Page 760 - Environment

Manipur can have fishery projects: Vice President

Vice President M. Venkaih Naidu on Wednesday said that there could be various fishery and aquarium projects in Manipur to increase income of farmers since the state has sufficient rainfall round the year.

Harsimrat asks Pb govt to expedite work on road for new AIIMS in Bathinda

Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked the Punjab government to expedite the construction of an approach road to the AIIMS work site in Bathinda. The Union Food Processing Minister also asked the state government to speed up civil works and that of setting up a power grid station to ensure the project does not suffer further delays. Union Health Minister J P Nadda had brought these issues to the notice of the Punjab chief minister last month. The state should not waste time and complete these projects as further delay would be detrimental to poor patients of Punjab's Malwa region, the Bathinda MP said. "The project has been delayed considerably due to late clearances by the state government to shift out water channels from the project site. The people of Malwa cannot afford any further delay," she said. Badal said the Union Health Minister had already brought it to the notice of the chief minister that the state should complete the construction of the approach

Essel Infra to expand footprint in green energy

Essel Infra is committed towards expanding its foot-print in the green energy sector, a senior company official said. Essel Infra's 11.5MW waste-to-energy plant in Jabalpur has been rated as the second best project in integrated Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy category across India by the Housing and Urban Affairs ministry, a company statement said. Commissioned in May 2016, the plant generates 11.5 mw energy by recycling 600 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and reducing over 37,000 tonnes of carbon emission for Jabalpur annually. * * * * * * APM Terminals launches cold storage facility in Chennai * APM Terminals, which is also known as Gateway Terminals India (GTI), today inaugurated a cold storage warehouse in Chennai. "The facility will ensure reliable and stable transport of cargo, including goods such as fish, fruits, medicines, and speciality chemicals, which require strict temperature control throughout the supply chain," APM Terminals Mumbai said in a ...

Lack of pollution targets in draft NCAP cause of concern: Greenpeace

The absence of pollution reduction targets of 35 per cent in three years and 50 per cent in five years in the draft National Clean Air Program (NCAP) of the Environment Ministry is a cause of "grave concern", Greenpeace India today said. The comments of the green body came after the ministry yesterday released the draft of the NCAP, proposing multiple strategies to reduce air pollution and inviting comments from various stakeholders by May 17. Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan in February had said the ministry hopes to bring down air pollution in around 100 non-attainment cities by 50 per cent in the next five years under the NCAP. Greenpeace India today said the targets, which were deliberated in the Environment Ministry as per the file noting and was also communicated by the minister to the press earlier, was lacking in the draft. "After much anticipation, the Environment Ministry has finally uploaded the concept note on the NCAP on its website on Tuesday for public ...

Diversion of Gurgaon-Manesar expressway: NGT slaps cost of Rs 30000 on Haryana for not filing reply

The National Green Tribunal has slapped a cost of Rs 30,000 on the Haryana government for not filing its reply on a plea opposing the diversion of a 12-km stretch of Gurgaon-Manesar expressway. A bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim noted that the state government and its Forest Department have not filed their replies despite specific direction of the tribunal on January 30. The green panel directed that the cost be deposited with the Legal Aid Committee of the NGT. The order came after advocate Ayush Arora, appearing for the petitioner, said that the state authorities had failed to file their response despite clear directions of the NGT. The tribunal had earlier issued notices to the Haryana government, National Highways Authority of India, Forest Department and the State Pollution Control Board on the plea. The green panel was hearing a plea filed by Haryana-resident Harinder Dhingra opposing the construction of the proposed new route for Gurgaon-Manesar Express ...

World's second largest banyan tree on saline drip

World's second largest Banyan tree in Pillalamarri of Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, which was damaged due to major termite infestation, is on saline drip.The 700-year-old tree is spread in three acres and is one of the major tourist attractions.On the intstruction of district collector of Mahbubnagar, Ronald Rose, who inspected and asked forest officials to take care of the tree, the latter started the treatment by putting saline drip of diluted chemical Chloropyrifos (Pesticide) in every few meters of it."Today inspected #Pillalamarri along with @FROMBNR & #FSOPillalamarri and given suitable instructions on further Treatment and improvement of the Historical Banyan Tree. We are giving treatment for Root development and Strengthening the Stem Cells of the Tree" tweeted Chukka Gangareddy, District Forest Officer.The saline drip is said to kill the termites that caused damage to the centuries old tree and will help to rejuvenate.

Chandrayaan-2 launch postponed to Oct-Nov

The launch of India's second mission to the moon 'Chandrayaan-2', which was scheduled for this month, has been postponed to later this year, ISRO chief K Sivan today informed the government. A national level committee to review Chandrayaan-2 recommended some additional tests before the mission could take off, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sources said. This has been done to exercise caution as Chandrayaan-2 will be ISRO's first inter-planetary mission to land a rover on any celestial body, they said. During a meeting, Sivan briefed Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (that looks after the Department of Space), on the upcoming Chandrayaan-2 mission, expected to be launched from Sriharikota around October-November this year, an official statement said. In a setback to ISRO last month, the GSAT-6A, the country's newest communication satellite, went incommunicado in space. An ambitious mission, Chandrayaan-2 will be equipped with a ...

New species of ancient whale identified

Researchers have identified a previously unknown genus and species of baleen whale in New Zealand, which dates back to more than 27.5 million years. Baleen whales are a group of Mysticeti, large whales usually from colder waters that lack teeth but have baleen plates in the upper jaw which are used to filter food such as krill out of large quantities of seawater. "This is a pretty old whale that goes almost half-way back to the age of the dinosaurs. We are tracking whale history back through time," said Ewan Fordyce, a professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand. The new species of extinct baleen whale is based on a skull and associated bones unearthed from the Kokoamu Greensand, a noted fossil-bearing rock unit in the South Canterbury and Waitaki district from the Oligocene period. At this time, New Zealand was an archipelago surrounded by shallow, richly productive seas. "This newly-named whale lived about 27.5 million years ago. It is about as old a common ancestor as we ...

Bengal only place to allow illegal killing of wild animals: Maneka

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday termed West Bengal as the only place in the country where illegal killing of wild animals is "allowed and encouraged".

60-year-old farmer commits suicide in Maharashtra

A 60-year-old debt-ridden farmer committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his field in Parbhani district of Marathwada region, police said today. Shivaji Rodage, who was a resident of Ravalgaon village in Selu tehsil, ended his life by hanging from a tree with a rope yesterday, a senior police official said. The incident came to light when his family members went to the farm to search for Rodage, who was untraceable since Monday night, police said. His nephew Rameshwar spotted him hanging from a tree. He was brought down with the help of some relatives and sent to hospital, where he was declared dead, police said. Rodage had taken loans from bank and private money lenders, which he was unable to repay, police said. The farmer was in depression since the last few days, police said. Selu police have registered a case of accidental death, the official said. The farmer's suicide comes a few days after a 75-year-old farmer lighted his own 'pyre' and immolated himself in ...

Impose penalty on those spitting, defecating at public places in Delhi: Lekhi

BJP's Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi constituency Meenakashi Lekhi today pitched for imposing penalty on people spitting, defecating or littering public places in the national capital. She also advocated for ban on use of plates, water bottles and cups made up of plastic which, besides causing diseases like cancer, chokes drainage system if not properly disposed of. "It (penalty) should be on everything (that dirties public places). These include littering and defecating, using plastic and disposing them here and there. "These actions are imposing a burden on health of the nation. So, penal action is necessary to change the attitude of people who are not willing to listen, she told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. Urban local bodies in the national capital have laws to impose penalty on people urinating or spitting in the open in public places, but there are concerns about its implementation. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the government aims to attain 100 per cent ...

Japan anti-nuclear governor quits over sex scandal

An anti-nuclear Japanese governor stepped down today after a magazine alleged he paid university students for sex, a resignation that could boost the government's plan to restart the country's mothballed reactors. Ryuichi Yoneyama was elected governor of Niigata prefecture in 2016 on a pledge to prevent the restarting of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station, the world's biggest nuclear plant, about 200 kilometres (130 miles) northwest of Tokyo. His unexpected victory, in which he narrowly beat a government-supported candidate, posed a challenge for the pro-nuclear policy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Yoneyama, a 50-year-old unmarried doctor and lawyer, paid women in their 20s to have sex, according to the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine. "I decided to step down to avoid further turmoil and to take responsibility for my actions," he told reporters, bowing deeply in front of the cameras. "It was hard to find someone to date... I did give gifts and money to get attention" from the women, .

Himalayan Blue Sheep: States responsible for protection of wildlife: MoEF to NGT

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has told the National Green Tribunal that the Uttarakhand government was responsible for the management and protection of wildlife in the state, where the Himalayan Blue Sheep were suffering from an eye infection. It submitted that the subject of forests and wildlife is included in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and, therefore, the state governments are responsible for implementation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and preservation of wildlife. The ministry said that the states are responsible for checking and preventing disease in affected species in their national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. "In order to promote effective and scientific management of the national parks, financial and technical assistance is being accorded to the states by the central government (MoEF) under the centrally sponsored scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats. "Over the past five years, it has released an amount of Rs 19.19 crore to

Conflict with tigers, leopards happens because humans venture into 'their area': Report

Humans running into tigers and leopards, that left at least 156 people dead and injured in Dudhwa-Pilibhit area of Uttar Pradesh between 2000 and 2013 were due to people venturing into the forests and not the other way round, says a report.

Over 95 pc of world's population breaths unhealthy air: report

Over 95 per cent of the world's population breathe unsafe air, with India and China together contributing to over half of the global deaths due to pollution caused by small particulate matter, according to a report. The research found that the burden of pollution is falling hardest on the poorest communities, with the gap between the most polluted and least polluted countries rising rapidly. While cities expose billions to unsafe air, people in rural areas face increased indoor air pollution caused by burning solid fuels. One in three people worldwide face the double whammy of unsafe air both indoors and out, the 'State of Global Air Report' found. Researchers from the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in the US used estimated the numbers of people exposed to air polluted above the levels deemed safe by the World Health Organisation using new satellite data. This exposure has made air pollution the greatest environmental health risk and the fourth highest cause of death globally, after ..

Rural Maharashtra open defecation-free: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today declared rural areas of the state open defecation-free and claimed the state has constructed the highest number of toilets in the country. According to the baseline survey of 2012, around 55 per cent of the families in the state in rural areas did not have access to toilets, he said. ? ? ? ? "In a period of just three and a half years, we have made available toilets to 55 per cent of the homes that did not have toilets. This exercise of constructing toilets spanned 34 districts, 351 talukas, 21,000 gram panchayats and 40,500 villages," Fadnavis told reporters here. Almost all homes (in rural parts) have access to toilets now, he said. ? ? ? ? The second part of the 'Swachh Maharashtra' campaign would focus on encouraging people to use these toilets, Fadnavis said. For this, the government is conducting campaigns like 'Darwaza band' as well as using the "Good Morning squad" in rural areas to tackle open defecation, he .

Costa Coffee to recycle takeaway cups

Costa Coffee, the UK's lagest coffeeshop chain, announced on Wednesday that it will try and recycle every takeaway cup sold by 2020.

Poland faces fines for unlawful logging in ancient forest

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that increased logging in Poland's ancient Bialowieza forest has violated EU environmental laws and the country was facing massive fines.

Over 95% of world's population breathing unhealthy air

More than 95 per cent of the world's population is breathing unhealthy air, with India and China jointly contributing to over 50 per cent of global deaths attributed to pollution, a new report has found.

Moody's: Carbon transition risk varies by airline, with international carriers facing higher costs for carbon emissions

"An airline's exposure to carbon transition risks will be affected by a variety of factors, but route mix will be the most important consideration owing to differences in the regulatory regimes governing emissions from domestic and international flights," said Moody's Senior Vice President Swami Venkataraman. "The higher the proportion of an airline's flights that are international, the greater its exposure will be to carbon costs."