Page 61 - Environment
10-hour-long traffic jam in Banda comes to an end
A ten hour-long traffic jam in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh ended and normal traffic was restored on Friday.Rajiv Pratap Singh, Circle Officer (CO) of the city said the jam started after sitting BJP MLA from Tindwari, Brijesh Prajapati, began a protest over illegal mining and water crisis."He had blocked the traffic since 11 pm yesterday, he had a few demands regarding illegal sand mining, which were resolved by the DM. The road has now opened," Singh told ANI.Brijesh Prajapati accused the illegal sand-miners of stopping and diverting the flow of rivers at places to continue their illegal mining and added that it was his responsibility to ensure the culprits are punished by the law."The whole of Banda district is suffering from water-crisis, one of the prime reasons for that is illegal mining and it has also been stopped at many places. Since the people have shown faith in us by making our government and the centre, therefore it is our responsibility to help them in the time of ...
Mohit Bharatiya organises 'Walk for Mangroves'
To save the mangroves of Mumbai from disappearing, a walk was organised on World Environment Day in which more than 1,000 people participated.
Australian Minister rejects rising gas emissions report
Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor has dismissed data showing that the nation's greenhouse gas emissions rose for a third consecutive year in 2018.
Kumaraswamy doing political drama amid water crisis, says Yeddyurappa
Calling out the ruling Janata Dal (Secular) over lack of decisive action on acute water crisis in the state, Karnataka BJP Chief BS Yeddyurappa accused Chief Minister Kumaraswamy of doing "political drama"."When there is a drought in the state, instead of resolving the water crisis in the villages, all he (CM HD Kumaraswamy) is doing is political drama by going to village schools and staying there and pretending. This won't work," said Yeddyurappa.The leader's comment comes amid severe water shortage in several districts of Karnataka. Delayed monsoon has added to the state's trouble, making it a major concern for the government.
UltraTech Cement to exceed 25% 'green energy' contribution to total energy consumption by 2021
The increase in green energy contribution comes in the wake of UltraTech's commitment to increase contribution of renewable energy to its total power consumption by five times in the next two years. Renewable energy will contribute to more than 10 per cent of its total power consumption by 2021.
Oilmeal exports in May fall 78 pc due to US sanctions on Iran: SEA
Export of oilmeal, used as animal feed, plummeted 78 per cent to 58,549 tonnes during the last month, as shipments to Iran dropped sharply because of US sanctions, industry body SEA said Friday. The country had exported 2,63,644 tonnes of oilmeal in May 2018. India stopped importing crude oil from Iran from May 2 after the US sanction waiver expired and the Trump administration refused to extend it. "Iran is a major export market for India as far as oilmeal is concerned. Because of the US sanction, our export volume has been affected badly. This trend will continue in the coming months," Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) of India Executive Director B V Mehta told PTI. India was able to export only 17,385 tonnes of soyabean extract to Iran during last month, the SEA data showed. The industry body, however, is trying other markets especially China to reopen for Indian oilmeal, Mehta said. According to the SEA's latest data, soybean meal export declined to 18,470 tonnes in May 2019 ...
Car firms call on Trump to keep emission limits
More than a dozen car manufacturers, including Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen have officially asked US President Donald Trump not to relax emission limits, to avoid a fragmentation of the car market, US media reported. Trump's administration last year proposed to roll back fuel efficiency standards introduced under former president Barack Obama, sparking warnings of a legal fight with California and other states that favor more aggressive environmental policies. In a letter sent to the White House and revealed by the New York Times on Thursday, the firms called for a compromise between the Trump administration -- looking to support the car industry by relaxing emission limits -- and the country's most populous state. A move to water down controls could see California and more than a dozen other states take the matter to court. Manufacturers fear a divided and complicated US car market would result, in which companies would have trouble making decisions on pricing ..
Villager killed by wild elephant in Chhattisgarh
A wild elephant attacked and killed a villager in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, the fifth such death reported from the area in just over a month, a forest department official said Friday. The latest incident of elephant attack took place Thursday evening in Birimadgea village when the deceased, identified only as Amrit, was working at his farmland, said Krishna Kumar Jadhav, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Jashpur Division. The 45-year-old villager failed to notice the wild tusker, which had separated from its herd, entering his agriculture field, he said. All of a sudden, the jumbo caught hold of Amrit, lifted him with its trunk and slammed him on the ground, killing him on the spot, Jadhav said. On being alerted about the incident, forest and police personnel rushed to the spot and sent the body for post -mortem, he said. With this, five persons have been killed in separate incidents of elephant attack in Jashpur district since May 3. Jashpur shares borders with ...
Exomoons may be home to alien life: Study
Moons orbiting planets outside our solar system may contain liquid water necessary for extra-terrestrial life, according to a study. Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system and nearly 4,000 have been discovered till now, said researchers at the University of Lincoln in the UK. Only a small proportion of these are likely to be able to sustain life, existing in what is known as the habitable zone. However, some planets, especially large gas giants, may harbour moons which contain liquid water. "These moons can be internally heated by the gravitational pull of the planet they orbit, which can lead to them having liquid water well outside the normal narrow habitable zone for planets that we are currently trying to find Earth-like planets in," said Phil J Sutton from the University of Lincoln. "I believe that if we can find them, moons offer a more promising avenue to finding extra-terrestrial life," Sutton said. The study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal ...
Japan plans carbon emission cuts, more nuclear energy
Japan is calling for further efforts to cut carbon emissions by promoting renewables but also nuclear energy despite the 2011 Fukushima reactors meltdowns. The energy white paper, adopted by the Cabinet Friday, said Japan faces an "urgent task" of reducing carbon emissions coming from utilities that have relied heavily on fossil fuels to make up for shortages of cleaner nuclear energy. The call comes as the Fukushima nuclear reactors are slowly being restarted amid lingering anti-nuclear sentiments since the 2011 crisis. Japan wants further development of renewable energy and set a 22 per cent to 24 per cent target while maintaining nuclear energy at around the same level. It also pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 26 per cent from 2013 levels by 2030. So far it has achieved a 7 per cent reduction and is making progress but needs more effort, the paper said. It said the cost of renewables also needs to come down. While the renewables account for 16 per cent of Japan's energy ...
Three elephants found poisoned in Malaysia
Three elephants were poisoned to death near a palm oil plantation in Malaysia, officials said Friday, in the latest case of the endangered creatures being killed near human settlements. Local police in southern Johor state found the animal carcasses and alerted wildlife officers on Tuesday, Wildlife and National Parks Department director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim told AFP. The dead animals are believed to be part of a herd of 30 elephants from the nearby forest reserve. "We conducted a post-mortem on the three female elephants aged between 18 and 22, and it revealed they were poisoned," Abdul Kadir said. "I am shocked and saddened by this incident. If this trend continues, all our wild elephants will be wiped out." Electric fences used to keep elephants away from village crops were not functioning and allowed the creatures to trespass on plantations, Abdul Kadir said. Liver and kidney samples from the elephants were being examined to determine the type of poison used, said ...
Infant stuck in Punjab borewell, rescue bid on
Efforts were underway on Friday to rescue a two-year-old boy, who fell into a 150-foot narrow borewell in a village in Punjab's Sangrur district some 20 hours back, officials said.
GIPCL commissions 75 MW solar power project in Gujarat
Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd (GIPCL) Friday said it has commissioned a 75 mega watt (MW) solar power project in Gujarat in a phased manner. GIPCL had emerged as one of the successful bidders for the 75 MW solar power project in the e-reverse auction conducted by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd in September 2017 for 500 MW solar power projects in the state. GIPCL has commissioned the solar power project at Gujarat Solar Park, Village Charanka, Dist. Patan, Gujarat, in a phased manner on June 4, 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing. Shares of Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd were trading 0.13 per cent lower at Rs 75.35 apiece on BSE.
Dilip Buildcon update on NHAI road project in State of Karnataka
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UN leaders praise India's leadership in driving South-South cooperation
India's role in advancing South-South cooperation through its India-UN Development Partnership Fund has been held up by UN leaders as a model for cooperation among developing countries.
Locals pray for rain in Bihar's Gaya
Scores of people residing in Gaya region on Friday offered prayers to Lord Indra for rain in the wake of the water crisis in the region.Several districts of Bihar are hit by the water crisis and has been declared as drought-ridden.The devotees began pooja in the wee hours of Friday with a couple of purohits."The summer season is making life unbearable for all. We will offer prayers to the Lord for 10 days. We will appease Lord Indra by our prayers. I am sure he will send some respite from the heat," said a local Gunjan Kumar.The people in Gaya region of the state believes that offering prayers to the Lord will ensure a good rainfall.On Thursday, Karnataka water resources minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar also held a Parjanya homa (pooja) at Sri Rishya Shringeshwara temple Chikkamagaluru praying for rain.
Odisha allots land for 7 tourism projects
The Odisha government has sanctioned a proposal to allot land for seven tourism projects which will bring in Rs 354.34 crore investment to the state, officials said. The land was sanctioned at the land allotment committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A P Padhi here on Thursday. While according the sanction, Padhi directed the Tourism Department to fix the commencement and commissioning timeline for each project. The allottees were also asked to commission the projects within three years from the date of taking possession of the land, Padhi said. "The land has been allotted for seven projects in different parts of the state after due diligence and technical assessment for land requirement", Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev said. These projects will ensure an investment of Rs 354.34 crore, Dev said. The projects will be developed over a total area of around 79.5 acres, of which the government has decided to allot around 42.5 acres. Some project ...
Fishermen help overhaul plastic habits off Italy
On a moonlit night off Italy's coast, fishermen are hauling in the usual catch: cuttlefish, red mullet and plastic waste. But this time, they won't throw the rubbish back. The trash instead is being collected, analysed and, where possible, recycled in an initially month-long experiment to try to provide a blueprint for cleaning up the sea. "A lot of the fishermen used to throw the rubbish back into the sea, because the law says they can't bring it to land," said Eleonora de Sabata, coordinator for Clean Sea Life, which runs the project. "They're not authorised to carry waste, in ports there's nowhere to put this kind of waste and it's not clear who should dispose of it." That dilemma will hopefully not be an issue for the around 40 fishing boats sailing off the Adriatic resort of San Benedetto del Tronto who are taking part in the initiative. Since it started, the fishermen have collected around a tonne of waste a week for a month, of which 60 percent is plastic. Each day, volunteers .
Andhra CM appeals to officials to help in cleaning mechanism in irrigation projects
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday appealed to irrigation officials to help the new government in cleaning mechanism in irrigation projects.He asked them to come forward with details of instances of tendering with excess rates."I would felicitate those officials who reveal the facts to save money to the government exchequer. The state government would call for reverse tendering immediately. Everyone is answerable to people and stressed the need to curb corruption," the Chief Minister said.Addressing a review meeting of the irrigation department at his camp office today, he said, "Everyone knows several scams took place in irrigation tenders in the past five years and the works were allotted for higher prices. A third party enquiry would be conducted all the irrigation projects where irregularities took place and the state government would go for reverse tendering to save money."Principal Secretary Water Resources Sasibushan Kumar, Engineer in chief M Venkateswara Rao, Govt ..
Shivamogga: Planting trees amid water crisis is 'illogical', says environmentalist
Amidst prevailing water crisis in Shivamogga district, environmentalists in the area termed the district forest administration's action of planting one lakh saplings on the occasion of World Environment day 'illogical' as the monsoon is delayed in the state.Ajay Kumar Sharma, an environmentalist, told ANI, "Monsoon is delayed and we are already facing acute drinking water issues in the area. As we didn't get sufficient pre-monsoon showers, it is very illogical to plant saplings at this point.""They don't have any water tankers of their own. Even in case of emergency, they have to rely on other sources to get a few tankers of water. When people are having severe drinking water issues in the district, how is the administration going to water these saplings?" questioned Sharma.He further said, "It is not the right time to plant trees when there's no rain because these saplings need enough water to nourish. Though Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts get the highest rainfall, it is the
