Page 580 - Environment

DRI seize 14 tonnes of red sanders logs

Fourteen tonnes of red sanders logs were recently seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence here, officials said today. Following a tip-off, DRI sleuths found the red sanders logs concealed in a consignment declared as 'granite slabs' for Dubai, an official release said. In a similar case, in June, officials seized 12.41 tonnes of red sanders concealed inside a consignment declared as wheat flour, for Malaysia. DRI officials in the last three months have seized about 56 tonnes of red sanders logs valued at approximately Rs 22 crore, the release said. In the last financial year, the agency seized 187.6 tonnes of red sanders logs. Smugglers take the risk of exporting the protected wood due to high demand in China for its medicinal purposes and also for making furniture, musical instruments and handicrafts.

Akhilesh calls Modi's 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' a 'joke'

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav today termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Kisan Kalyan Rally' in Shahjahanpur a joke (uphaas) and wondered when the country's farmers would get the benefits of the recently-announced MSP for crops. In a statement issued here, Yadav said, "The Kisan Kalyan Rally held in Shahjahanpur was uphaas (joke). The farmers are unable to get their input cost realised. The need of the hour is to tell the farmers when they will get the new MSP for their crops, and through which medium." He also said that the Prime Minister did not reveal the date by when the promise of doubling the income of the farmers would be fulfilled. "The farmers were hopeful that their problems would be resolved. But after repeated assurances and speeches, their patience has run out. They are only waiting for 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Yadav said. The SP chief further said that agriculture and farmers were never the priority of the BJP. " Farmers have only been a vote bank for ...

Manipur entrepreneur goes green with eco-friendly products

Ngangom Monalisa Chanu, a 29-year-old young woman entrepreneur from Manipur, has brought in a new era of eco-friendly products in the form of environment-friendly pen and pencils.Her business venture, Chanu Associates under the brand name 'Envi', deals with products ranging from environmental pens with seeds, pencils, direct filling ball pens, paper bags, non-woven bags etc.Concern about the harm caused to the environment and her love for nature compelled her to come up with the innovative idea of making pens and pencils with biodegradable products.Chanu said " I got some knowledge about the environment like bag making, tree plantation etc when I was studying in Punjab University. Pen can be made without any machinery and without any investment, so I got inspired and prepared a handmade pen. Though I had set up a firm in 2007, all the processes like GST compliance etc finished in March this year. After that, I started producing eco-friendly products.""We are producing these manually. .

People in Ngaland turn to apiculture

Owing to the rich natural resources of the State, the people of Nagaland are turning to honey beekeeping as an alternate way of livelihood.Some people have even made honey beekeeping as their full-fledged occupation by setting up their farm in an open space.According to Zazve Rhisu, a honey bee keeper, people of this landlocked State are striving to make apiculture farming an avenue of employment generation for unemployed youths both in urban and rural areas.He added that given the natural resources in the State honey bee keeping has a good chance to overtake the conventional farming in few years. He further said that for a decade Nagaland Bee Keeping and Honey Mission made people aware of the benefits, alternate income sources and scientific methods of bee keeping for sustainable livelihood.Apiculture has a long tradition in the state as people practiced the crude methods by using bamboo boxes, log hives and underground etc. but now the modern methods like improved wooden boxes for .

Orient Cements to increase production capacity

Orient Cements today expressed interest to expand the capacity of its factory in Telangana, the State government said here today. Managing director and chief executive officer of the company Deepak Khetrapal thanked the IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao for the initiatives taken by the government to introduce investor-friendly policies, an official press release said. Khetrapal discussed with the Minister about the expansion of the factory in Devapur, said the release. He told the Minister that Orient Cement Ltd was planning to invest Rs 2,000 crores to increase its production from 3.05 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes per annum, it said. The Minister assured the company of all support, it added. Orient Cements has got the first stage clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to expand the existing cement plant, the release said, adding that the final clearance from the Ministry was awaited. The plant was likely to provide direct ...

Agriculture students to help with sowing data compilation

The Maharashtra Government has accepted the recommendation of the Agriculture Price Commission that it should ensure that accurate data about sowing in the state is collected. The exercise is expected to help in forecasting the harvest correctly. Pasha Patel, who heads the commission, told PTI that the government has agreed with its recommendation, and issued a notification in this regard. Students of agriculture colleges will be roped in for collection and compilation of information about the crops sowed through field visits. "The data compilation will be complete by August 15. This will help the government in deciding, the procurement prices of crops and the number of godowns that would be needed, etc," he said. Students will assist revenue and agriculture department officials in the collection of data, he said.

Rajnath Singh chairs 67th plenary meeting

Union Minister Rajnath Singh recently made a visit to Shillong and chaired the 67th plenary meeting on north east council (NEC), held in the premises of State Convention Centre, Shillong.Meghalaya Home Minister James K Sangma accorded a warm welcome to the Home Minister on his arrival.The meeting was attended by the union minister of development of a northeast region, governors, Chief Minister of the eight Northeastern states and discussed on various development projects concerning northeast states such as livelihood programmes, management of water resources, afforestation and road connectivity.Addressing the meeting he said our government feels that through the potential of Northeast, the socio-economic development of the country can be improved. The government is making efforts to fulfil the wish of the people of bringing peace and prosperity to the region.Further, he added Northeast can play a vital role in fulfilling the firm conviction of doubling farmers income by 2022. There ...

Students exhibit solar-powered boat in Dal Lake

A group of engineering students have made an eco-friendly solar-powered motor-boat and demonstrated it in Dal Lake here today. The two-seater boat with a load capacity of 150 kg were developed by the 12 students -- all Kashmiri -- who are from a private college in Chandigarh. It was launched by Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Syed Abid Rasheed Shah. "Once charged, the boat can run up to two hours and it simultaneously gets recharged through solar energy," one of the students, Danish Shafi, told reporters. He said the idea behind the design was to minimise human fatigue and make effective usage of renewable energy sources. The boat can be recharged through electricity as well. Assuring the students of support from the administration for future endeavours, the deputy commissioner said such a project could bring a revolution. The government will also look for implementing the idea of solar-powered boats inside Dal lake to reduce pollution, he added.

Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa assures white farmers their land is safe

President Emmerson Mnangagwa today assured Zimbabwe's white farmers that their land will not be taken, calling on them to work together with the government ahead of landmark elections on July 30. Under his predecessor Robert Mugabe, white farmers were evicted in favour of landless black people from 2000 by a controversial policy that wrecked agriculture and triggered an economic collapse. But less than two weeks to go before Zimbabwe's first elections since Mugabe's ouster, Mnangagwa moved to quash any fears the practice would be repeated. "This issue of new (land) invasions is a thing of the past. The rule of law must now apply," Mnangagwa told a group of about 200 white and Asian people gathered in the capital Harare, adding that the "animal farm mentality," was a thing of the past. "I am saying we should cease to talk about who owns the farm in terms of colour. It is criminal talking about that. A farmer, black farmer, a white farmer is a Zimbabwean farmer." Mnangagwa said his ...

Reliance Power net rises 3% to Rs 237.33 cr in Apr-Jun quarter

Reliance Power today posted about three per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 237.33 crore in the quarter ended on June 30, 2018. The company had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 230.85 crore in the quarter ended on June 30, 2017, a BSE filing said. According to the filing, total income of the company declined to Rs 2,370.55 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 2,752.32 crore a year ago. The company said that its 3,960 MW Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Madhya Pradesh operated at PLF (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) of 98.2 per cent, the highest ever quarterly station PLF achieved since commercial operation date (COD). It also said that Sasan project's PLF continues to be the highest among all 1,000 MW plus thermal plants in the country for two consecutive quarters. Its 1,200 MW Rosa power plant in Uttar Pradesh operated at PLF of 63 per cent while the 600 MW Butibori power plant in Maharashtra operated at PLF of 45 per ...

Water level in Mettur dam nearing full capacity

The water-level in Mettur Dam in nearby Salem district is inching closer to full capacity of 120 feet, with the level touching 115 feet this morning, official sources said. The inflow was 64,595 cusecs, resulting in increase in the level to 114.63 feet from 112 feet yesterday, they said, adding that the storage-level stood at 85.16 TMC. The discharge from the dam, which was opened on June 19, was about 20,000 cusecs. This would be increased in stages in another four or five days to reach the tail-end of Nagapattinam, thereby benefiting irrigation, the sources said.

Chinese steel output cuts to vary from mill to mill next winter - official

BEIJING (Reuters) - Production cuts in China's mammoth steel sector will vary from mill to mill next autumn and winter, said an environmental ministry official, as the country shifts away from a 'one size fits all' approach to fighting pollution.

NASA yet to hear from storm-hit Mars Opportunity rover

NASA is yet to make contact with its Mars Opportunity rover ever since a massive storm started on the Red Planet in June.

Human influence detected in changing seasons: Study

Scientists have shown that human influences significantly impact the size of the seasonal cycle of temperature in the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the US applied a so-called "fingerprint" technique. Fingerprinting seeks to separate human and natural influences on climate. It relies on patterns of climate change - typically patterns that are averaged over years or decades. However, in the new research published in the journal Science, the team studied seasonal behaviour, and found that human-caused warming has significantly affected the seasonal temperature cycle. The researchers focused on the troposphere, which extends from the surface to roughly 16 kilometers in the atmosphere at the tropics and 13 kilometers at the poles. They considered changes over time in the size of the seasonal cycle of tropospheric temperature at different locations on the Earth's surface. This pattern provides information on temperature .

Escaped lion injures 3 in Malawi

A lion suspected to have escaped from Zambia's South Luangwa National Park has injured at least three people and killed six cattle in Malawi's border district of Chitipa, officials said.

750 kg processed sea cucumber seized off TN coast, 3 held

Processed sea cucumber weighing about 750 kg and worth around Rs 80 lakh, meant to be smuggled to Sri Lanka was seized today off Mandapam coast and three persons arrested in this connection, Marine police said. A patrolling team found the sea cucumber stuffed in sacks in a country boat anchored in the sea and arrested the trio, they said. Sea cucumbers are classified as endangered species and their harvest is banned under the Wildlife Protection Act. These are in great demand in South-East Asian countries.

Shipwrecked Sri Lankan fishermen rescued

Two Sri Lankan fishermen shipwrecked for 48 hours were rescued by a Chinese vessel near the Colombo Port, media reported.

Goa minister says banning import of fish is solution to

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane today said a permanent ban on import of fish could be a solution to the fear of formalin contamination. Rane, who also holds the Food and Drugs Administration portfolio in the Manohar Parrikar-led cabinet, was speaking to media. The only way to avoid formalin-laced fish from coming to Goa markets was to ban the import of seafood from outside the state, he said. "We should also ban export of fish from Goa, so that we have enough supplies for local markets," he said. The ongoing Monsoon session of the State Legislative Assembly has been stalled for the last two days as Congress MLAs are demanding a discussion through adjournment motion on the issue of formalin being found in fish imported from neighbouring states. It is suspected that suppliers use formalin, a toxic chemical used in mortuaries, to preserve fish for longer. The state government has banned the import of fish till the month-end. "Some strong decisions are required in the ...

Jharkhand govt will pay crop insurance premium of farmers: CM

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said the state government will pay the premium for crop insurance of farmers. The state government will also give seeds of pulses and oilseeds for alternative farming on subsidy, an official release said here. Under the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme, the state government will bear the amount of premium for the share of farmers, so that more and more farmers can get benefit in dry condition, Das said while reviewing the low rainfall in the state. The Agriculture Department will collect the daily data of rain and sowing and a review meeting will be held on August 1, he said. Das said the state government is worried about the low rainfall and is monitoring the situation. The state government is with the farmers and in constant touch with the Central government, he said. It was informed in the meeting that normal rains have occurred in six districts of the state. In other districts, the rains have been less than normal, ...

SC slams Centre for non-use of Rs 77,000 cr environment funds

Expressing concern over non-utilisation of Rs 77,000 crore meant for environment protection, the Supreme Court on Friday asked Centre as to how it intends to spend the "huge amount."