Page 663 - Environment
MGNREGS Water Conservation Thrust - transforming lives and livelihoods
To ensure a concerted thrust on Water Conservation during the summer months, already Rs. 25,376 crore have been released to the States and UTs in the current Financial Year. Every State has taken up Water Conservation works as per its felt needs. 2,156 river rejuvenation works have also been planned by the States across the country. Some very meaningful work has been undertaken to revive water bodies, and to construct new ponds. Districts in nearly every State have come forward to start a people's movement for Water Conservation. Efforts in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Maharashtra, are all designed as per local needs to ensure that durable Water Conservation assets contribute to the well-being of marginal and small farmers. Through these concerted efforts, over 15 lakh farm ponds have already been completed besides a very large number of dug wells, community water bodies,
Coral fertility treatment gives hope for Great Barrier Reef
A coral fertility treatment designed to help heal damaged parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef is showing signs of success and now needs to be scaled up to create a bigger impact, the scientist told CNN on Friday.
NASA finds curious new clues to life on Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered "tough" organic molecules in three-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks near the surface of Mars -- a finding that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life.
Pakistan, Russia finalise deal to study undersea pipeline project
Pakistan and Russia have finalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for conducting a "feasibility study" of a planned undersea gas pipeline.
Cabinet approves construction of a new 6 - Lane bridge with its approaches across River Ganga at Phaphamau, Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh
The construction period for the project is three years and likely to be completed by December, 2021. The new bridge will resolve the traffic congestion on existing old 2 - lane Phaphamau bridge on NH-96 at Allahabad.
DNA samples seek to uncover whale shark secrets
An Australian scientific research agency announced on Friday that it will collect DNA samples from whale sharks at the country's Ningaloo Reef to determine the age of this giant elusive fish.
NASA finds 3 bn years old organic molecules in rocks on Mars
NASA announced on Thursday that its robot explorer Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012 and has been exploring there ever since, found organic molecules in rocks formed three billion years ago, a discovery that could indicate that there was life on the Red Planet at that time.
Beijing removes missiles stationed near South China Sea
The Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) released new satellite images showing Chinese surface-to-air missile systems which were earlier placed on a contested South China Sea island have either been removed or relocated.Woody Island, the largest island in the disputed Paracel Islands chain hosts several Chinese military installations. But currently, it seems that some of them have gone missing, as per Sputnik.In 2016, China had declared that it had deployed weapons to Woody Island in the Paracel Islands, on the northwestern edge of the South China Sea.Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie suggests that the systems might have been removed temporarily to undergo some maintenance work.Last month, China had quietly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the South China Sea.The White House, then warned Beijing, saying there will be consequences for its growing militarisation in the South China Sea.The South China Sea is one
Maha sees increase of 432 sq km in forest water catchment area
Maharashtra witnessed an increase of 432 sq km in the water catchment areas in forests in two years thanks to the Jalyukt Shivar water conservation programme, senior minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said today. The Indian Forest Survey Report 2017, released recently, notes this increase, he said. The total water catchment area in state's forests was 1,116 sq km as per the 2015 report, which increased to 1,548 sq km in 2017, the forest minister said. This increase happened due to the Jalyukt Shivar and other water conservation works undertaken by the Forest Department, he said. Between 2014-15 and 2016-17, the department approved 33,747 water conservation-related works, of which 28,741 projects were completed, he said.
NDMC gets 104 new auto-tippers, 1 for each ward
In line with the Swachh Bharat Mission, 104 new garbage-collecting vans were flagged off by BJP's national vice-president Shyam Jaju at the NDMC headquarters here today, officials said. Jaju said the real service to the nation will be making it free of garbage and debris, and by making the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' a success. "Officials and leaders should work in collaboration to achieve the objectives of the mission. If intentions are right, no target is unachievable," he was quoted as saying in a statement by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). During the event, he was accompanied by Delhi BJP chief Manoj and North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta. Tiwari said there are high expectations from the new team of councillors. Making Delhi garbage-free was one of the promises made to the citizens of Delhi and it is the responsibility of councillors to fulfil it, he said. The procurement of 104 small auto-tippers (vans) by the corporation is just a step in that direction, he said, and also .
J'khand CM warns agencies for laxity in electrification work
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said action would be taken, for showing laxity, against the agencies assigned to provide electricity to every household. He said the goal should not be delayed due to their laxity, an official release said quoting Das. This is the last warning, the release said quoting him. Those agencies working well would be awarded and this is the final warning against those who are falling behind, Das said, adding, the state government is committed to provide electricity to every household and slackness would not be tolerated. Giving a month's time to the agencies falling behind, Das said cases would be slapped against those cheating. They would blacklisted, he said. All poles should be installed by June, the chief minister said, adding, a review meeting would be held on July 9.
Strict new emissions tests disrupt Volkswagen production
German auto giant Volkswagen has warned it will have to halt production at its main Wolfsburg plant for several days next quarter as it adapts to rigorous new EU emissions tests. "We must plan for interruptions to production in the third quarter," VW chief executive Herbert Diess told workers yesterday. He told staff to expect "closure days" in late summer and September. New emissions standards known by the acronym WLTP -- short for Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure -- have already prompted VW subsidiary Porsche to suspend sales via its website, complaining of the "enormous burden" of the upcoming regulations. From September 1, all cars sold in the European Union will have to be approved using the new scheme. The tests are meant to better mimic real-world driving conditions than past lab tests, giving a more accurate reading of the emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) and harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx). The stricter emissions and fuel efficiency probes come
IMD advises fishermen to not venture into sea
The Indian Metrological Department on Thursday advised fishermen to not venture into the east central Arabian Sea off Konkan and Goa coasts, as well as west central and adjoining southwest Arabian Sea, off Somalia coast between June 8 to June 12, due to rough condition of the sea.The IMD also predicted that rainfall is likely to increase over coastal Karnataka, Goa and south Maharashtra.The widespread rainfall is likely to continue till June 10 and is likely to extend to north coastal Maharashtra, including Mumbai from tomorrow, said the IMD.
38 Indians rescued from Yemen safely reach Porbandar
The 38 Indians evacuated from Socotra island in Yemen Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sunayana on June 3 landed safely at Porbandar on Thursday, a defence statement said.
Smaller cities more successful in implementing waste-segregation policy: CSE
Smaller cities have been innovative and "more successful" in implementing waste segregation at source methodology compared to the bigger ones, a green body today said, as it awarded a small town in Maharashtra for its eco-friendly initiatives. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has been working with cities to promote and implement source-segregation and decentralised model of waste management. To advance this work, the CSE had launched 'Forum of Cities that Segregate' last December. The forum now has 26 members, including cities like Indore, Thiruvananthapuram, Mysore, Muzaffarpur and some municipal corporations in Delhi-NCR (such as SDMC, EDMC and Gurgaon). The 2017-18 assessment report of the performance of 20 of these 26 forum cities was released here by the CSE today. The cities were assessed based on their performance in 2017-18. The parameters included segregation at source, collection, transportation, waste processing, adoption of decentralised systems, inclusion of ..
GSI to soon complete geochemical & geophysical mapping
The Geological Survey of India (GSI), which is focusing on mineral exploration, is looking to complete its geochemical mapping by 2018-19 and geophysical mapping by 2021, an official said here on Thursday.
South Delhi Mayor holds meet on desilting, waterlogging issues
South Delhi Mayor Narendra Chawla today held a meeting to discuss the preparedness for desilting and tackling waterlogging in the city during the monsoon, and asked all agencies to take "pro-active actions" and "avoid blame game". He also directed officials to focus on areas such as Dhansa Road at Najafgarh, Sangam Vihar, Lajpat Nagar underpass, Kushak Nallah, Sunhari Nallah, Mehrauli, Defence Colony, where waterlogging commonly occurs every year. "The India Meteorological Department in its forecast has made it clear that there is going to be more than expected rainfall in this monsoon season. Hence, all agencies will have to work in tandem and have to work extra to tackle the problem," he said. The meeting, chaired by Chawla was attended by engineer-in-chief of the engineering department, representatives of railways, BSES, Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Jal Board (DJB), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Irrigation and Flood Control ...
ACME Group bags 50 MW Solar power project
ACME Group today said it has won 50 MW solar power project at Gujrai solar park, Uttar Pradesh in an auction conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). ACME won the contract in the reverse auction held today, invited by the SECI for Gujrai solar park, a company statement said. The SECI invited solar tenders with cumulative capacity of 275 MW to be executed at multiple solar parks in Uttar Pradesh. According to the statement, the ACME participated in the bidding process for 50 MW at Gujrai solar park in Kanpur dehat district of Uttar Pradesh and won it at a tariff of Rs 3.38 per cent unit. It is a very tough project due to site access, soil condition, difficult contour, high wind speed and lower GHI (Global Horizontal Irradiance). The tariff remains lower than forbearance price of Rs 3.48 per unit. "We wanted to learn from this project and use our innovation and execution capabilities to meet the customer expectation. I'm happy that our team has done this. We will build ...
Centre discharging responsibility towards Odisha well : Pradhan
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today dismissed the BJD government's claims about negligence of Odisha by the Centre, saying the BJP-led NDA government has injected over Rs 2.86 lakh crore to ensure rapid growth of the state. "Since NDA came to power in 2014, total investments in Odisha for projects in various sectors has been Rs 2,86,836 crore. Several of the projects are already under implementation," Pradhan told reporters here highlighting NDA government's achievements in four years. Asked to comment on the BJD government's repeated allegation that Odisha was neglected during NDA rule, the Union minister asserted that the Centre is discharging its responsibility towards Odisha "quite well and the question of neglecting the state does not arise". "In a federal set up like ours, the Centre has certain responsibilities towards Odisha and we are doing everything to put the state on the track of speedy development. Flow of funds to Odisha has substantially increased during the
GSI begins systematic mapping of Landslide prone areas
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has started systematic mapping of all landslide prone areas in the country to avert damages, its Director General Dinesh Gupta said today. The GSI has identified parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Darjeeling area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir and some portions of South India comprising hills - and undertaken systematic mapping of which area is prone to landslides, Gupta told reporters here. "Any slight movement will be recorded, fed into the system and used to warn state authorities about any possible occurance (of landslide)," he said at the meet called to highlight GSI's activities. Data pertaining to 1.71 sq km area was already available and all one would have to do was to type the location and see the result on map, Gupta said. He said that by 2021, the entire data feed process is expected to be completed. On early warning system for earthquakes, he said there is no technology to forecast it but GSI is cautioning .
