Page 679 - Environment

Taj Mahal Declaration to 'Beat Plastic Pollution' adopted

The Indian government on Sunday pledged to end disposable, or single use plastic around the Taj Mahal and make upto 500 metres around the historic monument plastic-free under the Taj Declaration on beating plastic pollution.

Nipah virus: Situation now not alarming, says Ker Govt

: The situation in Kerala at present following the outbreak of Nipah virus, which has so far claimed 16 lives, is not alarming as no new cases have been reported, a high-level review meeting said today. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was attended, among others, by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajiv Sadanandan and DGP Loknath Behara and senior IAS officers. The collectors of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, the worst affected by the virus, participated in the meeting through video conferencing, a press release said. So far there has been 18 positive cases of Nipah infection, of whom 16 people have died. Since there have been no more fresh cases, there was no need to be afraid of the virus, it said. In the second phase of the infection also very few cases have come up, the release said adding the deaths of two patients-one each at Kannur and Wayanad were not due to the virus. Until the virus was fully brought under control, the team of ...

Mini marathon to create awareness against use of plastic

Over 1000 school and college students and common public took part in a mini marathon run, popularly known as Envithon, here today to create awareness against the use of plastic for protecting the eco-system. The event was organised ahead of World Environment Day, 2018 by Union Environment, Forest & Climate Change Ministry organised mini marathon run, to take steps against use of plastic. The mini marathon was held from IDCO Exhibition ground, Unit-3 through Sachivalaya Marg, Patel Marg, Biduyt Marg cumulating at Kalinga Stadium and covered around 5 km on the heart of the capital city. Chairman and managing director of NALCO, Tapan Kumar Chand flagged off the Mini-Marathon which focuses on the theme Beat Plastic Pollution. The participants pledged to beat the menace of plastic pollution, a release from the organisers said. The World Environment Day is observed on June 5 every year. It may be noted here that, India is the global host of 2018 World Environment Day to ...

Taj Declaration to Beat Plastic Pollution adopted in Agra

A Taj Declaration to Beat Plastic Pollution was adopted here today as part of which efforts would be made to make the 500-metre area around the historic ivory-white marble monument litter-free and phase out single-use plastic. The adoption of the declaration - in presence of Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Erik Solheim, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Diya Mirza - came ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5. Before the adoption of the declaration, the Culture Ministry held a stake-holders' workshop chaired by Sharma. The workshop focussed on curbing pollution near the 17th-century monument and drawing short-term and long-term plans to deal with the problem. According to an official statement, a pledge was taken to make the 500-metre area around the Taj Mahal litter-free and take steps to phase out single-use plastic from the area. Sharma said India and the whole world is today facing the problem of pollution caused by ...

Tripura starts exporting pineapples to Dubai

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today flagged off the first consignment of pineapples from the state to be exported to Dubai. Speaking at the function, Deb said more consignments of pineapples of the state would be exported to foreign countries. The chief minister said "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a dream of doubling farmers income in the country by 2022. The dream has become a reality here today with export of pineapples." Deb urged the farmers in the state to plant pineapples and bamboo in land lying unused. "We have long monsoon here and bamboo grows in abundance. Farmers should plant pineapples, bamboo in any land which is lying unused. We shall issue a notification shortly to plant bamboo in unused private land," he said. Tripura Agriculture minister, Pranajit Singha Roy said the first consignment of 'Queen' variety of pineapples would reach Dubai on Tuesday. The state government had on May 18 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a ...

Vegetable prices soar, milk supply hit as farmers' protest for third day

As their agitation entered the third day today, farmers in Punjab and Haryana continued to dump their produce on roads as a mark of their protest, while vegetable prices soared in several cities of the two states. The 10-day agitation by farmers against the alleged anti-farmer policies of the central government began on Friday. Several farmers' organisations are jointly protesting in 22 states, demanding remunerative prices for their produce, implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations and farm loan waiver. They have stopped the supply of vegetables, fruits, milk and other items to cities. Prices of vegetables and other items have soared in the wake of dwindling supplies of farm produce, traders said. The farmers, instead of supplying their produce to madis, are dumping them on roads to make their displeasure clear. At several places in Punjab and Haryana, including Ludhiana, Moga, Muktsar, Kurukshetra, Fatehabad and Sonipat, they held protests. Haryana Chief Minister ...

Thermal power plants in Gujarat stare at closure over low coal supply

The state government has requested the railway ministry to provide rakes for transporting coal to the power plants to avoid any shortage of the coal during this peak season

India at critical threshold in urban development: Puri

India stands at a critical threshold on its way to development where a lot depends on the opportunities which allow the cities to grow, Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday.

Cycling best and cheap exercise, must be promoted: Venkaiah Naidu

Cycling is the best and cheapest form of exercise and must be promoted "on a sustained basis", Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday.

Amarinder hits out at Union agri minister over farmers' protest remarks

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today dubbed Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's controversial remarks about the ongoing farmers agitation "bizzare". "It is not the protest which is bizarre, but the union minister's statement," Amarinder Singh said. He said that the Union minister's statement yesterday that the protest by farmers was an attempt to gain media attention showed the Centre's apathy towards the farming community. The Punjab chief minister demanded Radha Mohan Singh's resignation saying that he did not connect with the farmers' woes. "When a minister entrusted with the welfare of the farmers cannot relate to their problems and is absolutely indifferent to their plight, one can well imagine which way the country is headed," Amarinder Singh said. He added that the farmers were committing suicide out of sheer desperation and masses were reeling under spiralling prices. "When the farmers, who feed the nation, are forced to resort to such extreme steps, ...

Tripura starts exporting 'Queen' pineapples to Dubai

Tripura's 'Queen' variety pineapples are finally on their way to Dubai with Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Sunday flagging off a one tonne consignment -- the first.

Mesolithic ancestors were fish, plant eaters: Study

Humans during the Mesolithic era consumed fish and plants, scientists have shown for the first time, after analysing dental plaque of a tooth from the skeletal remains of a man. The remains of the Mesolithic man were found in a cave on a Croatian island. Previous analysis of Mesolithic skeletal remains in this region has suggested a more varied Medittaranrrean diet consisting of terrestrial, freshwater and marine food resources, not too dissimilar to what modern humans eat today. Although this recent find is the only example of a skeleton that provides evidence of both fish and plants in the diet of early people in this region, the researchers argue that the discovery provides a significant insight into the lifestyle of Adriatic and Mediterranean foragers. The team found microfossils entombed in the dental calculus, commonly known as tooth plaque or tartar, of the young male skeleton, revealing fish scale fragments and fish muscle fibres. Analysis also showed microfossils of plants in

Asia's first 13 'Blue Flag' beaches to be developed in India

Environment friendly, clean and equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists, 13 Indian beaches will soon get the Blue Flag certification. These beaches of Odisha, Maharashtra and other coastal states will be the first in not just India, but in Asia, to get the Blue Flag certification. The Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an environment ministry's body working for the management of coastal areas, according to the Blue Flag certification standards. Project Head of SCIOM Arvind Nautiyal said that to make the beaches environment and tourist-friendly in accordance with the Blue Flag standards, a beach has to be plastic-free and be equipped with a waste management system. They also have to ensure availability of clean water for tourists, have amenities of international standards for tourists and be equipped with facilities for studying environmental impact around the beach, he said. Nautiyal was speaking at a ...

Expecting this World Environment Day to be most exciting ever: Solheim

UN Environment Chief Erik Solheim has said that the World Environment Day (WED) 2018 to be hosted by India on Tuesday is expected to be the most "exciting and inspiring WED ever". Noting that WED will be a celebration and a call to action and leadership, Solheim said India is the "perfect" place for that to happen. World Environment Day (WED) celebrations has already begun in the national capital and across the country from June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair the plenary session on June 5, where all state environment ministers will also be present, which will culminate the five-day celebrations. "We're expecting this to be the most exciting and inspiring World Environment Day ever!," Solheim told PTI. June 5 was designated as World Environment Day by the UN General Assembly to commemorate the opening of the Stockholm Conference on Human Development. Annual celebrations of World Environment Day began in 1974. The theme of WED 2018 is Beat Plastic Pollution "We ...

Solar rooftop growth slow; 40GW by '22 hard to achieve:Experts

The growth in the solar rooftop segment has not been significant, and the government may find it difficult to achieve the target of installing 40 gigawatt (GW) of capacity by 2022, say experts. The government has set a target to install 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022, out of which 40 GW has to come from rooftop projects. However, the country has managed to set up just over 2 GW of solar rooftop capacity so far, while the target for just financial year 2017-18 was 5 GW, according to the data from the ministry of new and renewable energy. "Rooftop projects can't be added in that quantity as a lot of structures built were not designed for setting up such projects. People are not used to open space deficiency, so it will be tough to do it in the quantity envisaged by the government," Solar Power Developers' Association president Vineet Mittal told PTI. Anmol Jaggi, founder and director, Gensol group, said, government establishments and commercial buildings like malls or ..

THDCIL to float Rs 8k cr tender for Khurja thermal plant

Foraying into thermal power segment, state-run THDC India will float Rs 8,000 crore tender this month for providing main package for its 1320 MW coal-based Khurja project, which entails an investment of Rs 12,676 crore. "We will issue notice inviting tender for main plant package worth around Rs 8,000 crore for 2X660 MW thermal power plant in Khurja in second half of this month. We have planned to start the construction by December this year," Director THDC India Ltd Vijay Goel told PTI. While the first unit is scheduled to be commissioned in November 2022, second unit would go on steam by April 2023. "We are mainly into hydro power and wind power capacities. Now we would foray into thermal power segment with development of Khurja power plant. This will significantly boost our installed generation capacity which is 1513 MW at present," Goel said. THDCIL, formerly known as Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd, is a joint venture of Central and Uttar Pradesh governments with equity ..

TSFDC to take up two eco-tourism projects in Telangana

: Telangana State Forest Development Corporation(TSFDC) has proposed two eco-tourism projects in Mancherial and Nalgonda districts, itsChairman Banda Narender Reddy said. "Six acres of land has been acquired near the Godavari river for new eco-tourism project at Chintaguda village of Mancherial district in the vicinity of Kawal Tiger Reserve and tender has been called for best architectural proposals for the development of project and facility," Reddy said. The second eco-tourism project is proposed on the back waters of Nagarjuna Sagar at Vizag Colony in Nalgonda, he said adding a total of 15 acres of land is in advance stages of acquiring anddetailed project report (DPR) is being prepared. TSFDChas already developed foureco-tourism projects around Hyderabad city. TSFDC during the year 2017-18 achieved an all-time highest productivity in harvesting of EucalyptusClonal plantation. The per hectare yield has gone up from 44.92 MT in 2012-13 to 87 MT in 2017-18, he ...

School children should become environment protectors: Vardhan

Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan today urged school children to become environment protectors and help the government and society overcome the menace of plastic pollution. He was addressing a gathering of more than 10,000 school children from nearly 200 schools of Delhi-NCR here, who had assembled to participate in the Envithon' a mini-marathon organised in the run-up to the World Environment Day on June 5. Underlining the crucial role of school children in any societal endeavour, Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan has urged school children to become environment protectors ('Paryavaran Rakshaks') and help the government and society overcome the menace of plastic pollution, an official statement said. Vardhan said that children have an immeasurable capacity to infuse vigour and enthusiasm into any activity they indulge in and also inspire other people. Cultural programme, including a street play, songs and dance performances, centred on the theme of plastic pollution and

Mahagenco not keen to take over RattanIndia's Nashik project

State-run power firm Mahagenco is not keen on taking over the Rs 3,000-crore debt RattanIndia Power owes to Power Finance Corporation (PFC), by buying the former's thermal project in Nashik, a top official said. RattanIndia Nasik Power, a subsidiary of RattanIndia Power, had proposed a 2,700 MW project, out of which 1,350 MW has been commissioned so far, as per the company's website. PFC had earlier said it is in talks with the state government to take over one of the asset of RattanIndia in Nashik to recover its dues. "Yes we have got the proposal from PFC to take over the RattanIndia's thermal power plant in Nashik and we are currently evaluating its feasibility," state principal secretary (energy) Arvind Singh told PTI. However, according to the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco), taking over the project will not be a viable proposition, as the plant is facing issues like lack of proper rail connectivity for coal supply and water shortage. "Taking .

Ancient tooth reveals Mesolithic man ate fish, plants

In a first, scientists have discovered evidence that humans from the Mesolithic period consumed fish and plants and also used their teeth for de-scaling activities.