Page 632 - Environment

Gattu lift irrigation scheme;Foundation stone by CM on June 29

: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will lay the foundation stone for construction of Gattu lift irrigation scheme at Penchikala village in Jogulamba Gadwal district on June 29. An official release here said he would also oversee the works of Tummilla Lift Irrigation project in the district. The Chief Minister would address a public meeting in Gadwal town, organised by the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the release said. A senior engineer official of the State Irrigation Department saidthe Gattu lift irrigation scheme, being constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 554 crore would irrigate 33,000 acres of agricultural land in Gattu mandal, one of the most remote parts of Telangana. In a separate release the CMO said former Hyderabad High Court Judge M S K Jaiswal has been appointed as the chairman of the Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Rao signed the file pertaining to the appointment.

Siemens Gamesa to set up 150 MW wind farm for ReNew Power

Siemens Gamesa India today said it has bagged an order for setting up a 150 MW wind farm in Gujarat from renewable energy power producer ReNew Power. The order was for supply, erection and commissioning of 75 units of SG 2.0-114 MW wind turbines for the farm coming up in Kutch district, the city-based company said in a release here. "We are happy to announce this deal with ReNew Power. Having already commissioned over 800 MW for ReNew Power under feed-in-tariff regime, this new order marks our first under the auction regime", Siemens Gamesa India Chairman and Managing Director Ramesh Kymal said. The company has two blade factories in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and Halol in Gujarat, the release added.

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Chinese scientists complete genome sequencing of tropical sage plant

Chinese scientists have completed sequencing the tropical sage genome, which will help breeding and growing other coordinal plants, valuable for their aroma and appearance. Tropical sage, as well as mint and lavender, is a labiate plant. Xin Haibo, senior engineer with the Beijing Institute of Gardening Science and a member of the research team, said establishing the plant's genetic mechanism is valuable for breeding and editing the genomes of other coordinal plants. Tropical sage is a tender herbaceous perennial widely used in public gardens all over the world. The Beijing institute has developed over 10 varieties of tropical sage. Xin said through genetic technology, they can control the colours and timing of blossoming and extract essential sage oil and other aromatic and medicinal components from coordinal plants, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy rainfall warning in 5 Bengal districts

The meteorological department on Monday warned of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in five northern districts of West Bengal for five consecutive days till June 29.

Shell, Exxon not to seek compensation for end of Groningen gas production -govt

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Energy companies Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil will not submit a claim for missed revenue due to the Dutch government's decision to halt gas production at the Groningen field by 2030, the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday.

NBCC, CPWD assure Delhi HC 'will not cut trees' till July 4

The National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on Monday assured Delhi High Court that they will not cut trees until July 4.While the next date of hearing in the case will be on July 2.Locals in the national capital are protesting since June 22. Held under the 'Delhi Trees SOS' campaign, the protests were called to aware people about the redevelopment project and urge the government to avoid cutting trees for the same.Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri assured 'no tree will be cut' till he is in office.Singh's comment comes after he was trolled over a plan to cut more than 17,000 trees in the national capital to make way for an office and residential complex for government officers.Meanwhile, KK Mishra, who had filed a public interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court over the same, hoped that the court took cognizance of the matter and put a stay on the order.Mishra also ...

Pakistan to launch observatory satellite

Pakistan is set to launch the indigenously developed PakTES-1A observatory satellite in July, the Foreign Ministry announced.

Power discom BYPL signs MoU with Finnish company for collaboration in energy sector

Power distribution company BYPL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Business Finland, a Finnish government agency, for collaborative activities in different areas, including energy efficiency and electric vehicles. The agreement was signed last week by BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) chief executive officer PR Kumar and Jukka Holappa, commercial councilor and head Business Finland' India, at the Embassy of Finland here, said a BYPL spokesperson. The three year MoU on cooperation in the power distribution sector' will encompass joint studies, pilot projects, knowledge-sharing and consultancy, research projects for inducting future and emerging technologies at the distribution utility level. Some of the focus areas the collaboration will include are energy efficiency, renewables, energy storage system, electric vehicle and smart grid initiatives, the spokesperson said. We are excited about the collaboration which will help both the organisations in getting strategic and

Pollution making Europe's trees malnutritioned: Study

Pollution is changing the fungi that provide mineral nutrients to tree roots, causing plants in Europe to become malnutritioned, a study has found. To get nutrients from the soil, trees host fungi, known as mycorrhizal fungi, in their roots. These fungi receive carbon from the tree in exchange for essential nutrients, like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which they gather from the soil. Some of these fungi are known above-ground from the mushrooms and truffles they form. This plant-fungal symbiotic relationship is crucial for the health of the tree. Recent studies have noted signs of tree malnutrition across Europe, such as discoloured leaves or leaves lost from the crown, but the mechanisms underpinning these symptoms are unclear. A ten-year study led by Imperial College London (ICL) and the Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK showed that tree characteristics and local air and soil quality have a large impact on mycorrhizae. The study, published in the journal Nature, examined 40,000

Distinct improvement of sanitation at 20 SIP in phase I, II:

There is a distinct improvement of sanitation facilities at 20 Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) under Phase I and II of the government's flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Mission, where special sanitation work is underway, a senior official said today. "There is a distinct achievement and improvement of sanitation facilities in the first phase and also for last about six months in the second phase. A significant level of achievement is already visible in the phase I and phase II," Director General (Special Projects), Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Akshay Rout said. "We are looking forward to more streamlined, focussed and systematic sanitation development at each of the 30 sites in a time-bound manner," Rout said on the sidelines of the National Level Review and Consultation on the Swachh Iconic Places, that began here. "Swachh Bharat Mission and SIP are very aspirationalwe want to achieve a distinct higher level of sanitation which is prevalent at global stage at

Pak to launch indigenously developed observatory satellite next month

Pakistan will launch an indigenously developed observatory satellite next month which can be used to study various features of Earth, determine mineral deposits and impacts of climate change. Fitted with sensors and cameras, the 285 kg satellite named PakTES-1A will remain stationary 610 km in space and its position relative to the Sun will not change, the Dawn reported. Known as the Remote Sensing Satellite (RSS) it can be used to study various features of Earth and determine mineral deposits. Depending on the kinds of sensors and gadgets fitted, the RSS technology can also help study impacts of climate change such as recession of melting glaciers, green house gasses, detect forest fires and even solve problems related to agriculture as well as forestry, besides a whole range of passive and active tasks. The navigation technology for the satellite was acquired from China back in 2012. India has been launching such observatory satellite since the 1970s. Foreign Office spokesman ...

Space tourists may not be prepared for trip beyond Earth: NASA astronaut

People who sign up with space tourism companies for a trip beyond the Earth may be unprepared for the rigours of spaceflight, according to a NASA astronaut. To date, only the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, has taken tourists into space, between 2001 and 2009, at a cost between USD 20 and 40 million. However, aerospace companies like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are hoping to launch commercial flights within the next decade. Hundreds of people including the Hollywood actors like Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and LeonardoDiCaprio, have already bought tickets. Nasa astronaut Anna Fisher, who became the first mother in space, has warned many are unprepared for the rigours of spaceflight and the toll it will take on their bodies. Fisher said she was sick for the first two days of her mission on the Discovery space shuttle in 1984, expressing concern that people paying hundreds of thousands of pounds did not fully appreciate what might happen. "It's not like riding a commercial .

Mars dust storm turns global

A storm of tiny dust particles has engulfed much of Mars over the last two weeks.The weather conditions have prompted NASA's Opportunity rover to suspend science operations.But across the planet, NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been studying Martian soil at Gale Crater, is expected to remain largely unaffected by the dust.While Opportunity is powered by sunlight, which is blotted out by dust at its current location, Curiosity has a nuclear-powered battery that runs day and night.The Martian dust storm has grown in size and is now officially a 'planet-encircling' (or 'global') dust event.Though Curiosity is on the other side of Mars from Opportunity, the dust has steadily increased over it, more than doubling over the weekend. The atmospheric haze blocking sunlight, called 'tau,' is now above 8.0 at Gale Crater - the highest tau the mission has ever recorded.Tau was last measured near 11 over Opportunity, thick enough that accurate measurements are no longer possible for Mars' oldest

Report on Western Ghats:Kerala submits revised recommendations

The Kerala Government has submitted to the Centre its revised recommendations on demarcation of 'ecologically sensitive areas' (ESAs) in the Western Ghats in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state assembly today. A new report with the suggestions had been prepared based on the survey and studies conducted by the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC), he said. The centre had sought the views of states on the ESAs for issuing the final notification based on the report of the Kasturirangan committee, set up to suggest measures to conserve and protect the ecology of Western Ghats in Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. As per the Kasthurirangan report, a total of 13,108 sq km including stretches in 123 villages in Kerala was proposed to be demarcated as ecologically fragile land under the ESA. The high range areas of the state had witnessed protests after the Centre passed two orders in November, 2013 for ...

How toxic air is causing malnutrition in trees

Besides affecting human health, air pollution is also causing malnutrition in trees by harming a fungi that is important for providing mineral nutrients to tree roots, finds a new study.

Biogas plants in Punjab helping save trees: Minister

A total of 1.75 lakh biogas plants set up in the state so far since 1994-1995 are helping save lakhs of trees from getting axed, Punjab's Power and Renewable Energy Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar said. "Since 1994-95, Punjab Energy Development Agency has set up 1,75,000 biogas plants, which are running successfully," Kangar said here yesterday. "By switching over to these biogas plants almost 2,100 tonnes of wood, traditionally used as fuel, is saved and lakhs of trees are saved from being axed," he added. The minister said maximum rural and semi-urban households were being brought under the ambit of the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) to safeguard women from the harmful effects of smoke that a chulha, a traditional stove, generates. The NBMMP is aimed at providing clean cooking fuel to households. Kangar said the centrally sponsored scheme was garnering good response in Punjab. Under this scheme, rural and semi-urban households are facilitated to set up ...

Marine reserves near heavily populated areas face stress: Study

Marine reserves near heavily populated areas struggle to provide habitat to fish and other underwater organisms, but are still better than having no protection at all, a study reveals. Scientists, led by Josh Cinner from James Cook University in Australia, conducted a detailed study of nearly 1800 tropical coral reefs examining the effectiveness of different reef conservation strategies. "Fish stocks were extremely depleted on reefs that were accessible to large human populations. Compared to marine reserves far from these human pressures, reserves near high human pressure had only a quarter of the fish and were a hundred times less likely to have top predators such as sharks," said Cinner. To calculate the differences in ecological conditions with respect to human pressures, the scientists studied the differences between marine reserves which were open to fishing and the ones which were not. "This tells you where you can get the biggest impact from implementing conservation," said ...

Use plastic with responsibility: Parrikar

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday asked the people to be responsible with the use of plastic.

AAP welcomes Delhi stay on cutting trees

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday welcomed the Delhi High Court stay on cutting of thousands of trees in Delhi till July 4.