Page 583 - Environment
Delhi govt sanctions funds for roads and drains in unauthorised colonies
The Delhi government has sanctioned funds for initiation of pending development works, including construction of roads and drains, in unauthorised colonies in the city. Work will be undertaken on a war footing and the expenditure to be involved will be between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200 crore, a government statement said. "Good news for those living in hellish conditions in unauthorized colonies. Delhi government has approved and sanctioned budget for construction of road and drains in all pending colonies (barring ASI/forest areas). Work will start soon. This will provide them dignity and better living conditions (sic)," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted today. According to the latest data provided by the Urban Development department, there are 1,797 unauthorised colonies in Delhi and developmental works will immediately be taken up in all of them except for those on ASI or forest land. Two agencies the Irrigation & Flood Control and the Delhi State Industrial and ...
Bodies of 8 of 19 missing fishermen recovered from Bay of Bengal
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has recovered the bodies of eight of the 19 fishermen, who went missing on Monday after their trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal, a top ICG official said here today. "The bodies have been handed over to the fishermen's associations for identification," ICG Inspector General (North East region) K S Sheoran said. Six bodies were recovered today, while two were found yesterday, he added. The bodies were found from an area in the sea, about 35 nautical miles from the Dalhousie island, and a Dornier aircraft and Coast Guard ship "Sujay" were continuing with the search for the remaining missing fishermen, Sheoran said. A hovercraft was also maintaining vigil close to the coast, he added. The fishermen had ventured into the sea from Frazerganj in South 24 Parganas district. Fishing trawler FB Joykishan had capsized amid an extremely rough sea condition and inclement weather on Monday, following which the search-and-rescue operation was launched by the Coast ..
'Not satisfactory,' says Kerala all-party delegation after meeting PM
An all-party delegation from Kerala, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today over issues related to the state's development was "not satisfactory". The delegation met the prime minister in the Parliament complex and submitted a memorandum raising various issues including reiterating the demand for a rail coach factory, enhancing allocation of food grains for the state, and a relief package in view of the damage caused by the ongoing monsoon there. "We feel that the response with regard to the matters concerning Kerala was not satisfactory," Vijayan told reporters here. State Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was also part of the team, expressed disappointment and said that the delegation failed to get any favourable response from the prime minister. "Until reaching here, our hopes for a coach factory at Palakkad was alive. But now it was clear the Centre has no such plans. We explained the need for such a project to ...
DRI seizes 10 kgs of elephant tusks in West Bengal, 2 held
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two persons and seized six pieces of ivory collectively weighing about 10 kgs from their possession in West Bengal, an official statement issued today said. The duo was intercepted near Tenzing Norgey bus stand in Siliguri and six pieces of ivory collectively weighing 9.9 kgs were recovered from them last night, it said. "Preliminary analysis of the seized tusk indicates that the elephants have been poached very recently. Two persons have been nabbed," the DRI said. It said interrogation of the two persons has revealed that the ivory was smuggled from Nepal through Panitanki border. Sections 48 and 49 of the Wild Life Protection (WPA) Act, 1972 prohibits trade or commerce of wild animals or animal articles or trophies. Further, illegal import of wild life which is in violation of the Wild Life Protection Act automatically becomes a violation of the Customs Act. This is the third seizure of elephant tusks effected by the DRI ...
Hardly anything done to clean Ganga, situation extraordinarily bad: NGT
Voicing dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Uttarakhand government to clean the Ganga, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) today said the situation was extraordinarily bad and hardly anything effective has been done to clean the river. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice A K Goel said despite claims by authorities, the work done on the ground for Ganga rejuvenation was not adequate and regular monitoring was required to improve the situation. "Hardly anything effective has been done. Have you gone and seen the area? I have gone, and there are constructions. It is a difficult situation, but I cannot accept that anything has been done. I cannot. The situation is extraordinarily bad...," the NGT chairperson observed. The green panel ordered a survey to seek views of the common people about what they feel on ground about the pollution in the Ganga and said the feedback could be given through e-mail to authorities concerned. "It is the most prestigious river in the country, ...
Railways-pvt cement firm's pact to recycle 3000 tons of
The Indian Railways' Carriage and Wagon Works here has signed a pact to recycle around 3,000 tonnes of non-hazardous "incinerable" scrap generated every year from its workshop. An agreement for a period of 10 years was signed today with a private cement manufacturing company which will use the waste for co-processing, a Southern Railway release said. Located at Perambur here, the Carriage and Wagon Works undertakes periodic overhauling of coaches and wagons and generates waste such as rexin, cushion, coir and thermocol. "As high as 3,000 metric tonnes of scrap is generated per annum during overhauling process. This disposal management gives a major relief to the workshop against fire threat, pollution and unnecessary space occupation," the release said.
Arcadia Biosciences and Shriram Bioseed reach milestone in developing extended shelf life tomatoes
Bioseed has field tested Arcadia's ESL technology in multiple tomato hybrid backgrounds in multiple locations and seasons. Significant and consistent improvements in field yield and fruit quality, such as firmness, shelf life and color development, were observed. These new hybrids are in the pre-commercial, wide area field testing stage with anticipated launch in 2019.
Tripura power plant snag causes supply cut to Bangladesh
The 726-MW gas-based power plant in Tripura is facing technical hiccups causing less supply to neighbouring Bangladesh, an official said here on Thursday.
Don't allow culling of crocodiles in Andamans and Nicobar islands: Animal body
Allowing culling of saltwater crocodiles may set a "dangerous" precedent, an animal protection body today said amid reports that the Andaman and Nicobar islands administration has sought temporary removal of the 'salties' from the list of endangered species, which could potentially lead to its culling. According to reports, due to growing number of crocodile attacks at the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the administration has petitioned the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to temporarily de-notify saltwater crocodiles (salties) from (endangered list of species) schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act. Expressing its serious concern over the move, World Animal Protection (WAP) said that the government should look into regulating and monitoring tourist behaviour. "World Animal Protection would like to emphasise that culling is not a solution and the government should look into regulating and monitoring tourist behaviour so that visitors to areas in the proximity of crocodile habitat behave
Government Promotes Development Of Solar Energy
The Government has set a target of installing 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 in the country. A target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022 has been set, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
Not appropriate to say none of the Ganga projects have made any headway: Satyapal Singh
It is not appropriate to say that none of the Ganga projects have seen any progress in the past several decades, Union minister Satyapal Singh told the Lok Sabha today, stating that a network of 2,050 km sewer lines under the Namami Gange project has been set up, besides installing sewage treatment plants. "It is not a fact that none of the clean Ganga projects have been able to get any headway in the past several decades. In fact, sewage treatment capacity of approximately 1,684 million litres per day (MLD) has been created through interception and diversion (I&D) and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) projects since 1985 in Ganga Action Plan (GAP-I), GAP-II, National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), Namami Ganga and other schemes in the towns along Ganga," the minister of state for Ganga Rejuvenation said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. In case of sewer network, "out of 4,812 km of sanctioned sewer network, approximately 2,050 km sewer lines have been laid till .
Rainfall forecast for next 24 hours :
Rainfall forecast for next 24 hours : East : Many places in Gangetic West Bengal, a few places in Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam & Meghalaya, Bihar. North : Many places in Gangetic West Bengal, a few places in Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam & Meghalaya, Bihar. Central : Most places in east Madhya Pradesh, many places in west Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, a few places in Vidarbha. Peninsula : Most places in Saurashtra & Kutch, Konkan & Goa, coastal Karnataka, Kerala, many places in Gujarat Region, south interior Karnataka, a few places in Madhya Maharashtra, north interior Karnataka, isolated places in Marathwada, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema. Tamil Nadu. Islands : Most places in Lakshadweep, many places in Andaman & Nicobar.
Asia Rice: India rates slip on weak demand, rupee; Vietnam grapples with ample supply
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice export prices in India slid to a 15-month low this week as the rupee remained weak and demand was sluggish as buyers held off purchases on hopes of deeper price declines, while Vietnam rates fell further on mounting supplies.
Peak power deficit in April-June at 0.7 pc: Power Min
Peak power deficit during April-June, 2018-19 was 0.7 per cent while overall electricity deficit stood at 0.6 per cent during the quarter, Parliament was informed today. As much as 170.76GW electricity was supplied during peak hours against the demand of 171.97 GW during the quarter, resulting in a deficit of 0.7 per cent, Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Overall, 323.41 GW electricity was supplied against the demand of 325.42 GW during the quarter, which translated into a deficit of 0.6 per cent, as per the provisional estimates of Power Ministry. In 2017-18, the peak power deficit was 2 per cent while overall electricity deficit was 0.7 per cent across the country. Last year, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in load generation balancing report had projected that India would become a power surplus nation. "All India power supply position indicates that the country is likely to have a peak surplus of 6.8 per cent and energy (electricity) surplus of 8.8
'Gaj Mahotsav' to raise awareness for conservation of Asian elephant
A festival of 101 life-sized elephant art installations will celebrate the grandeur of the Asian elephant while trying to raise awareness for conservation efforts to protect the national heritage animal. Organised by wildlife conservation NGO, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the first edition of 'Gaj Mahotsav' will be held from August 12 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) here. Apart from 101 life sized elephant art pieces representing as many elephant corridors of India, the four-day event will also see dance and music performances by artists such as Mallika Sarabhai and Astad Deboo, films and talks by filmmakers Mike Pandey and Krishnendu Bose, an exhibition of elephant-themed art and photographs curated by Ina Puri and Alka Pande. In addition, there will be various workshops like Bulbul Sharma's story telling for children, shadow puppet workshop by Dadi Pudumjee and a cartooning workshop by
Six pieces of ivory seized in West Bengal, two held
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two persons and seized six pieces of ivory weighing over 9 kg near a bus stand in Siliguri, officials said on Thursday.
Frog sacrifice in rain-starved Bihar
Blind faith and superstition have taken over parts of Bihar as people sacrifice thousands of frogs to appease rain Gods in the state that has seen a 42 per cent deficit in rainfall this monsoon.
PM slams previous UPA regime for shoddy work on electrification
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today slammed the previous UPA regime for tardy implementation of its target to electrify all households, and said that his government will provide connections to about 2.67 crore remaining homes by the end of this year. Interacting with beneficiaries of the Rs 16,320-crore Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saughagya) through video bridge, he said that the then Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) had gone overboard by promising that all households will be electrified by 2009. This is the tenth interaction in the series by the Prime Minister through video conference with the beneficiaries of various government schemes. Modi also interacted with people from Leisang village in Manipur, which was the last among the 18,000 villages to have been electrified by the government. In an official communication issued on March 29, 2005, as Chairperson of National Advisory Council, Gandhi had said, "I am very happy to know that the 'Rajiv Gandhi Grameen ...
Ering urges Centre to improve Arunachal's ranking in EoDB
Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh Ninong Ering has urged the Centre to improve his states ranking in the 'ease of doing business' (EoDB) and help create a conducive business environment. Arunachal Pradesh is at bottom three in the EoDB ranking prepared by World Bank and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) recently. "There is an urgent need to improve our rankings and enable a conducive business environment for all aspiring entrepreneurs for the betterment of the state," the Congress MP from Arunachal East Parliamentary Constituency wrote in a letter to Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday. Ering said while there are a few infrastructure projects being undertaken to improve the internal connectivity in the state, lack of communication (road, air or through phones) remains a big problem for the state. "Unless the existing projects are fast tracked and new ambitious projects introduced, it will be hard for businesses to ...
Infosys Foundation, Bangalore Metro sign MoU for constructing
Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major, Infosys, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for the construction of a station at Konappana Agrahara in Electronics City here. The station is under the second phase of Bangalore Metro's expansion plans and the Foundation has committed to maintaining it for the next 30 years, officials said. The state government had earlier said that Infosys Foundation would contribute Rs 200 crore to the Bengaluru Metro Rail for the construction of Konappana Agrahara Metro Station and railway track. The MoU was signed by Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murthy and BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth, in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy, and Deputy Chief Minister, G Parameshwara at VidhanaSoudha, the state secretariat, here. According to the MoU, the station to be named Infosys Foundation - Konappana Agrahara Metro Station, will bespread
