Page 747 - Environment

Scientists in shock as NASA junks first-ever robotic mission to Moon

In a major disappointment to the lunar scientists' community, the US space agency has cancelled the first-ever robotic mission to Moon that was supposed to excavate material such as hydrogen, oxygen and water from the lunar poles.

Steady conditions prevail at grains market

Steady conditions prevailed at the wholesale grains market today with prices moving in a narrow range in limited deals and pegging at the last levels. Traders said adequate stocks position against scattered deals kept prices flat. Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,080-2,280, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,740-1,745 Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,745-1,750, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 230-260, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 940-950 (50 kg), Maida Rs 970-980 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,040-1,050 (50 kg). Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 7,300-7,400, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 6,600-6,700, Permal raw Rs 2,375-2400, Permal wand Rs 2,475-2,525, Sela Rs 3,050-3,150 and Rice IR-8 Rs 2,025-2,075, Bajra Rs 1,260-1,265, Jowar yellow Rs 1,600-1,650, white Rs 2,850-2,950, Maize Rs 1,450-1,455, Barley Rs 1,470-1,480.

Nadda directs states to enhance preparedness against vector-borne diseases

With the monsoon season inching closer, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda directed all states to be well prepared by May end to tackle vector-borne diseases."A discussion was held with ministers from 20 states on vector-borne diseases like dengue, malaria, and so on. We discussed preparedness of dealing with these diseases as the rainy season is approaching. They have been told that everything should be ready by May-end," he told reporters here.Earlier, the Health Minister in a meeting with his state ministers had directed officials to launch aggressive campaigns to enhance awareness on prevention and control of the aforementioned diseases before the onset of the monsoon season.Nadda had also urged officials and nodal officers to visit kala-azar endemic states of Jharkhand and Bihar immediately and draft a report on the present situation in these regions within a week's time.Diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya have been increasingly reported in the country, after which ...

Bureau of Indian Affairs director resigns after 6 months Bureau of Indian Affairs

The director of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has resigned after six months on the job. A spokeswoman says Bryan Rice, a veteran federal administrator and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, resigned earlier this week. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke named Rice to the post in October. BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling did not offer a reason why Rice resigned and declined further comment. She said Darryl LaCounte will serve as acting BIA director. She called him an experienced leader who will "maintain a smooth transition" for BIA employees and tribal nations. The BIA coordinates government-government relations with 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Rice previously led Interior's Office of Wildland Fire and also has worked for the US Forest Service, an Agriculture Department agency.

Govt declares all protected areas 'plastic free zones'

Ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5, the environment ministry has banned plastics in all protected areas around the country, thus declaring them "plastic free zones". It has directed states and Union territories to organise awareness campaigns to sensitise people about the issue. "@moefcc bans plastic in any form in all protected areas and declare them 'Plastic Free Zones' ahead of #WorldEnvironmentDay2018," Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted tonight. "Directs states & UTs to organise awareness campaigns to sensitise people. Protected areas in Bengal and Odisha are already plastic free zones," he said. India will host the World Environment Day this year. United Nations environment chief Erik Solheim was in the country recently wherein he signed a letter of intent on India hosting the World Environment Day. Elaborating about the move, environment secretary C K Mishra said all protected areas and forest reserves will be plastic free zones and it will be mandatorily

Forest guard trampled to death"by herd of elephants in

A 47-year-old forest guard was today trampled"to death by a herd of wild elephants in Cauvery Wildlife"Sanctuary in Mandya district, forest officials said. Mahadevu along with some other foresters had gone to Solaba village in that district to drive away a herd of elephants, which had entered the village and wreaked havoc. As the elephants were being driven away, some of the jumbos turned violent and ran towards the foresters. While three others made good their escape, the tuskers trampled Mahadevu to death, the officials said.

Ganges at stake in Varanasi

The existence of the holy river Ganges in the ancient city of Varanasi is again at stake, experts confirmed on Friday.With water level dropping to a drastic low level, the river is drying up at a speeding pace.Experts have expressed concern accepting that several contributory factors have led to the doom of the river.In view of this plight of the Ganges, DM Varanasi has written a letter to the Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh to release water from Naraura dam or Kanpur Barrage.While speaking to ANI, Yogeshwar Ram Mishra, DM Varanasi said, "The water level of Ganga in Varanasi has gone down. We have requested to let off the water from Kanpur Dehat. The authorities have taken this in cognizance & they are doing what is needed.""The plight of the Ganga has left people disappointed even after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to cure the river," said Hira Nand Pandey, Purohit Dashashwamedh Ghat Varanasi."Due to the shortage of water, Ganga's pollution has come to the surface. ...

Desertification, land degradation, drought cost India 2.54 pc of its GDP: Study

Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) cost India about 2.54 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014-15, a new study commissioned by the Environment Ministry has found. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan had released the study of Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (EDLDD) conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and commissioned by the ministry during the inaugural session of the four-day Asia Pacific Regional Workshop of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The workshop concluded today. Desertification is the process of fertile land becoming desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. "The report has highlighted that DLDD factors had cost India about 2.54 per cent of its GDP in 2014-15," an official statement released at the end of the workshop today said. Vardhan during the inaugural session had said that globally, drylands lose 23 hectares ...

Hry: Roads in smart cities to be sprayed with treated water

Chief Minister Lal Khattar wants the roads of smart cities in Haryana to be sprayed with treated water of sewage plants to bring down the temperature during summer seasons. Khattar was reviewing the progress of smart cites of Faridabad, Karnal and Gurugram during which he directed the officers to work on the modalities of the project. "On a pilot basis, this project will be taken up on two roads which are to be developed as smart roads in the smart cities," an official release here today quoting the CM said. The water-spraying would also remove the smog during winter season for the convenience of the people, the release said. During the meeting, Chief Executive Officer, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority apprised Khattar about various services that would be integrated in the first phase to make Gurugram "smart". These facilities include traffic management, smart water and sewer management, street lighting, and solid waste management. "For this, a plan for laying optical fibre

DDA working on comprehensive plan for Yamuna rejuvenation: Puri

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is working to impelement a "comprehensive project" for restoration and rejuvenation of the Yamuna river. He emphasised on rejuvenation of Yamuna and Ganga rivers as a necessity to sustain the Indian civilisation. "The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) that reports to my ministry is working to implement a comprehensive plan for restoration and rejuvenation of the Yamuna. The project is named, Asita, which is another name of the Yamuna river," he said Referring to the slow degradation of the rivers due to urbanisation, the minister expressed satisfaction over revival of focus on rejuvenation of rivers. "We are seeing a revival of focus on rejuvenation of rivers and it is a must. For the Indian civilisation in its modern form, we got to rejuvenate the urban space, and the cleaning and rejuvenation of the Yamuna and Ganga is at the heart of that," the Housing and Urban Affairs Minister said There is no ...

Scientists confirm growing oxygen-less 'dead zone' in Gulf of Oman

Researchers of a British university have brought to light the existence of a fast-growing "dead zone" devoid of oxygen in the Gulf of Oman, spelling environmental disater for fish and marine plants in the area, as well as for people reliant on the ocean for food and employment.

Punjab Governor for urgent steps to dout stubble burning

Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore on Friday said there is an urgent need to initiate more effective measures to tackle the issues of crop residue burning.

Nainital bird festival begins

The three-day Nainital Bird Festival was innaugrated at the Botanical garden here today. The festival will host a variety of events, including a bird photography exhibition, workshops, drawing competition and quiz on nature, officials said. A total of 80 photographers, including 35 women, of the Pink Club have put up their work atthe exhibition. Nainital has been home to a bird conservation sanctuary since 2015 and is an important ornithological site in the state. Known as the 'Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve' (NDHBCR), the sanctuary is spread over an area of 112 sq kms -- the biggest among the four sanctuaries in Uttarakhand.The other three being Aasan in Dehradun, Jhilmil in Haridwar and Pawalgarh in Ramnagar. The area of the NDHBCR is spread over Killbury, Pangot and Vinayak. These places are at a distance of 10 to 25 kms from Nainital town amid deep and conserved forest. "Located between the Ghats of Kosi River and the heights of Naina Range, the sanctuary is ideal .

Much needs to be done to restore Rajghat's glory: HC

The Delhi High Court today underlined the need for restoring the pristine glory of Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat here. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar made the observation while directing an inspection of the memorial by Professor K T Ravindran, former dean of School of Planning and Architecture, on April 30 along with advocate Satyakam, who was appointed local commissioner in the matter. "I hope some work is done. We will be very happy," the bench said, adding "there is no dispute that much needs to be done so that Rajghat is restored to its pristine glory". The court was hearing a PIL filed by Shyam Narayan Chouksey alleging that the Mahatma Gandhi's memorial was not being properly maintained. The bench also took on record a report published by the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) suggesting ways to improve and maintain the site. "The counsel has placed a copy of the report published by DUAC to improve and maintain some internal areas ..

Nadda reviews preparedness of states to manage vector-borne diseases

Union Health Minister JP Nadda today emphasised the need for early preparedness to manage vector-borne diseases, saying that effective surveillance and monitoring was the key to success in combating such diseases. Nadda also underscored the need to develop a special strategy and effective micro-plans for endemic districts and asked the health secretaries to personally monitor and guide state's efforts, a health ministry statement stated. The Union Health Minister was reviewing the status of vector-borne diseases and the preparation of states through video conference. He interacted with principal health secretaries and mission directors of 20 endemic states Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, UP and, West Bengal. He urged the states to fill up vacant posts and, wherever necessary, re-deploy the human resources to endemic areas. The advance ...

About 36% of financial firms adopt AI, 70% plan to: Report

Over 36 per cent of the financial institutions in the country have invested in artificial intelligence-focused technologies, and around 70 per cent plan to embrace it in the near future, said a report. With 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' creating a favourable environment, the potential for companies to set up AI-focused innovation centres in India has vastly increased, consultancy PwC said in its report today. However, it added that while AI, machine learning (ML) and robotics have a wide range of use cases in financial services, their potential has not been fully realised. According to PwC, establishing data access frameworks and guidelines for open application interfaces from financial institutions will act as an enabler for increased adoption of AI in the sector. Meanwhile, the report also highlighted that AI can be leveraged to protect economic sectors and infrastructure such as airports and power plants that are vulnerable to attacks. "Along with AI applications

EU to ban bee-killing pesticides

The EU today backed an almost total ban on insecticides blamed for killing off bee populations, in a move hailed by environmentalists as a "beacon of hope". Bees help pollinate 90 per cent of the world's major crops, but in recent years have been dying off from "colony collapse disorder," a mysterious scourge blamed partly on pesticides. European Union countries voted for a ban on the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides in fields, the European Commission said, meaning that they can only now be used in covered greenhouses where they cannot get into the environment. Campaigners dressed in black and yellow bee suits brought a huge inflatable bee to a rally outside the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels ahead of the vote. Chemical giants opposed the decision, saying it would hurt European farmers. The EU brought in a partial ban in 2013 but decided on more drastic action after a major report by European food safety agency said in February that the chemicals posed a risk

Tribal woman trampled to death by woman

A tribal woman was trampled to death today by an elephant in Kakarpani jungle in the foot hills of Similipal National Park under Baripada Forest Division. Forest officials said the 60-year-old victim was attacked when she had gone to Kakarpani forest to collect medicinal roots for the treatment of cows. Another woman accompanying her managed to flee and saved herself. Forest officials have recovered the woman's body from the forest and have identified her.

Concerted Water Conservation Thrust under MGNREGS

Considering the importance of Water Conservation especially during April to June period of peak demand for work in rural areas, the Government of India has released adequate funds for large scale thrust on completing 43.62 lakh Natural Resource Management works which are under implementation. It has also urged the States to accord maximum priority to Water Conservation works during the first quarter of 2018-19 including River Rejuvenation. Successes in River Rejuvenation have encouraged MGNREGS to undertake similar works in other States as well. The Hon'ble Prime Minister on the National Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24, 2018 has exhorted Gram Panchayat Pradhans to lead a Community owned movement for Water Conservation using MGNREGS resources to insulate villages from vagaries of monsoon. On the 25th April 2018, Hon'ble Prime Minister has urged all the Chief Secretaries of States in the Pragati Review to assign top most priority to Water Conservation works under MGNREGS ..

Criminal neglect responsible for poor urban planning: Minister

Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said the criminal neglect in the 70 years after independence was responsible for the sad state of India's urban planning even as the Modi government had taken the required measures to address the problems.