Page 710 - Environment
SAD-BJP govt never took environmental issues seriously: Soni
A day after the Shiromani Akali Dal accused the ruling party of not acting tough against the sugar mill allegedly involved in leaking molasses into the Beas river leading to the death of a large number of fish, Punjab Environment Minister O P Soni accused the previous SAD-BJP government of never taking environmental issues seriously. He said the Congress government in Punjab, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was committed to save the environment of the state. "The environmental issues were never taken up seriously by the previous government and that is why there was no check on mills and factories, which used to spill their chemicals and other hazardous residues into canals and streams," Soni said in a statement here. Yesterday, the opposition SAD had sought judicial probe into the molasses leakage. It had alleged that the owners of the mill had close links with ruling Congress and they were trying to use their clout to go scot free. A large number of fish were found dead in the .
MP seeks centre's help to contain outbreak of 'rare' virus in
Lok Sabha MP and former union minister Mullappally Ramachandran today sought the central government's intervention to contain the outbreak of what he termed was a 'rare and deadly' virus in some parts of Kozhikode district. In a letter to union health minister J P Nadda, a copy of which was made available to the press here, Ramachandran said some panchayats, including Kuttiyadi and Perambra, in his Lok Sabha constituency of Vatakara were in the grip of the "deadly virus." He said some doctors have termed it as Nipah virus, while others said it was zoonotic, and that the spread is fast and fatal "The mortality rate is reportedly 70 per cent. The spread of the disease needs to be contained," he said in the letter. His letter comes in the wake of the death of three people in Kozhikode district in the last fortnight reportedly due to a disease caused by the rare virus.
Cause of deaths in Kozhikode family yet to be ascertained: Minister
Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja on Sunday said the cause of death of three members of a family here remains to be ascertained and urged people not to spread false news about a rare virus being responsible.
N'tnl convention on 'Rejuvenation of Krishna River' on May 22
Experts in water conservation from across the country will deliberate on ways to rejuvenate the Krishnariver at the maiden national convention of the Indian Water Council (IWC) here on May 22. The 'National Convention on Rejuvenation of the Krishna River', IWC's first event, will see participation of over 300 delegates of government organisations from various states and NGOs, including Rajendra Singh, known as 'Waterman of India', Telangana Water Resources Development Corporation Chairman V Prakash Rao told reporters here. The Indian Water Council was formed last month in Rajasthan. Rao said the state government has started an initiative to rejuvenate the river by involving government organisations from Krishna river basin states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and several NGOs. "There are plans to take up several works in the next 10 years to rejuvenate the river and the convention is the first step towards this," he said. Delegates would ...
Rs 941 cr plan to clean Tapi river in Surat approved: Rupani
A sum of Rs 941.61 crore has been approved for a project, under the National River Conservation Plan, to clean Tapi river that flows past Surat city, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said today. Speaking at Sarthana in Surat today, Rupani said that the first phase of the river's clean-up will cost Rs 408.28 crore, 70 per cent of which will be borne by the Union government. The state government will provide 20 per cent of the cost while the Surat Municipal Corporation will chip in with the rest of the amount, Rupani informed. Tapi river rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and after traversing a length of 214 kilometres in Gujarat, it joins the Arabian sea in Gulf of Cambay after flowing past Surat city. The state government's Information department, in a statement issued today, said that a total of 3.25 lakh labourers were employed under MNREGA in connection with works under the "Jal Sanchay" initiative that started across the state on May 1. The
400 mn-year-old marine animal fossil found in China
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have recently found a fossilised body piece of an extinct class of marine animal known as Cystoidea or cystoids in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
42 rare turtles recovered in Bengal, one arrested
A total of 42 rare turtles were seized from a railway station in West Bengal's Hooghly and one person arrested, police said on Sunday.
NGT refuses to stay construction of waste recycling plant in Gurgaon
The National Green Tribunal has refused to stay the ongoing construction of a waste recycling facility in the catchment area of the Basai wetland in Gurgaon on a petition alleging it lacked requisite approvals from the Haryana pollution control board. A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore noted that another bench of the tribunal had lifted the injunction after hearing the parties. "In view of the earlier proceedings, namely, vacation of the initial injunction order dated July 22, 2017 and the fact that an application for clarification of the said order had also been considered by the Tribunal, consisting of the same Bench on January 10, 2018, whereby injunction was vacated, we are of the considered opinion that no further order for purposes of clarification or for any other purpose is required," the bench said. The green panel also considered the submission of the petitioner that the matter be urgently heard and fixed it for hearing on May 30. The tribunal had earlier ...
Wind-solar hybrid policy: Setting up adequate evacuation
Even as the recently announced national wind-solar hybrid policy is expected to boost renewable power generation, setting up adequate number of evacuation network will be critical, experts say. Under the new policy, the government intends to auction wind-solar hybrid projects on tariff based competitive bidding, and these can be set up anywhere across the country depending on feasibility and land availability with bidders. "Consistent forecasts from analysts suggest that the country will face major grid integration issues in the coming years if evacuation infrastructure is not improved at the same rate as renewables capacity additions," Vijay Khandwekar, head-module mounting structure business, solar projects, Tata International, told PTI. The government has set an ambitious target of achieving 175 gw of renewable capacity by 2022, of which solar would be 100 gw, and the rest 60 gw would be wind. The installed capacities of 20 gw of solar and 35 gw of wind at present, ...
Expert warns of irrevocable biodiversity damage with rising temperature
A 3.2 degree Celsius increase in the Earth's temperature could see 47 per cent of insect species, 26 per cent of vertebrate and 16 per cent of plant species lose at least half of their geographic ranges, an expert on global change has said.
Special arrangement in Kanpur Zoo to beat scorching heat wave
With the rise in mercury, the Kanpur Zoo has taken special measure for the animals kept here.The staff of Kanpur Prani Udyan is using water guns to sprinkle water and have installed coolers to keep the shelter of the animals cool.Aiming to keep the body temperature low, they have also changed the diet of the animals so that they could easily digest food."We are continuously sprinkling water on the shelters of the animals to keep them cool. We have even reduced their diet. We have reduced their protein diet and have added essential Vitamins in it," said Dr. R.K. Singh of Kanpur Prani Udyan.The Central and North India continue to remain under the grip of a heat wave.The temperature has gone beyond 40 degree Celsius in most parts of the two regions.As per the Met department, the heat wave will prevail till June.
IMC plans to run buses on bio-fuel made from vegetable waste
The industrial hub of Indore, popular for its mouth-watering 'poha' and other snacks, is in a spic and span form after bagging the cleanest city tag in the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' for the second year. For better waste management, the city civic body plans to run public transport buses on the bio-Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) made from the vegetable waste. "We have set up a bio-methanation plant at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Fruits and Vegetables Market. The plant can convert about 20 tonnes of waste into 1,000 kg of bio-CNG," said Asad Warsi, the Indore Municipal Corporation's (IMC) consultant under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Tests were being conducted to run some auto rickshaws on the bio-CNG fuel, he said. If the results are promising, then the plan is to run 20 buses on this fuel in the initial phase, he said, adding that these vehicles are so far being run on the normal CNG. "The bio-GNG is expected to be cheaper by Rs 5 as compared to the normal CNG. Therefore, with ...
SC sets conditions to cut trees for Ganga Jal project
The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to plant 2,500 saplings, maintain and look after them for 10 years in a secure fenced area in Firozabad district to compensate the felling of 234 trees that come in the way of the Ganga Jal pipeline that will bring water to the Taj City.
Brumby reprieve: Australia to ban wild horses cull at national park
Australia said today the culling of wild horses in a unique national park would be banned despite fears the animals were threatening native species. An estimated 6,000 feral horses, known locally as "brumbies", live in Kosciuszko National Park, a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve some 470 kilometres (292 miles) south of Sydney that has plant species found nowhere else in the world. Conservationists have called for the brumbies to be culled, saying the introduced animals were causing environmental damage and that their rising numbers were posing a growing threat. In 2016 the New South Wales state government released a plan to cull 90 percent of brumbies at Kosciuszko. But they have since u-turned, deciding the horses are part of the "cultural fabric" of the region and should be protected instead. "Wild brumbies have been roaming the Australian alps for almost 200 years and are part of the cultural fabric and folklore of the high country," NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said in a ...
The Tourism Ministry has proposed lifting restrictions on foreigners travelling to ...
The Tourism Ministry has proposed lifting restrictions on foreigners travelling to Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Sikkim, Minister K J Alphons has said. Foreigners now need special permits such as a Protected Areas Permit (PAP) and Restricted Areas Permit (RAP) to be able to travel in these areas. "The ministry has proposed opening up the Northeast for tourists. In the last six months the government has opened up many restricted areas and if the plan in the Northeast works, then many more border areas can be opened up," Alphons told PTI. The ministry proposed this on May 17 at a meeting with senior Home Affairs and Defence Ministry officials. Any change would be subject to the approval of the ministries because the issue related to India's security, he said. "The states too need to be consulted and as of now we cannot give a deadline for this. However, over the past six months we have been working very fast on this," Alphons said. The Tourism Ministry, he added, was also planning to ..
Third of world's protected areas under threat from human activity
One-third of the world's protected areas - created to stem the loss of biodiversity - is under intense human pressure from processes including road building, grazing, and urbanisation, a study has found. The results suggest these areas are not as well guarded as once thought, a reality check for nations striving to meet commitments on biodiversity loss under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), by creating protected lands. The last global assessment of the impacts of human activity within protected areas was in 1992, a time since which the global extent of protected areas has roughly doubled in size. However, the assessment in 1992 did not account for the presence of roads and navigable waterways, among other manmade elements. In a new study by researchers from University of Queensland in Australia sought to more thoroughly assess the current state of protected areas. They analysed a global map that combines data on built environments, intensive agriculture, pasture lands, ...
Automatic weather system comes as a boon for Maha farmers
Farmers, who are often at the receiving end of unpredictable weather, will now get detailed information about the climatic conditions in their area, thus allowing them better crop management and damage prevention. This is going to be possible as the Maharashtra government has commissioned 2,060 automatic weather stations (AWS) in as many revenue circles, to provide real time weather-related information to farmers up to the village level. "The idea was to create a decentralised system that would provide accurate weather related information right up to the village level," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI. As the current weather systems provide a consolidated information on weather of a whole region, one cannot exactly predict the climate change at a local level, he said. For instance, at times there is rain in one village and the adjoining village is dry, he said. "In the AWS, we will get exact information right up to the village level. Based on the information, ...
NASA's planet hunting probe completes lunar flyby
NASA's latest planet hunting satellite has successfully completed a lunar flyby - passing about 8,000 kilometres from the Moon - and beamed back a test image revealing more than 200,000 stars. The flyby provided a gravity assist that helped the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) sail toward its final working orbit. As part of camera commissioning, the science team snapped a two-second test exposure using one of the four TESS cameras. The image, centred on the southern constellation Centaurus, reveals more than 200,000 stars. The edge of the Coalsack Nebula is in the right upper corner and the bright star Beta Centauri is visible at the lower left edge. TESS is expected to cover more than 400 times as much sky as shown in this image with its four cameras during its initial two-year search for exoplanets. A science-quality image, also referred to as a "first light" image, is expected to be released in June. TESS will undergo one final thruster burn on May 30 to enter its ...
Few hundred Tripura tribals went to Bangladesh for livelihood, claims CPI-M MP
In search of livelihood, around 600 tribals of northern Tripura went to Bangladesh as they were unable to survive in the northeastern state in view of the huge crisis on the foods and rural jobs fronts, CPI-M Chief Whip in Lok Sabha Jitendra Chowdhury has said.
Census confirms tiger presence in Mhadei; nature lovers upbeat
The ongoing census has indicated the presence of tigers in Goa's Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, thus giving a boost to the demand for declaring it as a dedicated reserve for the striped animal. As per the All India Tiger Estimation, which began in Goa on May 1, "tiger pugmarks, scats and scratches" were found during the week-long (first phase) field survey in the sanctuary. The survey was still on. Some images of tigers were also captured in cameras installed in the sanctuary, located in the Sattari taluka of North Goa district, a senior forest official said. The surveys since 2002 have indicated the presence of tigers in the Mhadei region, consisting of forested border areas of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. But, the successive Goa governments have been a bit reluctant in declaring the area as a 'tiger reserve'. The recent survey and camera images again indicate that the region could be a favourable habitat for tigers, say officials. "During the field survey, we came across
