Page 656 - Environment

Pune NGO TERRE releases first-ever 'Campus Sustainability Report'

The TERRE Policy Centre launched its first-ever Campus Sustainability Report, on the occasion of World Environment Day recently, an official said here on Tuesday.

Hire retired officials, hasten land acquisition process: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that lengthy land acquisition procedures were delaying major infrastructure projects in Goa and has advised the state government to hire retired officials to hasten the process.

Nepal delegation in China to seal transit, transport deal

A Nepali delegation is in China to seal a deal for linking more border points of the land-locked country with highways in Tibet, ahead of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to the country next week. The team comprising officials of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport will hold talks with the Chinese side to link more border points with Tibetan highways so that people living in northern parts of Nepal have better access to supplies, the Kathmandu Post reported. Nepal currently uses three border pointsKerung, Kimathanka and Tatopanilinked with Tibetan highways, for transportation of goods from China. The Tatopani border point has remained closed since the 2015 earthquake. The Nepali side is proposing opening of at least nine more trading points bordering Tibet. Nepal and China agreed in 2015 to open seven new trading points between Nepal and Tibet, the daily said. Another team comprising officials from Commerce Ministry will visit China within a day or two to pursue a ...

NASA's Opportunity rover halted over Martian dust storm

NASA's Opportunity rover's science operations have been temporarily suspended as it waits out a growing dust storm on Mars, the US space agency said in a statement.

Plant fossil analysis may help predict climate change

Chinese scientists are using plant fossil data to understand climate change in a study on the Oligocene climate, according to Tuesday's Science and Technology Daily.

Smart City Centers helping in improved & efficient delivery of public services: Puri

Currently nine Integrated Control and Command Centre at Ahmedabad, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Bhopal have become operational. Sh. Puri said that it has been observed that the cities are becoming cleaner due to monitoring of cleaning work through CCTV cameras leading to reduction in instances of thrown garbage, littering, urination in public and nighttime burning of garbage while increase in traffic challans issuance indicates an orientation for better traffic discipline. He further informed that Intelligent Transit Management System has helped Ahmedabad to improve its operational efficiency by reducing its operational cost while improving the service levels. He further said that Smart City Centers are also providing technological support in ensuring better safety of women on our streets, environment sensitivity of people, faster response and better preparedness for emergencies and disasters.

Goa govt to take up repairs of Portuguese-era bridges

Nearly 80 Portuguese-era bridges in Goa are in a dilapidated condition and their repair work would be taken up immediately, a state minister said today. The Goa government had last year begun an audit of all the Portuguese-era bridges in the coastal state. The exercise was taken up after the bridge across Sanvordem river in South Goa district, had collapsed in May last year, killing two people. "We have identified 80 bridges, most of them small culverts, which are in a dilapidated condition," Goa Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Sudin Dhavalikar told reporters here. All the bridges identified so far were in North Goa district while the audit was yet to be taken up for such structures located in South Goa, he said. "It will take one more year to complete the audit of all bridges in the state," Dhavalikar said. The bridges found to be in a bad condition would either be reconstructed or repaired immediately depending on the requirement, he said. "We are conducting an ..

Polavaram project will be completed by December 2019: AP CM

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that around Rs 28,000 crore alone would be sufficient for land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) for Polavaram multi-purpose project on river Godavari. Of the total cost of the project estimated to be around Rs 57,000 crore, R&R of evacuees would only require Rs 21,027 crore, the Chief Minister said while addressing a public meeting at the Polavaram project site yesterday. While a total of 1,68,213 acres of land was needed for the project, 1,10,355 acres has so far been acquired. "We have to rehabilitate 98,818 families, mostly tribals, for which we need Rs 21,027 crore.. We have so far spent Rs 13,755 crore on the overall project," he noted. The Centre has so far released Rs 8,127 crore for Polavaram after it was declared a national project, he added. Earlier, Naidu had said that a sum of around 33,000 crore was required for land acquisition and the relief and rehabilitation ...

Volcanic eruptions, declining oxygen levels killing marine life

The very recent volcanic eruptions in Guatemala and Hawaii have left the world in a state of shock with their ensuing devastation.However, the concern is emerging as more of a global concern.According to a study conducted by the Florida State University, global climate change, fueled by skyrocketing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is siphoning oxygen from today's oceans at an alarming pace - so fast that scientists aren't entirely sure how the planet will respond.Their only hint is to look to the past.In a study, researchers did just that - and what they found brought into stark relief the disastrous effects a deoxygenated ocean could have on marine life.Millions of years ago, scientists discovered, powerful volcanoes pumped Earth's atmosphere full of carbon dioxide, draining the oceans of oxygen and driving a mass extinction of marine organisms."We want to understand how volcanism, which can be related to modern anthropogenic carbon dioxide release, manifests itself in ocean ...

Global warming will make veggies harder to find: study

Global warming is expected to make vegetables significantly scarcer around the world, unless new growing practices and resilient crop varieties are adopted, researchers warned today. By the end of this century, less water and hotter air will combine to cut average yields of vegetables -- which are crucial to a healthy diet -- by nearly one-third, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A 7.2 Fahrenheit (4 Celsius) increase in temperature, which scientists expect by 2100 if global warming continues on its current trajectory, reduces average yields by 31.5 per cent, said the report. "Our study shows that environmental changes such as increased temperature and water scarcity may pose a real threat to global agricultural production, with likely further impacts on food security and population health," said lead author Pauline Scheelbeek of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Southern Europe, large parts of Africa and South Asia may be ...

Vedanta to double output at Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines: regional CEO

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Vedanta Resources plans to double finished copper production AT Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines to 200,000 tonnes this year, the CEO of its Zambian unit said on Monday.

'200 buildings in south Mumbai to become plastic free by June

Two hundred residents' associations/buildings in south Mumbai will become plastic-free by June 17 as a drive against single-use plastic was launched here. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza launched the initiative called 'Quit Plastic Movement' in Cuffe Parade area. "Thanks again @deespeak for launching #QuitPlasticMovement earlier today. By June 17th, 200 resident associations/buildings in South Mumbai will go plastic-free #BeatPlasticPollution," former Union minister and Congress leader Milind Deora tweeted. Ahead of the launch of the movement, Deora had on May 24 said that it was high time that people "eliminated" single-use plastic from their lives and urged them to join the cause 75 years after Mahatma Gandhi launched 'Quit India Movement' (in 1942). The Maharashtra government in March imposed a ban on "manufacture, sale, use, distribution and storage" of several plastic goods and materials including polythene bags, plastic plates, cups, spoons and forks, thermocol and ...

IMD warns 48 hrs of 'enhanced rainfall' in NE states

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a 48-hour warning of 'enhanced rainfall' in the north eastern states.States like Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim are also under the IMD's warning radar."Enhanced rainfall activity very likely to continue over northeastern states for subsequent 3 days," further read the IMD statement.On June 10, IMD, in an official statement, said that Mumbai is likely to receive 'few spells' of rainfall in the next few days.Prior to this on June 8, due to heavy rainfall, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cancelled the weekly Saturday and Sunday offs for its officers in order to avoid a city-wide crisis.Monsoon has already hit Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and North-East, and will move up north from Maharashtra.

Water transport services on Jhelum river to start later this month: Officials

The much-awaited water transport service on the Jhelum river in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir would start later this month, officials said today. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, said the government will start the services from June 28, an official spokesman said here. Khan made the announcement after chairing an extensive meeting with senior officers from across the Valley to review the steps taken to streamline traffic in the Kashmir Division, he said. The day service of the water transport will be started on the said date, the spokesman said. Khan directed the deputy commissioner of Srinagar, the JKTDC and the irrigation and flood control departments to finalise route-wise rates for the service within four days, he said. During the meeting, the divisional commissioner was informed that the irrigation and flood control departments had made a proposal of Rs 2.20 crores for construction of additional river ghats and Rs 35 lakh for the repair of old ...

GHMC orders electric autos for garbage collection

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) today said it has ordered electric autos for garbage collection, which would replace diesel-trucks. "After the recent announcement by the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao that electric vehicles will be introduced to replace diesel trucks presently used for garbage collection in GHMC, the corporation has ordered electric autos from Hyderabad based Gayam Motor Works (GMW)," a GHMC release said. Each diesel auto replaced will reduce about 35 tons of carbon emissions over five years, it claimed. "This fleet of electric vehicles communicates real-time status. GHMC's waste management system can now be monitored from a single location by our officials." "This will improve per vehicle productivity, reduce non- compliance, eliminate manual tracking for monitoring and escalation. Communities benefit from optimised operations, beautified public spaces & reduced carbon footprint." GHMC ...

JK CM inaugurates Mehjoor bridge

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today inaugurated the Mehjoor Bridge here which is expected to ease the traffic movement in the south city. The bridge over 'flood channel' on the Jawahar Nagar-Natipora-Chanapora axis would help in decongesting traffic on the southern part of the city and would give direct and easy access from Jawahar Nagar and adjoining areas to Srinagar Railway Station and Airport, an official spokesman said here. He said the construction of the bridge is also part of a mega road widening project from Mehjoor Nagar to Nowgam via Padshahi Bagh. The foundation for the bridge, which has been constructed by Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) in record 18 months at a cost of Rs 20 crore, was laid by the chief minister in December 2016. Mufti assured people that soon a fire station would be set up at Mehjoor Nagar while a proper rehabilitation plan would be formulated for people who need to be relocated in the case of road-widening. The inauguration of ..

Israel's Sea of Galilee to get desalinated seawater top-up

The shrinking Sea of Galilee, the inland lake where Christians believe Jesus walked on water, is to be topped up with desalinated seawater, a government official said today. A plan given cabinet approval yesterday will pump 100 million cubic metres of water annually by 2022 into the lake in northern Israel's Galilee region, Yechezkel Lifshitz, deputy director general of Israel's energy and water ministry, told AFP. Last year Israel's water authority said the body of water, hit by years of drought, had reached its lowest level in a century. Situated 200 metres (656 feet) below sea level and 45 km from the coast, the Sea of Galilee is mentioned in the bible as the site of a number of Jesus's miracles. Known in Hebrew as Lake Kinneret, it covers an area of roughly 160 sq km. Ten years ago it provided 400 million cubic metres a year of fresh water and was the country's largest freshwater reserve. But a series of dry winters have reduced its level to such an extent that pumping had to be ..

Salem highway will propel growth like Pune expressway: TN CM

Amid opposition to the Rs 10,000 crore Chennai-Salem greenfield highway from some quarters, Tamil Nadu chief Minister K Palaniswami today asserted it will boost economic growth and its gains far outweighed other factors. The 277.3 km long eight-lane greenfield project connecting Chennai and Salem under the Centre's 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' scheme, will stimulate growth like the Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Agra expressway projects, he told the state assembly. He also said compensation for land would be paid as per the new land acquisition law and per hectare, it will be a minimum of Rs 20 lakh, for concrete houses it will be Rs 340 per sq ft and for a coconut tree it is Rs 40,000. Allaying fears, he listed out various benefits that the highway would bring in and appealed to the public to extend cooperation for the project. Stating that quality roads were crucial for economic growth, he said the greenfield highway will propel industrial growth, and lead to increase in Per Capita .

Bio-CNG to power public transport buses in Indore

Bio-CNG is set to power public transport in Indore, a city which emerged as the cleanliest in a government survey this year. A pilot project to run select public transport vehicles on bio-fuel has become a success and this has prompted the administration to expand the project. "At present, two city buses and 20 auto-rickshaws are being run on an experimental basis by fuel sourced from bio- degradable waste like fruits and vegetables. "This experiment of waste management has been successful," Asad Warsi, the Centre's Swacch Bharat Abhiyans advisor for Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), told PTI. "Now, we will use this fuel commercially in 20 city buses under the first phase by using bio-CNG in place of normal CNG. Besides aiding in conservation of environment, it will also help cut fuel bill (of IMC)," he said. A bus can run 3.5 km on per kg of normal CNG, while with bio-CNG, the mileage increases to 4 km, Warsi said. The IMC has established the citys first bio- ...

HC stays construction of all hydro power plants in Uttarakhand

The Uttarakhand High Court today ordered a stay on construction of all hydro power plants in the state and directed the district magistrates to identify sites within eight weeks for disposal of debris from every project. The court prohibited waste disposal within 500 metres of rivers, sternly rejecting the state government's request to reduce the range from 500 metres to 200 metres, and said all district magistrates shall be personally held responsible if any waste is disposed of at any place other than the ones earmarked for the purpose. A bench of justices Rajeev Sharma and Lok Pal Singh gave the directions on a PIL filed by Himadri Jan Kalyan Sansthan which alleged that the debris from the hydro projects was being dumped near the rivers, impeding their flow and causing damage to environment. Noting with concern the receding glaciers and depleting water levels of the rivers flowing through the state, the court set a deadline of 8 weeks within which all district magistrates of ...