Page 72 - Environment

Power woes hit Uttar Pradesh after elections

The 2019 elections were all about power. Elections are over and power is gone in Uttar Pradesh.

MP: Congress, BJP spar over power cuts

Power outages in Madhya Pradesh, which is an energy surplus state, seems to be becoming a political hot potato for the ruling Congress at a time when summer is at its peak. With fresh complaints of power cuts started coming in from various areas, the opposition BJP has accused the ruling party of "inept" handling of the situation. The issue hogged focus once again with noted Urdu poet Dr Rahat Indori tweeting his agony over repeated power cuts in his area in Indore. "Nowadays power cut has become common, even today there was no electricity for the last three hours...it's hot, Ramzan going on.....nobody picking up phone at @mppkvvclindore (twitter account of Indore office of Power company)....please help....@iPriyavratSingh (MPs Minister for Energy Priyavrat Singh) @OfficeOfKNath (Chief Minister Kamal Nath)," he said in a tweet Sunday evening. After his tweet went viral and the BJP fired barbs at the ruling party, Chief Minister Kamal Nath directed power company ...

Punjab to daily provide 8-hour power to farmers

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday assured farmers of eight hours of power supply every day for the ensuing paddy season, beginning on June 13, while promising 24-hour supply of power to all other categories of consumers.

Ration shopsin Telangana to start supplying rice to non-NFS

The Telangana government plans to commence from July 1 supply of subsidised rice to residential schools and other categories not covered under the Food Security Act through fair price shops in a bid to curb malpractices in the delivery system. This comes close on the heels of commencing supply of rice to Anganwadi centres through FPS, which are equipped with biometric authentication -- electronic point of sale (ePOS)-- from February this year, officials of the Civil Supplies Department said. Mid-day meal scheme schools, social welfare, tribal welfare and minority welfare residential educational institutions society and colleges come under the non-NFSA categories and they draw their ration from godowns at present, they said. As of now beneficiaries enlisted under the National Food Security (NFS) Act were covered through the fair price shops of the public distribution system. "Now we are extending to certain non-NFS activities... Ration supply to Anganwadis was launched ..

SC refuses to stay HC order quashing of land acquisition for Salem-Chennai green corridor project

The Supreme Court Monday refused to stay the Madras High Court order which quashed the land acquisition process for the Rs 10,000-crore Salem-Chennai eight-lane green corridor project. A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah however issued notices to the parties including the Tamil Nadu government on the appeal of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an autonomous agency of the central government which has challenged the high court order. "We are going to issue notices on the special leave petition (SLP)... We are not going to stay the high court's order," it said, while declining the plea of the Project Implementation Unit of NHAI that the high court's order be stayed. NHAI had moved the top court on May 31 and the bench had then agreed to hear the appeal. The high court had held that the environmental clearance was mandatory for the sensitive project. The high court's order had come on a batch of petitions filed by 35 land owners and PMK leader ...

Badshahpur drain's concretisation: NGT seeks impact report on groundwater recharge

The National Green Tribunal has sought a report from the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation, Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the Irrigation Department about the impact of concretisation of the Badshahpur nullah on groundwater recharge and natural flow of water in the drain. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed them to submit a report within a month. "We consider it necessary to require a report to be furnished by the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation, Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the representative of Irrigation Department about the impact of concretisation and boxing on groundwater recharge, e-flow of water in the drain and impact on urban sprawl on the recipient environment within one month by e-mail," the bench said. The Haryana State Pollution Control Board will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance, the NGT said. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Gurgaon resident Vaishali Rana Chandra and others alleging illegal ..

India to maintain its level of thermal coal imports: Fitch

India is expected to maintain the current level of thermal coal imports as the country's power demand is likely to increase, said a report by Fitch Ratings on Monday. Growth in renewable energy capacity may not be able to keep pace, it said. "Fitch expects India to maintain its level of thermal coal imports," the rating agency said. Domestic output of dry fuel and logistics bottlenecks in coal transportation will also affect supply of coal to the market, it said. "Indian coal imports increased by about two per cent y-o-y (year-on-year) in the nine months to March 2019," it added. "India's thermal power plant utilisation increased...in 2H18, driven by higher electricity demand and lower capacity addition," it said. State-owned utilities led the growth in thermal electricity generation, it said adding that the utilisation of the central government-owned and private sector plants increased slightly. Fitch said it expects cost-competitive renewable energy to account for a larger portion ..

CAI retains its cotton crop estimates at 315 lakh bales

The Cotton Association of India has retained its cotton production estimate at 315 lakh bales in its latest forecast for the 2018-19 season. In the last cotton season, total output stood at 365 lakh bales, the association said Monday. The cotton season runs from October to September. CAI in its forecast for May said the total cotton supply from October 2018 to May 2019 was 325 lakh bales of 170 kg each. The total supply includes arrivals of 287.72 lakh bales up to May 31, 2019, imports of 9.28 lakh bales and the opening stocks of 28 lakh bales at the beginning of the season. Further, the CAI noted that cotton consumption during October 2018 to May 2019 stood at 209 lakh bales. The export shipments till May 31 is estimated at 44 lakh bales. Stocks at the end of May 2019 are estimated at 72 lakh bales, including 32.68 lakh bales with textile mills and remaining 39.32 lakh bales with the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), MNCs and others (MNCs, traders, ginners). The total cotton

Onus on scientists to fight climate change: Venkaiah

Vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu Monday said it was imperative of scientists and researchers to address issues of global warming, consequent extreme weather and drought cycles that could affect the lives of the people, plants and animals. Addressing a gathering of scientists, young researchers and students at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) near here, Naidu said, "As we all are aware, weather and climate were posing new challenges with each passing day and as a result we experience global warming and its effects in the form of extreme weather, cyclonic storms, intense thunderstorms, torrential rain, and droughts." Changing weather and climate patterns also affect agriculture and economy as well, he said. "After visiting some of the major experimental facilities here, I got a fairly good idea on the ongoing work and the activities identified for the future," the vice-president said. "Also, I have been apprised of the technological developments that have taken place ..

Increasing share of renewables in energy sector poses regulatory challenge: Moody's

The increasing share of renewables in the total energy mix of the country may lead to an increase in regulatory risk for coal-based projects in the long term, global ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said Monday. The higher share of renewable energy in the total energy mix presents a key regulatory challenge in terms of integrating new renewable capacity, while protecting investments already made in coal-based capacity, it said. Despite the mounting pressure to move to a lower carbon economy, the agency does not consider this risk high, at least over the next 3-5 years. It said predictability of tariff regulations enhances the credit profile of regulated electric companies and added that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has been responsive to changes in power sector trends. "Over the last 20 years, regulations for the Indian utilities sector have been progressive and supportive of the power companies, and factored in technological advancements," its Vice President .

Kerala govt closely monitoring Nipah virus situation, says CM

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday that the Kerala government was taking precautionary actions and closely monitoring the situation after a suspected case of Nipah virus was reported in Kochi. "The government is closely monitoring the current situation," Vijayan said in a Facebook post and urged everyone to follow the instructions of the Health department. "No one needs to be afraid. Be alert. The Health department is all set to face any situation," he said. The chief minister also asked people not to indulge in fake campaigns about the Nipah virus on social media. State Health Minister K K Shailaja had earlier said that a college student in Kochi was suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a confirmatory report was awaited from the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

UP farmers, agricultural scientists to interact through govt's video conference programme

As part of government's endeavour to double farmers' income in the state, the Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Department has organised a video conference programme where farmers will interact with scientists. "Named as 'Kisaano ki baat, vyagyaniko ke saath' (farmers' conversation with scientists), the programme will be held on Tuesday in the form of a video conference from Lucknow," UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi told PTI on Monday. "Agricultural scientists will be interacting with farmers at the NIC (National Informatics Centre) room in each of the 75 districts," the minister said. The live interaction will also be made available to all the Krishi Vigyan Kendras in the state so that large number of farmers could benefit from it. Two farmers along with two agriculture scientists will be present throughout the conference in Lucknow, the minister added. He said the initiative will help provide practical solutions and remedies to the problems highlighted by the farmers. "Two ...

Army commissions air quality monitor at Fort William

As part of its countrywide 'Go Green' initiative, the Army commissioned a "Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS)" at Fort William Military Station here on Monday, a Defence official said. Lt Gen M M Naravane, General Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Eastern Command, commissioned the system, which monitors air pollution on real time basis. The CAAQMS at the Eastern Command headquarter will measure air pollution, including particulate matter throughout the year, the official said. In addition, it also displays wind speed, direction, ambient temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, barometric pressure and rain gauge. The data can be remotely monitored on internet and collated into various desired formats, he said. It can also be used by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board or any other local or international weather monitoring bodies, he added.

New York sees 'extraordinary leap' in whale sightings

A total of 272 whales were spotted in the waters off New York city last year, an "extraordinary leap" from 2011, when just five of the huge cetaceans were witnessed frolicking near the most populated urban area in the US, according to a science group.

Spiritual leaders join hands to save environment

Various spiritual leaders and Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi shall join an initiative for environment protection on June 5, marked as the World Environment Day, an official said on Monday.

Climate change affecting global food production: Study

Climate change is adversely affecting the production of key crops such as wheat and rice, with some countries faring far worse than others, according to researchers including those of Indian origin. The world's top 10 crops -- barley, cassava, maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane and wheat -- supply a combined 83 per cent of all calories produced on cropland. Yields have long been projected to decrease in future climate conditions. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that climate change has already affected production of these key energy sources. Scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark used weather and reported crop data to evaluate the potential impact of observed climate change. They found that observed climate change causes a significant yield variation in the world's top 10 crops, ranging from a decrease of 13.4 per cent for oil palm to an increase of 3.5 per cent for soybean, and ...

No PRRS case detected in Mizoram: Official

No case of positive Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) disease has been detected in Mizoram this year, an official of the state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department said on Monday. Strict vigil is being maintained across the state as dry condition will continue, a fertile weather for outbreak of the dreaded porcine disease, the official told PTI. The Deputy Commissioners of the districts along Myanmar, Bangladesh, Assam and Tripura border have issued prohibitory orders on export and import of swine in their respective districts. "Though no clinical case have been detected so far, precautionary measures were taken by asking the deputy commissioners to issue prohibitory orders banning import of pigs and piglets from outside the state, especially Myanmar," she said. Veterinary department officials in all the districts especially along the international borders were instructed to beef up surveillance, she said. The PRRS, reportedly infected through ...

Rahat Indori shares 'power cut' pain with MP CM

Frustrated with long power cuts in Madhya Pradesh amid the ongoing heat wave, Urdu poet Rahat Indori on Sunday shared his pain with Chief Minister

Crocodile kills man

A 47-year-old man was killed allegedly by a crocodile near Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district, an official said on Monday. An adult crocodile pounced on Sanjay Kumar Pradhan of Mandapada village under Pattamundai Tehsil on Sunday as he was taking bath in a bathing ghat. The maimed body of the victim was fished out of the river by local residents on Monday, the official said. The incident occurred outside Bhitarkanika national park limits. The deceased man's family would be covered under ex-gratia compensation payment scheme, said Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) forest division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya. The Forest department has erected bamboo barricaded bathing ghat in croc-infested water zones for people's bathing purpose. However, the river-side villagers are exposing themselves to crocodiles' attack by taking bath in areas which have not been barricaded, he said. Lethal assault by the reptiles and consequent retaliatory .

Delhi's peak power demand touches 6,560MW

Amid soaring temperatures, the peak power demand in Delhi touched 6,560MW on Sunday, the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) reported on Monday.