Page 578 - Environment
Many CPEC projects in Pak hit due to financial crisis: Report
The USD 50-billion worth China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is understood to have hit a roadblock with many of its projects getting stuck due to a financial crisis at the country's National Highway Authority, according to a media report. The CPEC is the flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and includes a maze of roads and port projects. Once completed, it aims to connect China's largest province Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar port in Balochistan, allowing Beijing access to the Arabian Sea. The contractors have stopped work on several projects of the CPEC after their cheques worth over Rs five billion bounced a couple of days ago, Dawn reported. The report said this is the first time that CPEC projects faced such a situation due to financial reasons. Affected projects include Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan, Western Route of CPEC and all sections of Karachi-Lahore Motorway (KLM), it said. "Not only the CPEC projects but local industries related to ...
Punjab govt releases Rs 760 cr to clear arrears
Punjab government today released Rs 760 crore to clear outstanding payments against free power subsidy for farmers, besides other payments towards agriculture and allied activities. All the pending VAT/GST bills have also been cleared with the release of Rs 17 crore, said an official spokesperson. According to the spokesperson, the finance department released Rs 400 crore towards payment of free power subsidy arrears. The state government also released Rs seven crore for externally aided projects of NABARD, said spokesman. The finance department also cleared dues of pensioners, and GPF advance of employees up to May 31, amounting to Rs 230 crore. A sum of Rs 26 crore has been released for various development projects under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), and Rs 18 crore for minor works up to July 20. All bills for medical reimbursement, petrol, oil and lubricants, water and electricity and office expenses, amounting to Rs 60 crore, have also been cleared, spokesperson said.
Crop yields falling due to climate change impact: Govt study
A scientific study commissioned by the government to assess the impact of climate change has projected reduction in crop yields for irrigated maize, wheat and rain-fed rice, Rajya Sabha was informed today. The study has also found that malaria has spread to new areas and its transmission may increase in duration, the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan said during Question Hour. Replying to a query during the Question Hour, he said the study has assessed the impact of climate change on four key sectors of the economy -- agriculture, water, natural ecosystems and biodiversity and health in four climate- sensitive regions -- the Himalayan region, Western Ghats, coastal region and the Northeast. "The study projects a variable rate of agricultural production including decrease in yield in some crops and change in composition of forests and net primary productivity. "Extreme precipitation events are likely to increase in all the regions, water ...
Ideas to decorate your home with house plants (Lead, correcting dateline)
Decorating with plants is one of the easiest ways to make a home feel more relaxed. Everyone can create a lush indoor garden as it can change the whole atmosphere with elements of nature.
Kerala HC imposes complete ban on plastic in Sabarimala
The Kerala High Court today imposed a complete ban on plastic in Sabarimala, in order to ensure an eco-friendly pilgrimage to the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa. Two years ago, the High Court had banned sale of any material, including water, in plastic bottles or packets at any place connected to the famous hill shrine situated in the dense forest. In its order, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice P R Ramachandra Menon and Devan Ramachandran said only bio-degradable products prescribed by the temple 'tantri' (chief priest) can be brought to the temple by pilgrims in their 'irumudikkettu' (sacred bundle). Considering a special report prepared by the Sabarimala special commissioner in this regard, the High Court directed the authorities to enforce the plastic ban in the temple and its premises from the coming season. The court directed the authorities to provide information about its order to pilgrims from all other states. The order was issued in wake of reports ..
Telangana announces 9,200 vacancies for Panchayat Raj secretaries
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has announced 9,200 vacancies for Panchayat Raj secretaries.The Chief Minister instructed the concerned officials to commence the recruitment process within a week and complete it within two months.He also conveyed the message that if the secretaries work hard Telangana could be a role model for the nation."If only they work with commitment there would be sea change within two to three years Telangana villages will become role models in the country and will be known all over the country that role model villages exist only in Telangana," said the Chief Minister.He added that the state government is implementing various development programs for every village as they believe that "the development of the country lies in the development of villages"."The Government has taken up and implementing a variety of programmes to make every village as a development centre and as a model to other states. We believe that the development of the country ...
Large craters best bet for life on Titan: Study
Large craters on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, are the prime locations to search for the building blocks of life, according to a study. Using imagery and data from the Cassini spacecraft and Huygens probe, scientists led by Catherine Neish from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, zeroed on the best places to look for biological molecules on the surface of Titan. The surface of Titan has abundant carbon-rich molecules (hydrocarbons) that have been shown to form amino acids, the building blocks of proteins needed for life, when exposed to liquid water in laboratory simulations. However, Titan is much too cold for liquid water to be present on the surface. Radar measurements from Cassini, which orbited Saturn for 13 years, were able to peer through Titan's optically thick atmosphere, revealing the terrain of this enigmatic world. Cassini's radar instrument unveiled lakes, dunes, mountains, river valleys, and not many craters, indicating that there are processes happening that ...
'Global trade of old, used vehicles causing toxic pollution'
In a new study, New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Monday lifted the lid on the dark underbelly of a large-scale global trade of old and used vehicles from high income to low and middle income countries of Africa and South Asia
Ideas to decorate your home with house plants
Decorating with plants is one of the easiest ways to make a home feel more relaxed. Everyone can create a lush indoor garden as it can change the whole atmosphere with elements of nature.
Record heat broils Japan, prompting warnings
Japanese officials issued new warnings today as a deadly heatwave blankets the country, producing record high temperatures in Tokyo just two years before the city hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics. Officials said last week that the heatwave had killed at least 15 people and forced the hospitalisation of over 12,000 others in the first two weeks of July. But the death toll may be more than double that, with Kyodo News agency reporting 11 people died on Saturday alone across Japan. An updated official toll is expected later this week. The heatwave has toppled temperature records across the country, with Kumagaya in Saitama outside Tokyo setting a new nationwide record today with temperatures hitting 41.1 Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit). And in western Tokyo's Ome, temperatures hit 40.3 degrees Celsius, the first time temperatures over 40 have been recorded in Tokyo's metro area. Records fell at 13 other observation stations across the country, with more than a dozen cities and towns ...
There cannot be complete ban on protests at Jantar Mantar: SC
The Supreme Court today said there cannot be a "complete ban" on holding protests and sit-ins at places like Jantar Mantar and Boat Club here and asked the Centre to frame guidelines for according sanctions to such events. A bench comprising justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said there was a need to strike a balance between conflicting rights such as the right to protest and the right of citizens to live peacefully. "There cannot be a complete ban on holding protests at places like Jantar Mantar and Boat Club (near India Gate)," the bench said, while directing the Centre to frame guidelines on the matter. The verdict came on a batch of petitions, including one filed by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, challenging the decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ban all kinds of protests at the said places. The NGT had, on October 5 last year, banned all protests and dharnas around the historic Jantar Mantar here, which has been a hotspot of many agitations over the past ...
In Mozambique, a joint fight against climate change and forest loss
From a distance, the Gile National Reserve in northern Mozambique is a vast, dense ocean of green that reaches as far as the horizon. Bigger than Luxembourg, the 2,800-square-kilometre (1,080-square-mile) forest seems to be reassuringly preserved, its hardwood treasure placed by Mozambique under legal protection. Close up though, the forest bears deep scars from bouts of rampant logging and relentless population growth -- a testimony to the real-life challenge of how to shield this jewel. Logs line the path leading into the reserve, while further along, trucks piled high with wood shavings, seized by the authorities, stand idle, rusting in the weeds. "Illegal logging was a huge problem between 2014 and 2016," said reserve manager Jose Mohamede Dias. "The other challenge is the bushfires used in hunting and agriculture which feed local people." Such blazes are the main reason for the forest's shrinkage in recent years, he explained. Local people burn down swathes of forest to open up ..
Warning issued in coastal Andhra Pradesh
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for five days in the coastal Andhra Pradesh.IMD officer Srinivas in Vizag told ANI that the fishermen, along coastal Andhra Pradesh, have been advised not to venture out into the sea."Due to the strong winds and strong monsoon currents, the condition of the sea is likely to be rough to very rough during next 24 hours. We have advised the fishermen along coastal Andhra Pradesh not to venture out into the sea," the IMD officer said.The MeT Department predicted moderate rainfall and strong winds to strike coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh due to a depression over Odisha and Jharkhand.Strong winds coming from a westerly direction, coupled with monsoon currents, are expected to make the sea rough.
NASA to launch car-size spacecraft to study Sun
US space agency NASA is preparing to launch a probe in August to study the Sun closer than any human-made object ever has, revealing multiple mysteries behind the star.
Nun blocks Ker minister's car to complain about jumbo menace
A Catholic nun has blocked the car of Kerala Forest Minister K Raju to complain about elephant menace suffered by her convent in forest-fringe Sholayar in northern Palakkad district. A video of sister Rincy blocking the Minister's car passing through the water-logged road in front of the convent recently has gone viral on the social media today. She waited till the minister's car arrived and moved forward, blocking the vehicle. The sister told the minister, who was on his way to attend a programme nearby, that she had a grievance. The nun also requested the minister to get down there and see the destruction caused by the wild jumbos which intruded into the convent campus. "Sir, we are finding it very difficult to live here due to frequent wild elephant menace. You should find us some solution," she said. Though the minister did not get out of the car, he said he would look into her complaint. The organisers of the function, which the minister was scheduled to attend, also
KKNPP's second unit resumes operations after maintenance
The second unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant (KKNPP) today resumed operations after being shut for maintenance for nearly five months. The generation touched 250 MW in the first stage and would be increased step by step, a plant official said. The unit remained shut for 152 days to facilitate routine maintenance work, he said. Unit-2, a 1000 MWe VVER (water-cooled water-moderated reactor), belongs to the Pressurised Water Reactor category. It began commercial operations on March 31 last year. The KKNPP, an Indo-Russian joint venture, is located at Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.
Drought fear haunts Bihar, again
The fear of drought looms large over Bihar once again as it has received 48 per cent deficit rain this monsoon so far but the state is ready to tackle the situation, a state official said on Sunday.
TL CM asks officials to use MNREGA funds for tree plantation
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today instructed the government officials to make use of MGNREGA funds for 'Telanganaku Harithaharam' (tree plantation) programme. At a review meeting on 'Telanganaku Harithaharam' here, Rao said an action plan has to be evolved, aiming at getting the work done through agriculture labour for this programme, since at every stage, it is ultimately the human labour that counts mainly. "There are a total of 12,751 Village Panchayats in the state. Each village should be considered as a unit and in every unit nurseries are to be developed." "Keeping ready the saplings in the nurseries, distributing them, digging the pits, plantation and watering them, all involves human labour. There is a possibility to utilise the labour of agriculture labour," he said according to an official release "MGNREGA stipulates to take up employment generation programmes. Hence making use of MGNREGA funds for Telanganaku Harithaharam programme is ...
Traffic crawls after heavy rain lashes Delhi
Heavy rain lashed the Delhi-NCR region for the second consecutive day causing traffic congestion. The Delhi Traffic Police via their Twitter handle kept updating commuters about the waterlogged areas to be averted to avoid inconvenience to Delhiites. Waterlogging was reported in Dwarka sector-12 at K M Chowk towards Ashirwad Chowk. Situation was no different at Nangloi bus stand in Najafgarh. Commuters faced difficulties in Bahadurgarh bus stand as well. Waterlogging was also reported at Mundka red light, Mahipalpur Chowk towards Gurugram near Rangpuri and Mahipalpur towards Vasantkunj.
Himachal to conserve biodiversity with Japan funds
Himachal Pradesh will manage and improve its forest ecosystems under a Rs 800-crore project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), official sources said on Sunday.
