Page 635 - Environment

'Yogi aam' star attraction at UP's mango festival

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has earned a unique distinction of being named after a mango, which is making headlines at the sixth mango festival in Lucknow.A.C. Pathak of Muzaffarnagar told ANI that the 'Yogi mango' was made by a mango cultivator named Tariq Mustafa.Describing the Yogi mango, Pathak said, "The mango is small and round shaped. The speciality of this mango is the colour. It is saffron in colour. Tariq Mustafa has over 100 varieties of mangoes in his farm. 60 varieties from Muzaffarnagar, including Yogi mango, is here at the fair."He added that the 'Yogi mango' will come in the market in the next three to four years.The two-day festival, which began on Friday, saw people relishing over 700 varieties of mango, such as 'Dussheri', 'Lucknow Safeda', 'Husnaara', 'Gulab Khaas' and 'Tommy Atkins'.A local told ANI, "We were not aware of so many varieties of mango. This is also a good opportunity for farmers. The varieties of the mango are very good. Such ...

Odisha govt sanctions fund for projects in villages

The Odisha government has sanctioned developmental projects worth Rs 319 crore for villages in the past over three months under the 'Ama Gaon Ama Bikash Yojana', an official release said. Under the 'Yojana' which started on March 5 this year marking the birth anniversary of legendary leader Biju Patnaik, 12,225 projects in 1,300 panchayats under 53 blocks have got approval. The Yojana was started at the block-level from May 23. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday also sanctioned Rs 19.43 crore for 700 projects in 88 panchayats under four blocks of three districts. Of the sanctioned amount, a sum of Rs 3 crore has been allocated for 114 projects in 14 panchayats under Bisra block of Sundargarh district. A sum of Rs 5 crore will be spent on 149 projects in 20 panchayats under Rajgangpur block of Sundargarh district, Rs 6.50 crore on 246 projects in 26 panchayats under Polsara block of Ganjam district and Rs 4.93 crore on 191 projects in 28 panchayats under Odapada

Safeguard duty on solar equipment may hit India's 100 GW target: Industry

Solar power developers have expressed concerns that safeguard duty on solar equipment may jeopardize India's target of installing 100 GW capacity by 2022 as it would directly affect 25 GW volume under various stages of implementation and hit thousands of jobs in the segment. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), a recently created umbrella authority for trade matters, is scheduled to hold a public hearing in the national capital on Tuesday with regard to imposition of 70 per cent safeguard duty on imported solar equipment. This has led to some confusion among the industry players since the standing committee on safeguards under the finance ministry had last month decided that no such duty was required to be imposed. "Viability of more than 25,000 MW of projects along with thousands of jobs associated with construction of this capacity are on stake until there is a complete clarity and an outcome of safeguard duty investigation," an industry source said. "Currently, around .

UP: Frogs get 'hitched' to please rain God

A wedding ceremony of two plastic frogs took place here, in the hope of an early monsoon.As per the organisers, the ceremony was arranged to please Indra, the god of rain, as per Hindu mythology, in return for a much-needed respite from soaring temperatures."We want rainfall in the city. It's an old belief that the wedding of frogs makes Indra Dev happy. We have been affected by the blistering heat. It is raining everywhere but not in Varanasi. So, we organised this wedding, requesting Indra Dev to hasten the arrival of monsoon in the city," an organiser told ANI.The two plastic frogs were kept on decorated plates with garlands around the 'newlyweds'. Two persons dressed themselves up as the bride and bridegroom. A priest was performing a hawan (special offering) to solemnise the frogs' marriage.A huge number of people who had gathered for this unusual wedding were seen dancing to the beats of a drum and enjoying the rare occasion.With little or no rainfall seen in parts of Uttar ...

Kanha tiger settled in Odisha forest,Patnaik says history made

With the male Royal Bengal Tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh settling well in Odisha's Satkosia, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said "history has been created" in tiger conservation and revival efforts in India. "Many congratulations to @ForestDeptt & Kanha Tiger Reserve on successful translocation of MB2, the first of six planned tigers brought to Satkosia TR in India's first inter-state #TigerRelocation exercise. History has been created in tiger conservation and revival efforts in the country," Patnaik said in a tweet. Odisha Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray said despite the tiger's 24-hour journey covering about 500 km from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, the big cat is found to be healthy and fine. The animal is under watch and kept in an enclosure. The minister said though tigers from one forest to another have been relocated in the past, this is for the fist time a Royal Bengal Tiger has undertaken such a long and .

Centre has sanctioned Rs 1800 crore Tourism projects for Himachal: Thakur

The Union government has sanctioned Rs 1,800 crore for tourism development projects in Himachal Pradesh which would go a long way in making the state a major tourist destination, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today said. Addressing a public meeting at Garagushaini in Kullu district after laying foundation stone for the Science Lab block of the Government Senior Secondary School, he said that efforts would be made to develop lesser known an unexplored tourism destinations from tourism point of view. He said Garagushaini area would be developed from eco-tourism point of view. Jai Ram said helicopter services between Shimla and Chandigarh are being operated thrice a week to facilitate ]tourists. He said the government has also provided Rs 5 crore for Degree College Gadaguisaini. Later addressing a public meeting at Banjjar in Kullu district, the chief minister said the Central government has sanctioned development projects worth Rs 4,365 crore for the state. The chief minister also ...

Use of LED bulbs in Haryana govt offices mandatory by Aug 15

The use of LED bulbs and tube lights has been made mandatory in all offices of Haryana. In this direction, all Administrative Secretaries, Head of Departments and Managing Directors of Boards, Corporations and Public Undertakings have been directed through a written communication to ensure replacing all inefficient lighting with LED lamps or tube lights by August 15, 2018, said a spokesman of New and Renewable Energy Department. As per directions of the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, all halogen, sodium bulbs and tube lights will be replaced with energy-efficient LED bulbs and tube lights. He said that the use of incandescent lamps and purchase of sodium vapour lamps by government sector, government aided sector, boards and corporations and autonomous bodies have already been banned. The spokesman said the officers have been directed to ensure compliance of these orders and a report on the present level of compliance may be sent to the office of Director, New and Renewable

In poll-bound MP, Modi accuses Congress of spreading lies, ignoring cities (Roundup)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a strong attack on Congress in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, accusing it of spreading lies about his government, not being concerned about states BIMARU tag and of ignoring urban infrastructure in cities.

Modi accuses Congress of ignoring cities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of ignoring urban infrastructure during its rule, saying that Indian cities were wrecked by traffic jams, power deficits and leaking sewage system and his government had invested heavily to bring up the infrastructure according to 21st century standards.

Two young snakes rescued at Prez Estate: Wildlife NGO

Two non-venomous young snakes have been rescued at the President's Estate in the last two weeks, a wildlife NGO today said. City-based Wildlife SOS said, the house-keeping staff had found a "juvenile wolf snake inside a rest room" two days ago. A week before, another reptile of the same species was found in the sprawling lawns of the Estate and rescued, an official of the NGO said. Both the snakes were juvenile, i.e., aged a little above six months. "The snakes were found to be in good health and have been released back into the wild," the official said. Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS co-founder and CEO said, "Wolf-snakes are non-venomous, but are often mistaken for the highly venomous common krait which it closely resembles." The common wolf snake (Lycodon aulicus) is a non-venomous snake species found in South Asia and Southeast Asia. They are a highly adaptive species and are commonly found in urban environments. Wolf snakes feed primarily on geckos, rodents and skinks. Mating .

Gujarat unveils scheme to encourage farmers to use, produce solar power

In an attempt to promote solar energy, the Gujarat government on Saturday announced Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) scheme under which farmers would be encouraged to generate electricity and sell their surplus to power distribution companies.

Elderly Kerala tourist rescued from cave in Chamoli

An elderly tourist from Kerala, who was stranded in a cave for three days in a secluded forest in Uttarakhand's mountainous Chamoli district, was rescued today, police said. 67-year-old Prem Chandran, who had lost his way in a forest beyond a meadow along Roopkund-Bedini Bugyal trek, was located at about 11 PM on Friday night by a combined team of police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel with the help of locals, Chamoli police spokesman Ajay Rawat said. He was found in a small cave in a forest between Ali Bugyal and Dadna village where he spent three days and as many nights, Rawat said. Prem Chandran, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram, was brought to Lauhjang today and is perfectly safe, he said. Chamoli police also shared a video clip with the media in which Chandran is seen recounting his ordeal with his voice choking. Chandran has profusely thanked police and SDRF personnel for pulling him out of trouble.

Union min accuses Pb govt of discontinuing free electricity scheme for gaushalas

Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla today accused the Punjab government of discontinuing free electricity scheme for 'gaushalas' (cow shelters). "The Punjab government has accumulated around Rs 50 crore from cow cess and still the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has stopped free electricity supply to gaushalas which was initiated by the previous Akali-BJP government," he said. "Also, the PSPCL is sending electricity bills from 2017 till date to the gaushalas. This is condemnable," the BJP leader said. Sampla asked state power minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar as to why PSPCL is sending bills worth Rs 5.32 crore to the 472 gaushalas registered in the state despite getting cow cess on electricity bills. The bills should have been waived off according to the state policy, he said. Sampla, who is minister of state for social justice and empowerment, said the state government was collecting cow cess on purchase of new vehicles, bikes, booking halls in marriage palaces, ..

SAD hits out at Cong govt on menace of illegal mining

Opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today lashed out at the Congress government for its alleged failure to end the menace of illegal mining in Punjab. SAD MP and party's senior leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said the environment and people of Punjab were under a "big threat"due to the "illegal mining in the state". "All norms and rules for sand mining are being thrown to the wind. For instance, rules say that digging cannot go beyond the 10 feet limit as it could harm the balance of ecology. But you can see 30-40 feet deep ditches at the mining sites across Punjab," he claimed. "The same callousness was being shown towards the law and order situation by the state government as anti-social elements were running amok with impunity," he alleged. About the adverse effects of illegal mining, the SAD leader said it has started to take toll on everything -- from fertile land and bridges to people's houses. The Lok Sabha MP from Anandpur Sahib said soil erosion had become a major ...

'Chipko' movement in Delhi to save over 16,000 trees

To save about 16,500 fully grown trees from being chopped down in the city, locals and social organisations have come together to hold a campaign on the lines of 'Chipko' movement for tree protection here on Sunday.

Centre, AAP in blame game over permission for felling of trees in south Delhi

The issue of cutting of trees for the redevelopment of seven south Delhi colonies triggered a blame game today with Union minister Harsh Vardhan claiming that the AAP government was responsible for granting the permission to fell trees in non-forest areas and the latter claiming that the clearance for the same was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest in November last year. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is up in arms against the BJP government at the Centre, alleging that around 17,000 trees will be felled for the redevelopment plan. Vardhan said according to the information he had, the area where the trees were to be felled was a "non-forest area" and the Forest department of the Government of India had nothing to do with it. "For the non-forest areas, whatever local permissions are to be given, are given by the Delhi government. It is directly under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government and not governed by us," the Union environment and forest minister said. The AAP

R'sthan govt procures a record Rs 4,631-cr worth crop produce in a season: Min

Rajasthan Cooperative Minister Ajay Singh Kilak has said the state government has set a record by procuring Rs 4,631 crore worth crop produce from over 4.06 lakh farmers in a season. Over 11.92 lakh tonnes of crop produce was procured by the government till June 22 in the state, which is a record both in terms of quantity and value, he said. Kilak said the state government was working at a fast pace to procure garlic through market intervention scheme apart from procuring mustard, gram and wheat at minimum support price. He said that Rs 2,449 crore were deposited in registered bank accounts of over 2.18 lakh farmers for selling their crop produce. It was for the first time that the state government has set up 543 procurement centres in the state, he added. The minister said that Rs 227.53 crore worth garlic produce was procured by the government through RAJFED from 19,422 farmers. 69,857 metric tonnes of garlic was procured at 29 centres in Kota, Baran, Bundi, Pratapgarh, Jhalawar, ...

First satellite to collect space junk set deployed from ISS

The first-ever satellite to test possible solutions in cleaning up space junk has been deployed by the International Space Station (ISS) and would soon begin experiments in orbit.

Tiger brought from MP settles down in Odisha

The Royal Bengal tiger, which was translocated from Madhya Pradesh's Kanha Tiger Reserve, has shown all signs of settling down in Odishas' Satkosia sanctuary, an official said on Saturday.

Farmer mauled to death by bear in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh

A 50-year-old farmer was today mauled to death by a bear in Chhattisgarhs Raigarh district, a forest official said. The incident happened in the morning today near Kamhar village close to the Kharsia forest range. "Indal Singh Rathiya, a native of Jobi village, was on his way to his field along with his cattle when he was attacked by a bear," the forest official said. "Rathiya came upon a female bear and her two cubs. The bear mauled him to death. We reached the spot and the body was sent for post mortem," the official added. Rathiya's kin was given immediate compensation of Rs 25,000, the official said, and an Accidental Death Report was registered.