Page 513 - Environment
Rain, thunderstorm lash parts of Delhi
Heavy rains hit several parts of the National Capital in the wee hours of Tuesday, bringing respite from the scorching heat.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier predicted heavy rain at isolated places over Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, SubHimalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Konkan, Goa, Telangana and Coastal Karnataka on Tuesday.Heavy rain accompanied with lightening was reported around Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Teen Murti Bhavan and R.K. Puram among other areas.
Nurturing peace, stability in Indian Ocean priority for India's foreign policy: Swaraj
Emphasising the economic importance of the Indian Ocean, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said nurturing a climate of peace and stability in this region is an important priority for India's foreign policy. Swaraj's comments assume significance in the wake of China increasing its footprints in the Indian Ocean, which figures prominently in President Xi Jinping's ambitious 'One Belt, One Road' initiative to build a new Silk Route. India is opposed to the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative as it includes the China Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC) which transverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. China has stepped up activities in the Indian Ocean where it is building ports and other infrastructure in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. "There can be no doubt that the Indian Ocean is at the centre of the emerging Age of Asia'...This region is host to the world's busiest waterways and three-quarters of that traffic is headed for destinations beyond our region," Swaraj said ...
Maha sends medicines, drinking water to flood-affected Kerala
The Maharashtra government today handed over 86 types of medicines including those used to treat diabetes and blood pressure, apart from drinking water, to flood-affected Kerala, state Health Minister Deepak Sawant said. He added that a team of experts would also be going to the southern state to spray pesticides and insect deterrents. "The fogging experts will try to ensure that there is no post-flood outbreak of diseases. We are also working on setting up makeshift primary health centres in Kerala," he said. "We had set up teams to prepare a stock of medicines and materials such as water purification powder and drinking water containers that was required. Today, we delivered the entire package to the Kerala Medical Corporation in Thiruvananthapuram," Sawant said. K K Shailaja Teacher, Keralas Minister of Health and Social Justice met Sawant last week and had shared the requirements of her state following the floods.
Poor to severe air quality observed in Delhi for a total of 398 days in last three years: CPCB
Poor to severe air quality was observed in the national capital for a total of 398 days out of 703 days, considered over a period of three years, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The CPCB also listed out the approach it was adopting for the upcoming winter season. Some of the measures include field inspections by the CPCB, decentralised management of air quality -- a micro level action plan, linking micro level action plan of various agencies, implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan in Delhi and NCR towns, a CPCB official told reporters. The measures also included formation of expert committees and panels and follow-up with agencies for directions, the official said. In 2018 (till August 26), poor to severe air quality was observed for 120 days, while in 2017 it was 125 days and in 2016 it was 153. The total number of days considered for the analysis were 227 in 2016 and 238 each in 2017 and 2018, the official added. Moreover, reasons at local level were ...
Forest guards kill rhino in 'self-defence' in Assam's Kaziranga
An adult male rhino was tonight gunned down by forest guards in "self-defence" at the Kaziranga National Park in upper Assam, a senior Forest Department official said. An eight-member patrolling party of forest guards at Agratoli Range was attacked by the rhino at around 7 pm, Kaziranga Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Rohini Ballab Saikia said. The guards first fired in the air to chase away the pachyderm, but when the rhino did not relent, "they were forced to fire at the animal in self-defence", killing it on the spot, Saikia said, adding that it is a rare instance. Senior Park and Forest officials have rushed to the site, he said.
JNPT, Railways & states to sign MoU for Rs 8,574 cr rail project
The government today said that JNPT, Railways and state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra will enter into a pact tomorrow for implementing Rs 8,574.79 crore Indore- Manmad Railway Line Project. "An MoU will be signed tomorrow between JNPT- Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Railways, Govt of Maharashtra and Govt of Madhya Pradesh for implementation of 362 km Indore- Manmad New Railway Line Project," the shipping ministry said in a statement. The project will reduce the distance from Mumbai, Pune to key central India locations by 171 km. "The project passes through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor nodes Igatpuri, Nashik and Sinnar; Pune and Khed; and Dhule and Nardana," it said. The project is estimated to result in cumulative net economic benefits of Rs 15,000 crore in the first 10 years of operations. Its logistic advantages include providing a shorter route for passenger as well as the freight traffic originating from, terminating or crossing through the region. The .
NGT slaps Rs 46 L fine on ex-DGP of Uttarakhand for illegally cutting 25 trees
The National Green Tribunal today directed a former DGP of Uttarakhand to pay Rs 46,14,960 as damages for illegally cutting 25 trees in the Mussoorie Forest Division. A bench of Justice R S Rathore said that it is "crystal clear" that the officer, B S Sidhu, had purchased the land in question despite knowing the fact that it was the land of reserve forest. The green panel noted that Sidhu, the then DGP of Uttarakhand, had wished to have a house in forest and he selected the land falling in the reserve forest area for this purpose. "It is relevant to mention here that violation of environmental laws is an infringement of civil rights. Therefore, a wrongdoer has to compensate for the injury. This distinguishes it from a commission of a crime which is a breach of public right and/or duty and the same is punishable in the interest of society. An action in civil wrong is initiated by the person injured whereas proceedings on commission of a crime are taken up by the state... "It has been ..
Original bench of NGT to rehear issue related to Chardham highway project: SC
The Supreme Court today asked the NGT chairman to accord "one clear day" to an original bench, which had heard petitions dealing with environmental clearance issues related to Chardham highway project providing all-weather connectivity to four holy towns of Uttarakhand, to dispose of the matter. Advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for petitioner NGO 'Citizens for Green Doon', said that the issue cropped up when a bench headed by new NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel recently said that it will rehear the matter in entirety. An apex court bench of Justices R F Nariman and Indu Malhotra said today that since the issue appears to be a complex one and has been heard over several days, the re-hearing by National Green Tribunal (NGT) will only be done on some final aspects. It said, this being the case, "we request the Chairman to grant at least one clear day to the same Tribunal to finally dispose of the matters before it". Parikh said that since after a number of hearings by a ...
Mock drill conducted in Kalpakkan N-units
The Department of Atomic Energy at Kalpakkam today conducted its annual emergency exercise to check the preparedness of officials according to the guidelines laid down by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The DAE has various units functioning at Kalpakkam like the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), the under construction Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, BARC facilities and the Fast reactor Fuel Cycle facility. The exercise is conducted every year as a part of the Emergency Preparedness plan, a release said. More than 10,000 personnel took part in the exercise of which 6,500 were 'evacuated' in buses and remaining by their own vehicles. The 'evacuation' was completed in 150 minutes, the release said. The drill witnessed various activities including sheltering of site personnel, administration of chocolates (in place of tablets) to personnel as a protective action, evacuation of non-essential personnel out of the site, it
Blueair starts campaign on air pollution in schools
As drastic rise in the air pollution level has become a major concern with children leading to multiple health issue across all age groups, Blueair Champions, an air purification solutions, started a campaign across schools to spread the basic awareness on clean air breathing.
Gadkari to sign MoU with six states: Ministry
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will on August 28 sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with six states for the construction of Lakhwar multi-purpose project in the upper Yamuna basin, Water Resources Ministry said on Monday.
Centre, six states to ink an MoU for Lakhwar multi-purpose project tomorrow
The Centre and six states of North India will sign a memorandum of understanding tomorrow for construction of Lakhwar multi-purpose project in the Upper Yamuna basin in Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Water Resources said today. Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari will sign an MoU with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, Trivendra Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh's Jai Ram Thakur in Delhi for the project worth Rs 3,966.51 crore. The Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204-metre-high concrete dam across the Yamuna near Lohari village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 million cubic metre (MCM). This storage will provide irrigation to 33,780 hectares land and availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in the six basin states. The project, which is to be executed by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam ...
Locals protest against Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maha
Locals opposing the construction of Jaitapur nuclear power plant in coastal Konkan today held a protest march, opposing land acquisition for the project. Villagers, including women in large numbers, gathered at Madban village in Ratnagiri district and shouted slogans against the proposed power plant. "The power plant was proposed 12 years ago but our opposition to it still remains. We want the government to cancel the project," said Satyajeet Chavan, chairman of Janhakka Seva Samiti, which is leading the agitation against land acquisition for the project. Almost 80 per cent of the land acquisition of the total 930 hectares owned by 2,500 persons, has been completed. However, some farmers and villagers are opposing the project, citing forced rehabilitation and loss of livelihood. "The use of nuclear fuel, its impact on global warming and potential threat to fishermen, are issues not being properly addressed by the government," he said. The proposed nuclear power plant will
Eliminate single-use plastic items, officials told
The Delhi government has directed all its departments to abolish the use of single-use plastic items like water bottles, plastic cups, plates, jugs, folders, banners and glasses in offices and at official events.
Monitor urges more openness at Volkswagen in wake of scandal
The official overseeing Volkswagen's court settlements in its diesel scandal says he is pushing back against the company's withholding of information under confidentiality rules. Larry Thompson said he has disagreed with Volkswagen's use of attorney-client privilege to delete information from documents submitted to him. Thompson, a former deputy US attorney general, made the remarks in the first of three annual reports on Volkswagen's compliance with its federal court settlement over its emissions cheating. In 2015 Volkswagen admitted rigging cars to evade diesel emissions tests aimed at restricting harmful nitrogen oxides and has set aside USD 27.4 billion to cover fines, recalls and other costs. The dpa news agency reported today that Thompson said it is too early to say how much progress Volkswagen had made in implementing safeguards against a repeat.
Online registration of crops in Haryana
In Haryana, now the details of farmers' crops will be registered online through 'Meri Fasal-Mera Byora' portal launched by the state government. Farmers will be able to register the details of their kharif crops on this portal from September 15, 2018, an official spokesperson said. The online registration of crops will be done for free by village level entrepreneurs (VLE) of general Seva Kendras located in villages. He said the state government has launched state level Fasal e-Soochna portal to provide information related to sown kharif crops and to provide the eligible farmers benefit of various government schemes.
NBBC revises contract guidelines; asks contractors to plant more trees on project sites
State-owned construction firm NBCC today said it has increased the number of trees that contractors need to plant at the project site or within 20km radius after the award of contracts. The company recently had faced criticism for large-scale felling of trees in housing projects in south Delhi. NBCC has issued revised General Conditions of Contract (GCC) making it mandatory for contractors to plant five trees for each Rs 1 crore value for projects having estimated cost up to Rs 100 crore, the company said in a statement. For projects valuing between Rs 100-300 crore, the contractors will now have to plant and maintain 500 trees plus 2 trees for each Rs 1 crore value above Rs 100 crore. Similarly, for projects valued at over Rs 300 crore, the contractors will have to plant and maintain 1,000 trees plus 1 tree for each Rs 1 crore value above Rs 300 crore. Earlier, the contractors were required to plant 50 trees for projects valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 100 crore, 100 trees for ...
Water level at 120.04 feet
With steady inflow, the water level in the Mettur dam this morning stood at 120.04 feet this morning against the maximum of 120 feet. The discharge from the Kabini and KRS reservoir in Karnataka increased from 26,000 cusecs yesterday to 28,000 cusecs this morning, official sources said. Accordingly, outflow from Mettur dam also increased from 25,800 yesterday to 27,800 cusecs this afternoon, they said.
India's first Biofuel flight takes off
India's first Biofuel-powered flight was successfully tested for domestic operations on Monday between Dehradun and New Delhi. The Bio-fuel is expected to reduce India's dependency on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and help bring down air fares.The SpiceJet aircraft was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat, and was received in New Delhi by Union Ministers of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu, and Science and Technology, Harsh Vardhan. Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet Ajay Singh, and senior government and aviation officials were also present at the occasion."On August 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the new Biofuel policy and today we have successfully implemented it in the aviation sector. This is a great achievement for clean energy, Biofuel energy and aviation industry. The Petroleum Ministry will soon ...
Heavy rains lash Chhattisgarh; major rivers in spate
Incessant rains continued to lash various parts of Chhattisgarh since Saturday night, sending major rivers into spate and disrupting normal life. Districts falling under the Raipur and Durg divisions were the most affected by the downpour, which led to snapping of road links at various places due to overflowing of rivers and rivulets, officials said today. Normal life was disrupted in towns like Raipur, Durg, Dhamtari, Gariaband and Mahasmund, where low-lying areas were inundated and road traffic was thrown out of gear due to water logging. Meanwhile, an alert has been sounded in districts through which the Mahanadi river flows due to release of large quantity of waterinto it from the Ravishankar Sagar dam (also called the Gangrel dam) following heavy rains. Due to the downpour, the water level in the dam, one of the largest in the state located in Dhamtari district, has reached up to 95 per cent of its total capacity, said a senior official. Therefore, 1 lakh cusec of ..
