Page 705 - Environment

Molasses leak: 'Recovery of ecosystem of Beas river will take few yrs'

The entire ecosystem of the Beas river, which has been effected due to molasses leakage, will take a few years to recover, Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden said today. Noting that the leak has caused massive damage to the aquatic life, he said the restoration of ecosystem does take time. "It is not that ecosystem in river will get restored in a few months with the kind of catastrophe we have witnessed. It is going to take a few years,"Chief Wildlife Warden Kuldip Kumar told PTI. A large number of fish were found dead in the Beas on May 17 after molasses from a sugar factory leaked into the river in Punjab's Beas town, about 40 km from Amritsar. As many as eight to ten varieties of fish including cat fish, common carp died because of low level of oxygen in the river. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to hold a meeting with senior officials in connection with the incident on Friday. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Department is also monitoring the long term effect on the behaviour ..

Dy CM visits Signature Bridge site, promises weekly visits to speed up completion

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today inspected work on the much awaited Signature Bridge on the Yamuna river and promised to pay weekly visits at the site to speed up its completion. Construction of the bridge has been delayed, but once completed it will save travel time of millions of north east Delhi residents and serve as a "crown" of Delhi tourism, he said. Last month, the CPWD had endorsed an additional estimate of around Rs 231 crore of the DTTDC, raising hopes of its speedy completion. The Delhi government's Public Works department (PWD) had sought the Central Public Works Department(CPWD) "expert opinion" after the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) had submitted a revised estimate of Rs 1,575 crore for the bridge. Last month, the Delhi High Court had pulled up the PWD and the DTTDC for "quibbling over" the amount to be paid for construction of the "long overdue" bridge. The bridge, once completed, will share the burden of vehicular traffic,

Nipah virus: special ward opened at Coimbatore govt hospital

A special ward has been opened in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital as a precautionary measure in the wake of outbreak of Nipah virus in Kozhikode district of Kerala. A special medical team has been stationed at Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border as a number of people keep coming to the city from various places in Kerala, particularly Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode, official sources said. The team is examining people entering Tamil Nadu, especially those with the symptoms of fever, the sources said. Also, medical check-up is being conducted in border areas of Nilgiris district and Kerala, they said. So far no cases have been reported from the borders, they said. Fruit vendors have been asked not to sell fruits that had fallen from trees and those partially consumed by birds and animals. Nipah virus spreads from animals to humans and there is no vaccination to contain the infection.

Nipah virus: All precautionary steps taken in Pondy, says CM

All precautionary measures have been taken in the Union Territory following the outbreak of Nipah virus in Kozhikode district of Kerala, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said today. Speaking to reporters here, the chief minister said the director of medical services in Puducherry, K V Raman was camping at the government general hospital in Mahe, an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala, to monitor preventive measures. "Hand-bills are being distributed among the public to create awareness on the virus by listing the dos and don'ts for people to follow," he said after holding discussions with officials of the department of health and doctors from JIPMER. A separate ward was in place at the government general hospital in Mahe and specialists were also engaged to attend to any emergency, the chief minister said. Also, separate booths were being set up at the railway station and bus terminus here to examine people coming from Mahe, he said. Deputy director of health in the ..

Rock theme park in Kerala to be opened on July 4

The world's largest bird sculpture and a state-of-the-art cable car, set up as part of the rock theme park 1000 feet above sea level at nearby Chatatayamangalam, would be thrown open to the public on July 4, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said here today. "Spanning 65 acres, Jatayu Nature Park has the world's largest bird sculpture (200 feet long, 150 feet broad, 70 feet in height and 15,000 square feet of floor area) of the great mythical bird Jatayu," he told reporters here. The park, a tourism imitative under BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) basis, would also have an adventure zone and helicopter flying service facility, Minister said. Renowned filmmaker Rajiv Anchal conceived and developed the sculpture, he said, adding that the cable car, built in Switzerland, would take visitors to the top of the rock and near the sculpture, 1,000 feet above sea level, he said. "The Jatayu Park will set a new milestone in Kerala Tourism and elevate the experience of ...

Central team to assess ecological damage from sugar mill discharge

A central team will assess the ecological damage caused by discharge of effluents by a sugar mill in Beas river, whose owners are known for proximity to ruling Congress leadership in Punjab.

Nipah virus outbreak localised occurrence: Health Ministry

All required steps have been taken to contain the Nipah virus in Kerala, whose outbreak is a localised occurrence and there is no threat of its spread and thus no need to panic, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said on Tuesday.

Punjab proposes to rejuvenate 'Budha Nallah'

The Punjab government has proposed to rejuvenate 'Budha Nallah', which carries untreated effluents, including industrial waste and passes through Ludhiana, at a cost of Rs 955 crore, a senior official said here today. The local government department is in the process of framing a plan to rehabilitate and rejuvenate the highly polluted 'Budha Nallah', which was once a perennial stream flowing into Sutlej and a source of fresh water for Ludhiana, the official said. "The indicative cost of the project cost is Rs 955 crore for the rejuvenation of the Budha Nallah and out of which about Rs 550 crore will be contributed by the Centre under the Smart City and Amrut schemes and the rest by the state," he said. 'Budha Nallah' is a seasonal tributary of Sutlej which emanates from the confluence of the Kum Link drain and the Neelon drain near Ghumait village and Kum Kalan and flows in an east-west direction south of the Sutlej river. It runs almost parallel to the Sutlej through most of Ludhiana

Debt-ridden farmer begs on Mumbai trains to repay loan

Amidst the news of debt-ridden farmers' suicide in Maharashtra, meet Narayan Pawar, a poor farmer from Morgaon village, who resorted to begging on Mumbai's local trains to repay his loans of Rs. 40lakh.His crops- grapes, Pomegranate, drumsticks etc- were destroyed due to drought in the state.When asked about the same, he told ANI, "I am a farmer and I had a loss of lakhs of rupees due to the damage of my crops. I had done farming of 1.5 acres of Grapes and 3 acres of Pomegranate and some drumsticks were also planted. But all these were damaged and now I have to pay Rs. 40 lakh loan to the bank. "He even showed documents of his loan and pictures with Nana Patekar, who has helped Pawar through his NAAM foundation.He also mentioned that he has collected more than Rs. 70 thousand in past one month, since he started begging on trains and he will continue to do so till he is able to repay the loan.His mother Komal Ganesh Pawar further said, "Due to drought, our farms of drumsticks and ...

Nipah virus claims 10 lives in Kerala, two serious

The toll due to the Nipah virus (NiP), presently identified in Kerala's Kozhikode and Malappuram, rose to 10 on Tuesday even as the Central and state governments scrambled to contain its outbreak.

Hawaii volcano generates toxic gas plume called laze

The eruption of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii sparked new safety warnings about toxic gas on the Big Island's southern coastline after lava began flowing into the ocean and setting off a chemical reaction. The molten rock started pouring into the sea over the weekend. It's been generating plumes of lava haze or "laze" as it interacts with seawater. It's just the latest hazard from a weeks-old eruption that has so far generated earthquakes and featured gushing molten rock, giant ash plumes and sulfur dioxide. The eruption has destroyed more than 40 buildings forced more than 2,000 people to evacuate. Yesterday, lava entered and then stalled on the property of a geothermal plant near one of Kilauea's new volcanic vents. Officials earlier this month removed 190,000 litres of stored flammable gas from the plant to reduce the chance of explosions. Here are key things to know about the latest volcanic threat. Lava haze is made of dense white clouds of steam, toxic gas and tiny shards of ...

Dry spell leads to rise in forest fires in U'khand

As the mercury crossed the 40-degree mark, Uttarakhand witnesses a sudden rise in incidents of forest fires over the past two days with 65 forest blazes reported in one day and 600 fire alerts received today. "On an average there are not more than three to four forest fire incidents in a day but the dry spell and the rising temperatures led to as many as 65 forest blazes on a single day yesterday. "Today we have received 600 fire alerts from our satellites. However, it will have to be seen how many of them are real forest fire incidents," Nodal officer BP Gupta told PTI. The 65 forest fires spotted yesterday were against a total of 373 fire alerts, he said. There were 600 fire alerts today, indicating an increasing trend. However, usually there is a wide gap between the number of fire alerts and the number of actual forest fires as the ultra sensitive thermal sensors record every fire related occurrence in their area as forest fire, he said. "After spot verification only we will be ...

BSF seize 3 'Tokay Gecko' lizards, apprehend 2 persons

The Border Security Force have seized three endangered 'Tokay Geckos' lizards in West Bengal's Malda district and apprehended two wildlife smugglers and, a BSF release said today. Based on specific information on smuggling of endangered lizards, the BSF personnel intercepted the two smugglers near Habibpur area on the Indo-Bangla border yesterday, the release said. The three lizards were found when the two men were searched, it said. Geckos are listed in Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it said adding the lizards carry a huge price in the international market. The seized lizards and the apprehended persons have been handed over to the Malda divisional forest officer for taking further legal action, the release added.

Nipah virus: DK district admn taking precautionary steps

With 10 people dying of Nipah virus in neighbouring Kerala, Dakshina Kannada district Health department has startedtaking precautionary measures as many persons from that state come here and elsewere in the district for treatment of various ailments. District Health and Family Welfare officer DrRamakrishna Rao said if symptoms of the disease were found anywhere, blood samples would be immediately sent tothe Manipal Centre for Virus Research for tests. The virus has so far claimed 10 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala, while the condition of two persons undergoing treatment for the viral disease is said to be critical. Several patiennts from Kerala come to hospitals hereand elsewhere in the district for treatment for various ailments, health department officials said. District Survey Officer Dr Rajesh said there was no vaccine or specific treatment for thevirus and antivirus medicines used for infectiousdiseases like H1N1 are currently being ...

Forest cover in Bengal up, says Mamata on Biodiversity Day

The total forest and social forestry cover in West Bengal has been raised to 12,358 hectares and 934 hectares respectively till 2016-17 under a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) assisted project, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

File statement on status of Chardham project: NGT to Centre

The National Green Tribunal today directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to file a detailed statement on the status of the Chardham highway project which aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns of Uttarakhand. A bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim asked the ministry to file an affidavit by May 28 giving details of the ongoing work and inform it about the areas where the work has not commenced yet. The project aims to connect Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarakhand. The green panel also directed the ministry to clarify its stand on the issue of obtaining environment clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment notification along with other approvals. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni said the Chardham highway project was of national importance having regard to the fact that these are border areas. "Expansion of roads is required in larger national interest and there cannot be ..

World's largest amphibians face imminent extinction threat

The Chinese giant salamander - well known as the world's largest amphibian - may in fact be at least five separate species, each facing imminent threat of extinction in the wild, a study has found. Researchers from Chinese Academy of Sciences in ?Beijing highlight the importance of genetic assessments to properly identify the salamanders. The study suggests that the farming and release of giant salamanders back into the wild without any regard for their genetic differences is putting the salamanders' already dire future at even greater risk. In fact, some of the five newly identified species may already be extinct in the wild. With individuals weighing in at more than 140 pounds, Chinese giant salamander were so far thought to be critically endangered. The study published in the journal Current Biology shows that those giant salamanders are not one species, but five, and possibly as many as eight. Another report in the same journal found that all of the salamanders face the imminent ..

China, U.S. officials discuss farm goods trade: China Customs

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese and U.S. officials met on Friday to discuss quarantine issues regarding imports of various agriculture products into both countries, China's General Administration of Customs said in a brief statement on its website on Tuesday.

Railways spending Rs 9,000 cr on 43 northeast projects: Minister

The Railways is executing 43 projects at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore to extend rail connectivity in the border areas of northeast India and with other parts of the country, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said here on Tuesday.

Wildlife experts provide tips to snake rescuers

Wildlife experts today provided tips to people involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of snakes and to reduce risks for the rescuers. The experts at a workshop said snake rescue is the first line of defence to reduce human-snake conflict and will also help reduce human casualty. The two-day workshop was organised by the Wildlife Trust of India and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at Manas National Park in Assam from May 19. It was done as part of the formation of the Indian Snake Rescuers Network (ISRN), which falls under the aegis of the Emergency Relief Network (ERN) Project of IFAW-WTI, The workshop was attended by 20 participants from various districts of Assam and included individuals, NGO representatives, Forest Department staff and two staff members from the Ecological Task Force (ETF) of the Army based in Kokrajhar. Soham Mukherjee from Ahmedabad, WTI's Wildlife Enforcement said "Snake rescue is one of the most prevalent wildlife related work being