Page 517 - Environment
Bastar taking a new shape leaving behind Maoism : Raman Singh
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Friday said that the Bastar region is taking a new shape with fruits of development reaching new heights, leaving behind its popular perception of Maoism.
74 % decrease in losses due to man-animal conflict : Apeejay
Apeejay Tea today said losses due to man-animal conflict in its four gardens in Assam has come down by 74 per cent in a three-year special project implemented with wildlife group WWF-India. The special project was carried out at Borjuli, Sessa, Ghoirallie and Dhulapadung tea estates owned by Apeejay Tea, whose losses came down to Rs 7 lakh a year from about Rs 29 lakh annually three years ago due to human elephant conflict, Apeejay Surrendra Group Director (CSR) Renu Kakkar said at a press meet here. "Now after three years, financial loss in Apeejay Tea estates as a result of human elephant conflict has reduced by 74 per cent," she said. More than 50 per cent of the deaths caused by human elephant conflict were recorded from the company's tea gardens in Sonitpur. In the three years of the project there was only one death due to attacks by wild elephants in the four gardens owned by the compaNy and there was injury to none. Earlier there used to be three to four cases ...
Kolkata has least overall emission levels among megacities :
Kolkata has the least overall emission levels and energy used from urban commute among the six megacities in the country though it generates the third highest number of trips by vehicles due to its large population, according to a CSE report released here today. Its position on the two counts is better than the other five megacities - Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai as well as the metropolitan cities like Pune and Ahmedabad, the report 'The Urban Commute and How it contributes to Pollution and Energy Consumption' said today. Delhi fared the worst in terms of overall toxic emissions, heat-trapping emission and energy consumption despite having better parametres than most other megacities due to highest vehicle stock among the six megacities, large population and long trip distances. This negates per trip emissions improvement derived from its CNG programme amd limited public transport strategy. The Centre for Science and Environment report said Bhopal has .
India's first inter state connected wind power project commissioned, says MNRE
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy today said 126 MW wind power capacity, part of country's first inter state transmission system (ISTS) auction, is commissioned in Bhuj. State-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) had conducted India's first auction of wind power projects in February 2017 in which tariff of Rs 3.46 was discovered, which was much lower than feed in tariffs in vogue those days, a ministry statement said. This was a 1,000 MW bid for projects to be connected on ISTS (inter-state transmission system) wherein power generated from one state (renewable resource rich state) could be transmitted to other renewable deficient states. Mytrah, Inox, Ostro, Green Infa and Adani were winners under this auction. As a part of this bid, Ostro Kutch Wind Private Ltd was issued letter of award on April 5, 2017 for a capacity of 250 MW, with commissioning period of 18 months. A part capacity of 126 MW, located in Bhuj (Gujarat) was commissioned by Ostro on August 24, ...
Demand to fix price on land to be acquired for MRPL
Land owners whose property has been marked for acquisition for the Phase IV expansion project of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited have urged the Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner to fix rates for land which had been notified at the earliest. Ina statement here, the land owners under the banner of 'Samyuktha Nagarika Hitharakshana Samiti' said the DC had not yet initiated the price fixation procedures as per rules even 20 months after the preliminary gazette notification was issued for acquiring their lands. Samiti president Ronald Fernandes Permude and General Secretary Deepak Permude said 836.9369 acres of private owners had been covered under final Section 28(4) notification of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development (KIAD) Act, 1966. The land extended to Kuthethur, Permude and Tenkayekkaru villages located in Bajpe and Suratkal regions, they said. More than 70 per cent of land owners had given their written consent for land acquisition, ...
Kerala flood: SC orders to maintain water level at 139 ft at Mullaperiyar dam
As a blame-game erupted between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the devastating floods, the Supreme Court today directed the panel on the Mullaperiyar Dam to ensure that the water level at the reservoir is maintained at 139.99 feet till August 31. The Mullaperiyar Dam, built in 1895 on Periyar River in Idukki District of Kerala, came under the spotlight with the Kerala government accusing Tamil Nadu, which maintains the reservoir, of sudden release of water leading to unprecedented deluge in the state. Kerala's claim was today rebuffed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who said the neighbouring state had suffered the deluge due to the discharge of excess water from 80 reservoirs spurred by heavy rains there. The Tamil Nadu government also filed an affidavit in the apex court today charging Kerala with an "obstructionist attitude and non-cooperation" and alleging that it was helping illegal encroachments. However, the top court steered clear of the dispute between Tamil Nadu and ..
Rs 990-cr loss due to rains in Himachal, 35 lives lost
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday said that the state had suffered a loss of Rs 990.54 crore due to monsoon rains that also claimed 35 lives.
Rice sowing lags behind at 356.83 lakh hectare so far this season
Area sown to rice, the main kharif crop, is still lagging behind at 356.83 lakh hectare (ha) so far in the current season, as per the agriculture ministry data released today. Rice acreage stood at 359.52 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Sowing of kharif crops begin with the onset of southwest monsoon from July and harvesting from October. As per the ministry's data, lag in the area of most kharif crops has narrowed down and sowing of all kharif crops was covered in 995.62 lakh hectare as on today when compared with 1,008.57 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Besides rice, area sown to pulses mainly urad, arhar and moong was marginally down at 130.83 lakh hectare so far this season as against 133.87 lakh hectare in the same period last season. Coarse cereals acreage remained lower at 166.52 lakh hectare so far this season as against 174.34 lakh hectare a year ago. Cotton area too was lower at 116.85 as against 119.67 lakh hectare in the said period. However, area under oilseeds .
Maersk sends first container ship through Arctic route
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Maersk vessel loaded with Russian fish and South Korean electronics will next week become the first container ship to navigate an Arctic sea route that Russia hopes will become a new shipping highway.
How did bird-like meat-eating dinosaurs lost their fingers?
An international team of paleontologists have found how a meat-eating species of dinosaurs, that share many similarities with birds, lost their fingers.
City's waste dumped near village; farmers, residents fume
The local administration is facing protests by farmers owing allegiance to the BKU, and also most residents of Mathana village, in the district for dumping domestic garbage from the city near the village on the Kurkshetra-Haridwar road. BKU activists led by Guni Prakash and majority of residents of Mathana are up in arms against the administration for dumping of the municipal waste at the village by the Thanesar Municipal Council. Mathana village is situated on Kurukshetra-Yamunanagar road, 6 KM from Pipli towards Yamunanagar. It is one of the biggest villages of Kurukshetra district. The village has facilities like a Kendriya Vidyalaya, a 66 KV power sub-station, a community health centre and a government senior secondary school. Prakash today said the villagers would not allow dumping of municipal waste close to the village. Parveen, a villager, said that foul smell emanates from the dump and is adversely affecting the health of the villagers. BKU activists and many residents of the
Leopard rescued after it falls into well in Maha's Ahmednagar
An adult male leopard was rescued today from a 70-foot deep well in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district after forest officials lowered a cage using ropes. An official said the leopard was part of a pair moving around in the Mandavdara area of Ahmednagar's Sangamner tehsil, about 70 kilometres from here, possibly looking for prey. He said that the 5-year-old leopard fell into the well late last night and was spotted when the well's owner, Kundalik Dadabhau Dudhavade, came in the morning today to switch on the water pump. "He informed the local police patil, Gorakshya Nehe, who called forest department personnel. As part of the rescue procedure, we lowered a cage into the well using ropes and the leopard entered it. The cage was then pulled up," the official said. The leopard has been taken to the forest department's office in Sangamner and the process of releasing it after complying with laid down procedures was underway, the official said.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve sets up helpline to curb man-animal conflicts
For the villagers residing in the sensitive areas of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR), help is now just a call away. The forest department in collaboration with the Reliance Foundation has launched a toll-free number 1926 to curtail man-animal conflicts. The helpline will work in tandem with the 'Dial 100' emergency service. "The department has introduced a toll-free number 1926 through which villagers can inform the forest authorities about the movement of a big cat in their neighbourhood for prompt assistance," field director, DTR Ramesh Pandey told PTI today. "The service has been initiated from Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary where several leopard attacks were reported during past seven months," he added. As a pilot project, the service would cover three divisions of DTR including Dudhwa, Katarniaghat and the buffer zone of north Kheri forest areas, Pandey said further. A database of villagers living in the periphery of sensitive forest areas was being prepared and their phone ...
Railway recruitment test for Kerala candidates to be held on Sept 4
The railways' computer-based exams which were postponed in Kerala in the wake of the devastating floods have been rescheduled for September 4, a senior official said today. Around 30,000 candidates who had been unable to appear in the exam will now be able to do so, the railways has said. Soon after incessant rains threatened to leave lakhs of people homeless in the state, the railways had announced the postponement of the exams in centres in Kerala which began on August 9 and continued in phases on August 13, 14, 17, 20 and 21. The next phases are to be held on August 29, 30 and 31. Nearly 48 lakh candidates will appear for the exam for 66,502 vacancies of assistant loco-pilots and technicians. While outstation candidates were allotted centres elsewhere, exams for the candidates from the state were postponed. At least 223 people have lost their lives since August 8 in Kerala's worst floods in decades, which also forced lakhs of people into shelter camps.
PTC India begins supply of 126 MW wind power to UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha
Power trading solutions provider PTC India today announced that it has operationalised the flow or supply of 126 MW inter-state wind power commissioned capacity to different beneficiary states under government scheme. The power will flow (be supplied) to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha, a PTC India statement said. According to statement, the commissioned capacities are part of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Wind Scheme (Tranche-I) of 1050 MW in Jun 2016. "PTC India has executed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with developers and power sale agreements (PSAs) with seven state utilities," it added. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had conducted the competitive bidding and e-reverse auction for selection of wind project developers in Feb 2017 and the tariff discovered was Rs 3.46/kWh setting a new benchmark for the wind sector at that time, it said. Deepak Amitabh, CMD, PTC India said, This as an important milestone in the journey of renewable energy in ...
Kerala announces special lottery to raise funds
To raise additional funds towards the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) following the floods in Kerala, Finance Minister Thomas Issac on Friday announced a special lottery.
Footprints of the elusive Yeti unravelled, discussed at Bhutan Lit Fest
The mystery surrounding the Himalayan Yeti attracts scores of explorers ever year to the snow-capped mountains, but few return with answers. Daniel C. Taylor, who has spent about six decades of his life in search of the elusive creature, shared his findings, insights and rare photographs at the Mountain Echoes literary festival here on Friday.
New regulator dam to come up at Mukkombu: CM
Steps were being taken on a war-footing to repair nine shutters of Mukkombu regulator dam which collapsed due to the "pressure of flood waters", Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said today. Speaking to reporters after inspecting the over a century-old dam across Coleroon river here, he also a new regulator would be constructed at a cost of Rs 325 crore. Nine of the 45 shutters of Mukkombu regulator dam collapsed on August 22 due to continuous heavy flow of water in the preceding days. Mukkombu is the spot where Coleroon river branches off from Cauvery, forming Srirangam island and the dam is used to regulate flow of water in the rivers. "Pressure of flood waters had caused the collapse. A large amount of water was released for the first eight days in the first phase... and then for 12 days in the second phase," the chief minister said. He was referring to the recent release of water up to two lakh cusecs from the Mettur dam, which surplussed twice in the last ...
TN rejects Kerala contention that Mullaperiyar dam water release caused floods
The Tamil Nadu government today rejected Kerala's contention that sudden water released by Tamil Nadu from the Mullaperiyar dam was one of the reasons for the deluge in the neighbouring state. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said Kerala suffered the deluge due to the discharge of excess water from 80 reservoirs spurred by heavy rains in that state. The Kerala government had yesterday filed an affidavit in the Supreme court, saying the sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam by the Tamil Nadu government was one of the reasons for the unprecedented flooding in the state. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, however, told reporters today, "It was not just one part of Kerala that was affected due to the floods. It happened because of the discharge of excess water from 80 dams. The (Kerala) government is deliberately giving false information so as to not store water at 152 ft." The dam is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu. Further, water release was not sudden but done only ...
Kerala giving wrong information on Mullaperiyar: Palaniswami
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Friday said Kerala government was giving "wrong information" about Mullaperiyar dam so that the water storage level does not go up to 152 feet.
