Page 645 - Environment
Nepal PM all set to visit China
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is embarking on a six-day official visit to China starting from Tuesday, his second trip to a foreign country after India, since taking power in the Himalayan nation.
Modi to interact with farmers on Wednesday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with farmers across the country on Wednesday and address their concerns, an official statement said on Monday.
Reliance Energy may snap power supply to Mumbai colony for dues
Reliance Energy on Monday warned that it would disconnect power supply to the Siddharth Colony in Chembur here for non-payment of bills.
Kaiga n-plant sets new record for continuous operation
India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) on Monday said its first 220 MW unit at Kaiga in Karnataka has set a new record of operating for 766 days continuously.
Gujarat farmers protest land acquisition for bullet train
Strong protests have started emerging in Gujarat against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream project of a bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, with farmers in Surat district taking to the streets opposing acquisition of land for the purpose.
Graft-tainted Ukhand forest official's reinstatement order revoked
Uttarakhand's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Jairaj has revoked his order reinstating an official facing a vigilance probe for alleged financial irregularities as the deputy director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR). In an order dated June 11, 2018, Jairaj reinducted Kishan Chand, removed as deputy director of RTR in November, as the deputy conservator of forest, despite the official facing a vigilance probe. According to rules, the post of the deputy conservator of forest is held by the deputy director of RTR. Jairaj revoked his order four days later, after the matter was widely reported in newspapers, in a letter addressed to RTR Director Sanatan Sonkar. A copy of the letter is with PTI. The PCCF said in his letter that he issued the orders for Chand's reinstatement not knowing that the official was facing a vigilance probe. Chand's reinstatement order had sparked outrage among the department's officials. They termed the PCCF's decision to attach Chand to the office of ..
Pollution in Pali river: NGT directs Jodhpur's Divisional Commissioner to prepare action plan
The National Green Tribunal today asked Jodhpur divisional commissioner to survey Rajasthan's Pali district and prepare an action plan to control pollution in Bandi river caused by local textile industries. A vacation bench of Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore gave direction to the Jodhpur DC on Pali district collector's report which said "rectification of deficiencies require more attention and sincere efforts" to the malady of Bandi river pollution. "In view of these circumstances, we direct the Jodhpur divisional commissioner to personally visit the site and inform us whether the deficiencies pointed out by the committee, have been rectified. "He shall send complete report to the Tribunal before July 5, 2018. He shall also prepare an action plan for rectifying the deficiencies, after giving a time frame," the bench said. The green panel also reiterated its earlier order, directing no discharge of untreated water into the river from the common effluent treatment plants. The tribunal had
Fields of dreams: Texas project seeks new corn strains for whiskey
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Reuters) - A master distiller and a crop scientist who specializes in corn breeding are working on a project they hope one day will help bring local identities to American whiskeys.
Provide restricted access for safety audit: Vedanta to TN govt
Minor leak of sulphuric acid from a storage tank in the closed Sterlite copper plant in Tuticorin has prompted factory officials to once again request the Tamil Nadu government to provide "limited access" to the unit and minimal power supply to take up "mandatory safety audits". The minor leak was detected in the sulphuric acid storage tank in the plant on Saturday evening during a surveillance by the police, revenue divisional officials and local administration. Stating that its executives were assisting district authorities in handling the situation, the company said it had been requesting the state government "to give limited manpower access and minimal power supply so that mandatory safety audits can be carried out at the copper smelter." "That request is still pending. We once again urge the government to give us at least restricted access to the copper smelter," it said in a statement. The company pointed out that its officials have had no access to the plant ever since it
China seeking concessions from Myanmar power project
China, it seems, has not given up hope of restarting its hydroelectric power project at Myitsone in northern Myanmar.According to a report published in the Asia Times, Beijing is using the proposed Myitsone power project to push for concessions from Myanmar for a much more important project -- the deep sea port at Kyaukphyu on the Bay of Bengal.This is also not a very popular project with the people of Myanmar, but less than Myitsone, which would have a disastrous impact on ecosystems in northern Myanmar.The USD 3.6 billion Myitsone project was halted in September 2011 as there were fears at time that going ahead with it would have flooded 600 square kilometers of forest land. The other point left the Government of Myanmar concerned was that after the completion of the project, ninety percent of the electricity generated by was earmarked for export to China.At the time, then President Thein Sein said any implementation of the project would be "against the wishes of the people (of ...
Water bodies to be desilted ahead of onset of monsoon in Pondy
Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today said detailed plans have been formulated to desilt 20 tanks and 32 ponds in the Union Territory well before the onset of monsoon. In her whatsapp message to reporters, Bedi said the territorial administration has drawn up detailed plans to desilt water bodies and de-weed the canals in Puducherry. The former IPS officer has been inspecting various institutions and industries to ascertain the quantum of sub soil water they were drawing and also monitoring the situation. After holding a joint meeting with officials of various departments in her office, Bedi said the action plan included profiling of river Sankarabarani here to ensure erection of bed dams and water harvesting at right places. The Public Works department has been assigned the task of desilting ponds, tanks and de-weeding of canals, she said adding adequate funds have been earmarked for the work. She further said all the defunct water harvesting projects would be ...
Rainfall forecast for next 24 hours
Rainfall forecast for the next 24 hours at: East : Most places: Assam & Meghalaya; many places: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim; isolated places: Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar. North : Many places: Uttarakhand; a few places: Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, west Rajasthan; isolated places: Jammu & Kashmir, east Rajasthan. Dry weather: Uttar Pradesh. Central : isolated places: west Madhya Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh. Peninsula : most places: Konkan & Goa, coastal Karnataka; a few places: Madhya Maharashtra, south interior Karnataka, Kerala; isolated places: Gujarat, Saurashtra, Kutch, Marathwada, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu and north interior Karnataka. Islands : most places: Andaman & Nicobar; a few places: Lakshadweep. Temperatures recorded in four metropolitan centres were: Kolkata Max 34.8 (1.4) dc min 30.0 (3.3) New ...
Forest guard kidnapped, assaulted by gang in TN
A four-member gang allegedly kidnapped and beat up a 30-year-old forest guard who had 'collected money' from some people under the pretext of getting them government jobs, police said today. The gang, which came in a car, bundled the forest guard Prabhu into the vehicle last night, and sped away, they said. On seeing this, people in the area informed the forest guard's mother and she lodged a complaint, the police said. Meanwhile, the police received information that an injured Prabhu has been hospitalised in Coimbatore. Investigations revealed that Prabhu had collected money from some people by promising them government jobs, the police said, adding this might be the reason behind the abduction of the forest guard. Prabhu was being interrogated, the police said, adding a search was on for the gang. Prabhu was a forest guard was working at Arachalure village, 25 kms from here.
Delhi's air quality improves to 'moderate' level
Delhi's air quality for the first time recorded a "moderate" level today after remaining in the "severe" category for nearly a week, according to monitoring agencies. The presence of moisture in the air is the main reason for the improvement in the air quality, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research Institute (SAFAR) of the central government said. The weather office has forecast the possibility of rain and thunderstorm in the national capital. The pollution level had spiked to an alarming "severe" category on Tuesday due to dust storms in western India, particularly Rajasthan, which increased coarser particles in the air. According to the data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the PM10 level (presence of particles with diameter less than 10 mm) was recorded at 191 in Delhi-NCR and 187 in Delhi today. The PM10 level between 0-100 is considered good, 101-250 moderate , 251-350 poor, 351-430 "very poor" and 431-550 severe. The PM2.5 level (presence ..
Jaisalmer Military Station to be developed as smart facility: Official
The Indian Army has drawn a detailed plan to develop the Jaisalmer Military Station in Rajasthan as a smart facility patterned on the Centre's Smart Cities, an official said today. The plan has been formulated in consonance with the eight key areas identified by the central government for the development of Smart Cities, Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said. "The development will provide a major boost to the local economy and aid in ecological conservation," he said. The official said a systematic development of the station is being undertaken by incorporating the concept of smart buildings and green building norms. Provisions have been made in the plan for rainwater harvesting, centralised garbage disposal, solar-water heaters, solar-security lights, underground electric cabling, LED lighting and LPG supply through pipelines, he said. "The health of troops and their families is being given very-high priority and a state-of-the-art military hospital is being developed," the ...
Pesticide-free way to combat mosquitoes
Scientists have discovered a new, pesticide-free way to limit mosquito populations by introducing hungry fishes into the bodies of water where the insects breed. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada found that hungry minnows feed on mosquito larvae, and can help which dramatically decreases the number of adult mosquitoes capable of carrying the disease. "The best strategies to limit mosquitoes start at the larval stage. Unfortunately, in North America, control efforts are largely limited to larvicides, which require a repeated application and have potentially negative ecological impacts," said Brad Fedy, a researchers at University of Waterloo. "Addressing the problem with minnows provides many benefits in that it is low-maintenance, cost-effective, better for the environment in many cases, and our health," said Fedy. The study took place over three years and introduced minnows into ten treatment reservoirs. Researchers monitored an additional six non-treated ...
Rise in sea temperature affect Albatross survival
According to a recent study, sudden change in sea surface temperature affects the survival of black-browed albatross of Kerguelen Island.The researchers found that changes in sea surface temperature during late winter cause the biggest variations in the population growth rate, through their impact on juvenile survival during their first year at sea."Sea surface temperature is widely used as an indicator of food availability for marine predators because warmer temperatures usually result in lower primary productivity in marine ecosystems, ultimately reducing the availability of prey", said Dr Stephanie Jenouvrier.The effects of climatic conditions on seabirds generally occur indirectly and in complex ways. In this study, the researchers have found out that functional traits such as body size, timing of breeding, and foraging behaviour all have an impact on demographic traits such as survival and reproduction."As our oceans are projected to warm, fewer juvenile albatrosses will manage ..
How to get rid of mosquitoes without pesticide use
Researchers have discovered a cheap and pesticide-free way to combat mosquito populations and to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
London, other cities call for new petrol and diesel car ban to start earlier
LONDON (Reuters) - London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other city leaders from across Britain said on Monday a government plan to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars should be brought forward by 10 years to 2030, in the latest push to improve air quality.
Volcanic eruptions behind mysterious Martian rock formation: Study
Explosive volcanic eruptions that shot jets of hot ash, rock and gas skyward are the probable source of a mysterious Martian rock formation near the planet's equator, says a new study.
