insects."Children in the village are forced to study in the light of lanterns. "Kids are forced to study in the light of lanterns. For that also, they face the issue as there is not enough supply of kerosene in the region. They then burn woods for the light," Rameshwar Pal told ANI.Earlier, locals in a village in Balrampur district had complained of acute water ..
To avoid traffic snarls one-way traffic system implemented in Manali
To combat the problem of hectic traffic jams in Manali, the local administration on Wednesday decided to enforce one-way traffic system in the town from today."A new traffic plan has been prepared, there will be one-way vehicular movement. This planning will be permanent, implemented for the entire year so that locals and tourists get habituated," said SDM Manali, Raman Gharsangi.The move comes after severe traffic jams lasting up to five hours were reported from different parts of the region. The situation has been more troublesome towards Rohtang Pass, as tourists throng the area to enjoy in the snow.
Parched US Southwest gets reprieve as snowmelt fills rivers
A welcome surge of melting snow is pouring out of the Rocky Mountains and into the drought-stricken rivers of the southwestern US. Enough snow fell last winter to delay a water shortage in the region, but the runoff is threatening to push some streams over their banks. Much of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming had above-average snowfall. As it melts, an abundance of water is rushing into the Colorado River, the Rio Grande and other waterways. It's a big change after a desperately dry 2018. Federal officials said last winter there was a better than 50% chance of a shortage in the Colorado River in 2020. That could have meant less water for Arizona, which has low-priority rights. Officials now say the shortage might be put off until after 2021.
Adani wins final approval to begin work on coal mine project in Australia
Indian energy giant Adani on Thursday cleared the last regulatory hurdle to commence the work on its controversial carmichael coal mine project in Australia with the Queensland state authorities approving its groundwater management plan. The final and last approval for the Adani Group's long-delayed billion dollar mega coal mine project came weeks after a surprise election win of Australia's pro-coal ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. On May 31, Adani won the first approval from the Queensland state government to protect the endangered black-throated finch bird population as part of its crucial environmental plan at the site of its mine project. The mining company is now expected to start construction at the site within days. The State Department of Environment and Science said in a statement that it has approved the most recent version of the plan, which Adani submitted just a day ago. "Adani submitted its most recent version of the plan, addressing the ...
2 Indian research teams win AWS Cloud grants
Two teams from India made it to 21 winning projects that will be awarded $1.5 million worth of cloud services, grants and technical support through the Earth Observation Cloud Credits Programme, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced.
India to land near moon's south pole on Sept 6
Embarking on its second voyage to the moon on July 15, an Indian spacecraft and rover would land near the lunar south pole by September 6 or 7, a top official said on Wednesday.