Page 739 - Environment
Air quality has improved through serious efforts, says India
In wake of the WHO data that found 14 most polluted cities are from India with Kanpur at the top and Delhi at sixth position, the Indian Environment Ministry on Wednesday said that data is from 2016 while the government has done a lot to improve air quality since then.
Centre makes serious efforts to curb air pollution after WHO report
Following, the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on listing 14 most polluted cities in the world located in India, the Centre on Wednesday made serious efforts to deal with air pollution.The WHO report indicates that Delhi is placed at number six with an annual average Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 concentration as 143 micrograms per cubic metre in 2016.The Government has also taken several bold initiatives, including leap-frogging from BS-IV to BS-VI.Uttar Pradesh Environment Minister Dara Singh Chauhan said "we have given orders of strict action against those promoting pollution of any kind. Chief Minister is taking personal interest in making Uttar Pradesh pollution free and the state will not be seen in the list again. "In a statement released by the environment ministry, it read as "In the context of air pollution, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data based on Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) indicates that the annual average PM 2.5 ...
Pre-monsoon works: BMC focuses on spots prone to water-logging
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has undertaken works to clean the storm water drains and to prevent water clogging during monsoons. "Our regular pre-monsoon works have begun and are in a full-swing. The repairing and desilting of all major and minor nullahs has been going on since last month. We aim to complete the pre-monsoon work before deadline," Chief engineer (storm water drains) V H Khandkar told PTI today. He said that BMC has already conducted a pre-monsoon survey in which it found 225 places where possibility of water logging are quite high. "We are focusing on these spots. All efforts are being made to make this year's monsoon hassle-free," he said. Areas like Hindmata, Gandhi Market near King Circle, Sion, Borivili, Mulund, Andheri, Bandra and Mahim are notorious for water-clogging. Torrential rain pummelled Mumbai on August 29 last year, which disrupted rail, road and air services. Clogged water drains was the main cause behind the inundation of ...
Cops on lookout for directors of STP where 2 die after inhaling toxic gases
The police are on the lookout for two directors of a company in-charge of maintaining the sewage treatment plant of a five-star hotel near Khan Market here in connection with the death of two men allegedly after inhaling toxic gases at the plant. In a statement, the Vivanta Ambassador hotel denied it practice manual scavenging and said they follow all guidelines set by the authorities. Two men -- Vikram and Ravindra -- allegedly inhaled toxic gases after they were trapped inside the sewage treatment plant, and died yesterday. The incident was reported on April 29. The sewage treatment plant of the hotel is located in the adjoining building and that was where the incident took place. Five men were trapped inside the plant and inhaled poisonous gases. They were not wearing safety gear, the police had said. While two men died, three others are undergoing treatment. They said the two directors of Eco Pollutech Engineers company, that was responsible of the maintenance of the plant, are on
14 Indian cities most polluted in the world; experts call for more action to tackle air pollution
Delhi, Kanpur and Varanasi are among the 14 most-polluted cities in the world, a new WHO report released today said even as environment and health experts sounded an alarm about the severity of the problem, saying it is a grim reminder that air pollution is a national health crisis and India needs to do more to tackle it. However, reacting to the World Health Organization report, the environment ministry said that the government has made "serious" efforts to deal with air pollution and the 2017 air quality data for fine particulate matter particulate matter (PM) 2.5 has shown improvement over the previous year. A cocktail of toxic factors, ranging from industrial waste to vehicular emissions and road dust, has put Delhi, Kanpur, Varanasi and Patna among others as the most-polluted spaces in the world. In terms of PM10 levels, eight cities in India also figure among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016. Other Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 ...
Delhi Minister seeks to meet Harsh Vardhan over landfill site issue
Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday sought an appointment with Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Harsh Vardhan over the selection of landfill sites in the capital as the three existing ones have exceeded their capacity to manage municipal solid waste.
Delhi seeks meeting of environment ministers of neighbouring states over rising air pollution
After a WHO report listed Delhi among the 14 most-polluted cities in India, the AAP government today sought a meeting of environment ministers of NCR states to find a solution to the chronic problem that has major health implications. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain said the fight against the increasing level of pollution can be ensured by active involvement of states surrounding the national capital. "Collectively as a team, the environment ministers of various states under your guidance have been making efforts to curb air pollution, but it is clear from the latest global data that we need an urgent and concrete nationwide plan to effectively counter this growing threat, which poses major health challenge to the people of our country," Hussain said. Delhi and Varanasi are among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most-polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, the WHO report showed ...
Dilution of land law for bullet train project: Congress leader
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel has accused the Gujarat government of implementing a "diluted" version of the Land Acquisition Act for land acquisition for the bullet-train project and doing away with farmers' consent and impact assessment.
WHO data on air pollution a "wake up call": Experts
The WHO data on most polluted cities in the world is a "wake up call" and a clear indication that air pollution has become a national public health crisis which demands immediate action, experts and environment activists said today. The World Health Organisation global air pollution database has revealed that India has 14 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 concentration, with Kanpur topping the charts. It said that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Magsaysay awardee environmental lawyer M C Mehta and Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of Centre for Science and Environment, said the WHO report depicted a very "disappointing" scenario which was nothing less than a national public health crisis. TERI Director General Ajay Mathur opined that two-wheelers were a major source of pollution in the Indian cities which has got the dubious distinction of being the most polluted. "Structural
Govt has made 'serious' efforts to curb air pollution: Env Min after WHO report
The Centre has made "serious" efforts to fight air pollution and the 2017 air quality data for fine particulate matter PM2.5 has shown improvement over the previous year, the Environment Ministry said today, after a WHO report listed 14 Indian cities among the world's 20 most polluted. In a statement, the ministry said as most of the polluted cities lie around Delhi and along the Indo-Gangetic plain, it is critical that the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are sensitised to take up urgent action on cleaning air. "It is noteworthy that almost one million vehicles are added on the roads of Delhi every year and in spite of increased construction activities and vehicular movement, air quality in Delhi is showing signs of improvement. "With similar intervention in other polluted cities and active participation of ULBs (urban local bodies) and state governments, air quality is expected to improve further," the ministry said. It said the improvement in particulate matter ..
Study links global warming with huge algae patches in Arabian Sea, fish mortalities
Global warming is resulting in massive patches of an algae species in the Arabian Sea that is eating up the planktons and excreting large amounts of ammonia leading to fish mortalities, a joint study conducted by institutes of India and the US has found. The Noctiluca Algae is often reported to occur in patches and blooms in the Northern Arabian Sea. The study also denies any link between the growth of the algae to low oxygen and coastal pollution from major Indian cities along the west coast. These algae patches -- some as big as one-fourth the size of Mumbai -- are observed in the sea north off Mumbai and stretch as far as the Oman coast. The striking green blooms often appear to glow at night due to a special phenomenon called bioluminescence, earning them the nickname "sea sparkle". "Unfortunately, these beautiful patches, indicate zones of decline because fish cannot thrive and sometimes die because of these blooms. Noctiluca voraciously eats one of the most important planktonic .
CM directs Haryana power utilities to ensure regular supply
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today directed power utilities to ensure uninterrupted power supply to all consumers, including farmers especially for the sowing of paddy. The chief minister today held a meeting with officials of two power discoms to review measures taken to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people in the state, an official release said. He also reviewed the challenges faced by power utilities in the availability and supply of power, an official release said. Additional Chief Secretary, Power Department, P K Das, said in view of the summer season, power utilities had made elaborate arrangements of power supply. During summers, the estimated average demand of electricity would be between 7,500 MW and 8,500 MW and estimated peak demand of power is expected to be between 9,500 MW and 9,700 MW. For this, power utilities have adequate amount of electricity available with them, he added.
Modi slams Ktk govt over shoddy execution of crop insurance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today came down hard on the Siddaramaiah government in poll- bound Karnataka for being "indifferent" to farm distress and not implementing the crop insurance scheme effectively, while offering them only "lip sympathy". With his own government under attack over agrarian distress in several states, including Karnataka, Modi sought to assuage the concerns of the farming community. "As part of our holistic approach to agriculture, from purchase of seeds to reaching the farm produce to markets (beej se bazaar tak) we are working towards making farmers strong," he told BJP Kisan Morcha workers in an interaction with them through the 'Narendra Modi' app. He assailed Karnataka's Congress government over its alleged indifference towards implementing the crop insurance scheme to insulate them against crop loss. "I keep getting complaints regarding Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from Karnataka, but one of our MPs has done a great work in his ...
Protect farmers' rights under Land Act for bullet train: Patel to Modi
Congress leader Ahmed Patel today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protect the rights of farmers and farm labourers while acquiring land in southern Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. In a letter to the prime minister, Patel said farmers' representatives had complained that rules and procedures under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 were not being adhered to while acquiring land for the project. He alleged that meetings were being conducted barely at a day's notice, without appropriate publicity, and this defeated the very purpose of the consultation process, the objective of which was to educate the farmers about the impact of the project and their rights under the Act. "It is extremely unfortunate that the Gujarat government is conducting this entire exercise under the diluted version of the 2013 Land Act, which, in effect, runs contrary to the law passed by Parliament," the ...
Accelerate efforts to address air pollution: WHO to South-East Asian countries
The WHO today called upon member countries in the South-East Asia region to aggressively address the issue of pollution, saying it accounts for 34 per cent of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year. This comes in the wake of a report of the global health body which puts Delhi and 13 other Indian cities in the list of 20 most-polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016. Stating that air pollution contributes significantly to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia, stressed on the need for investment in effective urban planning with energy-efficient housing and power generation, building safe and affordable public transport systems and improving industry and municipal waste management. She also sought elimination of the emissions from coal and biomass energy systems, proper management
Party poppers banned owing to health risks: CPCB directive
Party poppers, commonly used during celebrations and events, have been banned owing to the health risks it poses, including severe eye trauma and other facial injuries, a directive of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said. The CPCB, in its office memorandum, said that all such party poppers have been banned, except those which are using compressed air as the charge material and soft papers as streamers. It said that party poppers are generally charged with an explosive which is activated by pulling a string and the charge blows some small colored plast glittering pieces out and other such materials and makes a popping sound. It is observed that the plastic glittering material and the other charge chemicals, generally low intensity explosive, often composed of red-phosphorus, potassium chlorate and potassium perchlorate, are harmful to human health, the memorandum said. It further pointed out that they get mixed with food items and may also cause severe eye trauma other ..
Delhi seeks meet of NCR Environment Ministers on air pollution
Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday asked the Central government to call a meeting of Environment Ministers of NCR states and other stakeholder departments to find solution to the issue of air pollution in the capital.
WHO report shows air-pollution a national health crisis: CSE
The WHO report that projects India in a bad light in terms of air pollution is a grim reminder that the issue has become a national health crisis, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday.
Call meet of NCR Environment Ministers, Deli urges Centre
Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday asked the Central government to call a meeting of Environment Ministers of NCR states and other stakeholder departments to find solution to the issue of air pollution in the capital.
WHO report grim reminder that air pollution a national health crisis: Experts
After a WHO report listed 14 Indian cities as the most polluted in the world, environment and health experts today said that this is yet another grim reminder that air pollution is a national health crisis and India needs to do more to tackle it. They also said that this is a "dire warning" and aggressive national and state-level action is needed. Data released by WHO showed Delhi and Varanasi among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most polluted ones in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016. The global health body also said nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. "The report by WHO is a warning about the serious and run-away pollution and public health emergency that confronts India today, said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Greenpeace India said this data clearly shows that India needs to do more towards solving the air pollution crisis. It said the WHO report contains data .
