Page 688 - Environment
Land allocation for Sterlite expansion cancelled, probe into
The Tamil Nadu government today cancelled land allotment for planned expansion of Vedanta group's copper plant in Tuticorin "in larger public interest" and ordered a CB-CID probe into the violence during the anti-Sterlite protest and police firing that left 13 dead. Chief Minister K Palaniswami told the state assembly that the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) has issued the order cancelling the land allotment. The move comes a day after the state government ordered its Pollution Control Board to seal and 'permanently' close the Sterlite Copper plant following last week's protests, over pollution concerns. The probe into the violence during the last week's protest and police firing was today transferred from local police to the Crime Branch-CID police, a senior official told PTI. In a related development, state Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the kin of some of those killed in the police firings on May 22 and 23 and also met the injured
WB govt seeks cooperation of all stakeholders to do away with
With single use plastic bags constituting half of total plastic waste, the West Bengal government today sought cooperation from all stakeholders to stop proliferation of such packets. To put to end the practice for using single use plastic bags, "which constitute 50 per cent of the total plastic wastes, we need cooperation from all," Principal Secretary, Department of Environment, Arnab Roy said at the Conference on Sustainable Waste Management. The event was organized by CII in association with the Department of Environment, West Bengal. He added the state government was serious about converting wastes into wealth in an environment-friendly manner and make recycling a source of job generation. Roy said the single use of plastic bags and bottles and piling of tonnes of waste generated at construction and demolition sites remained a matter of concern particularly in a densely populated state like West Bengal. He said challenges of solid wastes were no longer limited to ...
Environment ministry says state steel firm expanded without approval: document
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's environment ministry has found that state-controlled Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) expanded a steel plant without its approval, according to a government letter seen by Reuters.
UAE bans fruits from Indian state after Nipah virus outbreak
DUBAI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned imports of fresh vegetables and fruits from the southern Indian state of Kerala where 13 people have died due to an outbreak of the rare brain-damaging Nipah virus, the Gulf state said on Tuesday.
Punjab procures over 127 lakh tonnes of wheat
'Green Revolution' state Punjab has procured over 127.32 lakh tonnes of wheat in this season, a Food and Supplies Department spokesman said here on Tuesday.
Centre to set up study centre on Brahmaputra river at Gauhati Univ
The government announced today that a Brahmaputra Study Centre would be set up at Gauhati University at a cost of Rs 28 crore to conduct research on the causes of and how to prevent frequent floods in the river. Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh said the Brahmaputra was one of the largest rivers in the world and the study centre would offer an opportunity for research in different aspects of the river in hydrology, waterways, environment, disaster, flood management, hydro-power production, etc. The government has approved setting up of an exclusive Brahmaputra Study Centre at Gauhati University in Guwahati for which a fund of about Rs 28 crore will be provided by the DoNER Ministry, Singh said. Vice-Chancellor of the university, Mridul Hazarika, who called on the minister, said the university had decided to provide land within the campus for a separate block for the study centre. Singh said Gauhati University was one of the oldest ...
With sanitation workers on strike, garbage piles up in Taj city
Heaps of garbage is piling up here as thousands of safai karamcharis of the Agra Municipal Corporation are on strike since May 25, opposing transfers from one ward to the other.
Signature Bridge will be ready by October: Kejriwal
Construction of the much-awaited Signature Bridge on the Yamuna river will be completed by October this year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today. Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia inspected the bridge in the morning and witnessed the installation of final pylon at the site. The chief minister said that the residents of Delhi have been eagerly waiting for the opening of the city's iconic Signature Bridge. The bridge, once completed, will share the burden of vehicular traffic, currently being borne by the Wazirabad bridge, used to commute to and from Delhi and Ghaziabad. The bridge will connect the Outer Ring Road on the western bank with the Wazirabad Road on the eastern side of the Yamuna river. "The construction work on the bridge, which started in 2010, was supposed to be completed in 2013, but it was delayed by five years. But, we hope that it (construction work) will be completed by October this year," Kejriwal told reporters here. He said that Delhi government ..
Rain brings relief to agencies battling forest fires in U'khand
Battling forest fires for over a week, the fire-fighting crew in Uttarakhand heaved a sigh of relief today with many places lashed by rain, which is expected to extinguish the active fires and leave enough moisture in the grass which will prevent the further occurrence of forest blazes. "It has rained in Dehradun, Rishikesh, Chamoli, Rudraparayag and Tehri districts, bringing a much-needed relief to around 10,000 people engaged in fire-fighting operations in the state for the last several days," Chief Conservator of Forest and nodal officer for forest fires B P Gupta said. "Rain at this time is a blessing for us as it would douse the active fires and make our task much easier," he added. Apart from dousing the active forest blazes, the showers will wet the grass and prevent the fire from spreading quickly, Gupta said. Even otherwise, the number of fire alerts has witnessed a decline over the last couple of days. Only 11 fire alerts were received today as against 35 yesterday, Gupta ...
NGT stays dumping of waste in Noida city park
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday put a stay on the dumping of garbage and municipal waste at a city forest and park in Noida Sector 54 on a plea by residents who claimed people there were getting sick due to this.
Krishnapatnam, CONCOR launch new container rail service to central India
Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd (KPCL) today said it has launched, in association with CONCOR, a new weekly direct container rail service connecting the country's central region to the east coast and beyond. The inaugural train left from Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT) today with a full load of MAERSK Line import containers, it said. "The new rail transit will run a direct shuttle service between ICD (Inland Container Depot), Nagpur to KPCT in record 55 hours, at competitive freight rates," the company said in a statement. The service is set to offer huge benefits for EXIM shipments between central India and trade destinations like China, far east, Australia, Bangladesh and West Africa, it said. KPCL CEO Anil Yendluri said: Our new service offering is all set to revolutionise the EXIM trade dynamics for central and east India as shipping over KPCT can reduce at least one week's transit time vis--vis shipping via west coast ports and with the new freight rail service in ...
UAE bans vegetables from Kerala, animals from South Africa
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned imports of fresh vegetables and fruits from Kerala after an outbreak of the Nipah virus (NiV) there, the Gulf state's ministry of environment said on Tuesday.
No Nipah virus case in northeast: Official
No case of Nipah virus has been detected in the northeast, an official said on Tuesday, denying misleading social media reports about its presence in the region.
Limiting global warming may prevent millions of dengue cases
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius could prevent around 3.3 million cases of dengue fever ever year in Latin America and the Caribbean alone, a study has found. The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that limiting warming to the goal of the UN Paris Agreement would also stop dengue spreading to areas where incidence is currently low. A global warming trajectory of 3.7 degree Celsius could lead to an increase of up to 7.5 million additional cases per year by the middle of this century. Dengue fever is a tropical disease caused by a virus that is spread by mosquitoes, with symptoms including fever, headache, muscle and joint pain. It is endemic to over 100 countries, and infects around 390 million people worldwide each year, with an estimated 54 million cases in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since the mosquitoes that carry and transmit the virus thrive in warm and humid conditions, it is more commonly found in areas with ...
Water in Goa's dams sufficient for one-two months supply: Govt
The Goa government today said that the state's six dams had sufficient water to meet its drinking requirements for one to two months. State Water Resources Department Minister Vinod Palyekar said that water level in the six reservoirs had not touched the minimum mark because of a good monsoon last year. South Goa's Selaulim dam, which is states biggest reservoir, has a water level of 31.66 metres and this is sufficient to supply drinking water for more than a month, Palyekar said. The state's second biggest dam, located at Anjunem village in Sattari taluka in North Goa, has a water level of 72.83 metres, he said, adding that it too could provide water for a month to areas dependent on it. Chapoli dam in North Goa has a level 31.61 metres which was sufficient for two months of water supply, he said. The water level in South Goa's Amthane dam, near Canacona taluka, is 44.85 metres and can supply water for two months, he said. Panchawadi dam, with a water level of 22.32 ...
Need for promoting small scale entrepreneurship in fisheries
Small scale entrepreneurship should be promoted in fisheries to improve living standards of fishermen and fish farmers, Union Minister Krishna Raj said today. "Village level campaigns are required to create awareness among the fishermen and farmers about the prospects of entrepreneurship in fisheries sector," she said. The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare was interacting with scientists of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here. "Women empowerment could be made possible by encouraging them take up entrepreneurial initiatives," she said. She requested scientists to implement innovative and diversified farming practices to attract more people into fish farming. The minister also stressed the need for upgrading living status of fishermen and fish farmers to that of industrialists. She urged marine scientists to promote seaweed farming which, according to her, has multi-dimensional industrial prospects. "Seaweed cultivation ..
NGT notice to Centre, Uttarakhand on plea for stay on road linking Kotdwar to Ramnagar
The National Green Tribunal today issued show cause notice to the Centre and the Uttarakhand government on a plea seeking a stay on the construction of a road linking Kotdwar to Ramnagar and passing through the Corbett Tiger Reserve. A bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim sought responses from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Uttarakhand government, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the National Board for Wildlife, the National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC) and others in two weeks. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal seeking stay on the construction of the road linking Kotdwar to Ramnagar as it would damage the "biodiversity, ecosystem and wildlife of the tiger reserve". Bansal contended that the state government was going ahead with the project despite a Supreme Court order which prohibits construction of any road passing through the Corbett tiger reserve and ban on tree felling in the eco-sensitive ...
Rain & thundershower in Odisha in next 24-hours: IMD
Odisha is likely to experience rain and thundershower in next 24 hours due to formation of a depression in the Northeast of the Bay of Bengal, India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin. The system is located at about 715 kilometre East- Southeast of Balasore, it said adding that the latest observations and satellite imageries indicate that the Well Marked Low Pressure Area (WML) over Eastcentral and adjoining Northeast Bay of Bengal (BoB) has concentrated into a depression. "It is very likely to intensify further into a deep depression during next 6 hours. It is very likely to move North-Northeastwards and cross Myanmar and adjoining Bangladesh coasts between Kyaukpyu and Teknaf (Bangladesh) close to Sittwe around night of today," said IMD regional director S C Sahu. The IMD predicted rain and thundershower in some places of the state in the next 24 hours. The IMD advised for hoisting Distant Cautionary Signal Number One (DC-I) at all ports in Odisha as sea ...
Reducing global warming can prevent millions of dengue cases: Study
Limiting global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as per the UN Paris Agreement, would stop dengue spreading to areas where incidence is currently low, say researchers.
Azerbaijan inaugurates European gas pipeline
Azerbaijan inaugurated today a pipeline that will eventually create the first direct route to transport gas from one of the world's largest fields to Europe bypassing Russia. "With this project we are creating a new energy map of Europe," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a nationally televised ceremony where he turned on the taps at Sangachal Terminal, located some 55 kilometres (35 miles) southwest of the capital Baku. The Southern Gas Project aims to transport gas 3,500 kilometres from the Caspian Sea to Europe just as the West is looking to reduce its reliance on Russian energy. The USD 40-billion (35-billion-euro) project consists of three linked pipelines that will bring gas from the vast Azerbaijani Shah Deniz 2 field across Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy. By 2020, the Southern Gas Corridor is expected to bring around 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe a year. Another 6 billion cubic metres of gas will .
