Page 61 - Environment
Norms go up in smoke as 'illegal' brick kilns mushroom around Taj (IANS Exclusive)
Smoke-emitting chimneys of brick kilns, mushrooming in and around Agra, seem to be the cause for discoloration of the majestic Taj Mahal. Agra at present has 110 brick kilns out of which 47 do not have licence and NOC from the pollution board, says the latest report of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) on the status of brick kilns.
Include children of forest personnel under scholarship scheme:
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the ambit of the Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme to include children of forest personnel killed in the line of duty. Gogoi in a letter to the prime minister, which was made available to the media on Friday, said that forest personnel are also government servants who often lose their lives in the line of duty. All forest staffs who work on field, forest guards, beat officers, deputy rangers and forest rangers are uniformed soldiers who have the authority to register cases under certain acts, arrest people, and carry weapons, the Congress MP said. "They are the police guarding our nature who have to routinely battle armed poachers, smugglers, illegal miners and encroachers and are also vulnerable to forest fires, diseases and attacks by animals", he said. India owes a great deal to the guarding of our forest and wildlife resources and as such "I request you to ensure that the government provides
Monsoon may be delayed but will be normal: Fadnavis
Maharastra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday reviewed drought situation in the state and expressed hopes of normal rainfall this year."IMD officials were present at the meeting. They have said that there will be normal rainfall this year and several districts in Maharashtra will receive rainfall. This is good news," said the chief minister after a state-level meeting on Kharif season preparations.Fadnavis, along with his cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil, held a state-level preparatory meeting with farmers on the issue of Kharif crop and reviewed the drought situation in the state."Monsoon will be delayed this year but officials said it will be normal," he said."We are working hard. So our farmers can avail services on time. We also are sending 5 crore messages to farmers to inform them of a delayed monsoon," the chief minister said at the press conference.Extending support from the government, Fadnavis said that banks have been instructed to give loans to farmers."Even if ..
NetBiz Celebrates Environment Day by Giving New Homes for Tulsi Saplings
/ -- The threat to our planet is a global issue that dates all the way back to the industrial era. While skyscrapers, technology, and progress have become buzzwords for universal well-being, Earth has been left to suffer for the effects of urbanisation. Pollutants are swarming into living and working spaces, temperatures around the world are rising with every passing season, flora and fauna species are going extinct, and mankind is forced to face new diseases that are endangering lives in millions. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/899525/BeatAirPollution.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/899526/Tulsi_plants.jpg ) This World Environment Day, the challenge is to combat air pollution - a major problem that has already brought in rapid deterioration of the atmosphere we live within. From agricultural waste to vehicle emissions, human sources for air pollution is slowly seeping into our daily lives, in ways that directly or indirectly affect our lifestyle. NetBiz ...
Mizoram continues fight against insect attack on crops
The Mizoram government is continuing the battle against the Fall Armyworm (FAW), an insect indigenous to the Americas, which has caused an estimated loss of Rs 20 crore to the maize crop in over 332 villages in the northeastern state, officials said on Friday.
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.