Page 782 - Environment
Adani forays into road infra, wins Rs 1,140 cr road proj in Chhattisgarh
Adani Group today announced foray into transport infrastructure with a Rs 1,140-crore highway project won by a consortium led by its holding firm in Chhattisgarh from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) has been exploring opportunities in the sector. "Adani Group is pleased to announce its foray into the public transport infrastructure space, with the award of the first Hybrid Annuity Road Project from NHAI," the company said in a statement. The Rs 1,140 crore project won by AEL pertains to four-laning with paved shoulder of 53.3 km stretch on Bilaspur-Pathrapali section of NH-111 (New NH-130) in Chhattisgarh under Bharatmala Pariyojana on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). The statement said AEL is focused on incubating successful businesses to address the country's growing appetite for energy and infrastructure. "We remain committed to maintain our leadership position in the areas of resources, energy, infrastructure, agro ..
BHEL fully commissions 330 MW Kishanganga in J&K
State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has fully commissioned the 330 MW Kishanganga Hydro-Electric Project in Jammu and Kashmir with the synchronisation of its third unit. The first two units of the project were commissioned last month. All the three units have been commissioned within a short span of 18 days, BHEL said in a statement. Developed by state-run hydro power giant NHPC Ltd, the project is located on the tributary of the river Jhelum, in Bandipora district of J&K. The 3x110 MW Kishanganga project will be able to generate 1,350 Million Units (MU) of clean electricity annually, facilitating reduction of greenhouse emissions. The equipment was supplied from the BHEL's manufacturing units at Bhopal, Jhansi, Rudrapur and Bengaluru while the execution of works on site was carried out by the company's Power Sector Northern Region division and Transmission Business Group. BHEL has so far commissioned 33 Hydro sets with a cumulative capacity of 1,477 MW in J&K.
NGT dismisses plea against felling of trees for Dwarka convention centre
The National Green Tribunal today junked a plea against the construction of an international exhibition-cum-convention centre (IECC) in Dwarka here. A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore said the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Department of Environment of the Delhi government had examined the impact of the project on environment and imposed necessary conditions to mitigate the adverse consequences. The tribunal noted that compensatory plantation of 19,610 trees along the Yamuna river bank has already been ordered and the project proponent has also been asked to plant 17,098 trees at the site in Dwarka. "We are, therefore, satisfied that all the concerns and suggestions which the applicant had raised have been examined and considered...In view of the above, the original application filed by the applicant has to be rejected," the bench said. The tribunal also directed the project proponent, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, to comply with ..
Paddy worth Rs 32 cr missing from Amritsar rice mill
Over 2.50 lakh bags of paddy worth Rs 32 crore were found to be missing from a rice mill in Amritsar during an inquiry by Punjab's Food and Civil Supplies Department, a senior official said today. Besides writing to the higher authorities for vigilance probe, the department has also placed 12 officials including Amritsar district food and supplies controller (DFSC) under suspension for alleged dereliction of duty. The owner of the rice mill was absconding, the official said, adding that the department would move court to attach the owner's properties to recover the cost of the embezzled paddy. "In preliminary inquiry, we have found paddy stock of 2.50 to 2.75 lakh bags worth Rs 32 crore missing from the premises of the rice miller in Amritsar," a senior official of the Punjab Food and Civil Supplies department said here today. The exact figure of missing paddy would be known after full physical verification, the official said. Meanwhile, the Punjab National Bank today said it will ...
Dead fish, snakes found floating in river, probe ordered
Thousands river snakes and fish, all dead, were found floating in the Ranikor river in Meghalaya's South West Khasi Hills district, officials said today. The state government, as a result, has launched an official probe into the incident, the officials said. District Deputy Commissioner Isawanda Laloo told PTI that the superintendent of fisheries and the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board are conducting separate investigations and reports will be submitted soon. Food safety officers were also deployed at villages close to the river to make sure that the villagers do not consume the dead fish, she said. The Khasi Students Union, has alleged that the exploratory drilling for uranium in the hinterlands, on the upstream of the river, is the reason behind the incident, an official said. The death of fish and snakes, in large numbers, have created a panic among residents also, the official added. Dead fish and snakes floating in the Ranikor river have been happening since
Amendment in solar bidding norms positive, says Icra
The latest amendment in the solar project bidding norms is positive for solar developers but uncertainty remains over the pending decision on safeguard duty, says a report by Icra. The renewable energy ministry amended the bidding norms for solar projects on April 3 2018, wherein the change in law provision now applies to changes in taxation, duties and cess instead of change in taxation as applicable earlier, it said. There is now clarity on pass-through of import duty and other such duty under change in law which is a positive for solar developers. However, the quantification of actual tariff changes by SERCs and the timelines of the same will remain critical from the cash flow perspective of the affected developers," said Sabyasachi Majumdar, Group Head & Senior VP, Icra. Moreover, the retrospective applicability of such duty under change in law remains critical for projects which have been recently awarded in bidding route from the viability perspective of such projects, he ...
AI to help in search for alien life
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help astronomers predict the probability of life on other planets, according to a new study.
Cargo-packed Dragon arrives at space station
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship arrived today at the International Space Station, packed with food, gear and science experiments for the astronauts living in orbit. "We have capture confirmed," a NASA commentator said, as the space station's robotic arm latched onto the gum-drop shaped spacecraft at 6:40 am (1040 GMT), at a moment when the spacecraft was over the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the coming hours, the spacecraft will be brought closer and bolted onto the orbiting outpost. Astronauts will begin unpacking later today. The cargo ship is carrying 5,800 pounds (2,600 kilograms) of food, supplies and science experiments to enable the study of thunderstorms, anti-cancer drugs, and technology to remove debris in orbit. The mission is the 14th for SpaceX under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to resupply the space station over multiple years. Both the Dragon cargo vessel and the Falcon 9 booster that launched in on Monday were flown to space before, .
UN food agency urges 'agroecology' to fight famine
Current food production methods are harming the planet while failing to provide millions of the world's poor with enough to eat, the UN food agency warned yesterday. Instead, the adoption of "agroecology", which improves soil quality and costs less for farmers, would help reverse growing food insecurity, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. "We need to put forward sustainable food systems that offer healthy and nutritious food, and also preserve the environment," FAO director general Jose Graziano da Silva said. He was speaking at the second International Agroecology Symposium, a three-day event that kicked off Tuesday at FAO headquarters in Rome. The chemical-heavy processes used to produce foods since the end of World War II have increased production while causing immense damage to the planet, he said. "Soils, forests, water, air quality and biodiversity continue to deteriorate as this increase in production at all costs has not eradicated hunger in the world," he ...
Funds Allocation and Expenditure for NER
(Rs in crore)
Crops and vegetables developed by BARC
The BARC developed mutant crop varieties have high patronage from the farming community and are extensively grown in different states of the country. Popularization is done by linkages established with State Agricultural Universities (through kisan mela, frontline demonstrations / exhibitions and awareness programmes).
Over 37,000 railway bridges are 100 years old: MoS Rajen Gohain
There are over 37,000 railway bridges which are 100 years old with almost 32 per cent of them being in the Northern Zone, the government informed Parliament today. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said there are 37,162 railway bridges in the network which are a century old. "The age of a bridge does not have any direct relevance on the physical condition of the bridge. There is a well established system of inspection of bridges of the Indian Railways. "All these bridges are inspected twice a year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection after monsoon. In addition, certain bridges are also inspected more frequently depending on their condition," the minister said. The Northern Railway Zone has 8,691 such bridges, followed by the Central Zone with 4,710 bridges, Eastern Zone with 3,119, South Central Zone with 3,040 and Western Zone with 2,858 bridges, he said. Repair, strengthening, rehabilitation and rebuilding of ...
Bellandur lake spills toxic foam, again
One among Bengaluru's nearly 262 lakes and tanks, Bellandur Lake has become a symbol of the city's struggle with waste management as it spills toxic foam.According to reports, water is being sprinkled as Bengaluru's Bellandur Lake to control the toxic foam.The lake has spilled toxic foam many times in the recent past and on several occasions the toxic foam also caught fire.Last year, the sorry state of the lake forced the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to take the matter into cognizance.Earlier in 2017, the NGT had directed immediate and complete shutdown of 76 polluting industries around the lake.
Need seen for 'global agency' to help protect dying Dal Lake
Faced with alarming levels of muck and choking weeds, Dal lake, the main tourist attraction in the Kashmir Valley, is gasping for breath -- and the once-pristine waterbody seems to be in dire need of intervention by a specialised global agency to prevent further decay.
Amazon Prime Video's 'Inside Edge' renewed for season two
Amazon Prime Video has renewed cricket drama "Inside Edge" for a second season. Created by Karan Anshuman, the web series is a tale of ups and down of a cricket team, with greed, ambition and corruption at its core. It premiered on the streaming service in July last year. The second spell, with Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Angad Bedi, Tanuj Virwani, Sarah Jane Dias, Sayani Gupta and others, is expected to air this year. "Inside Edge" has been backed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment. Farhan said they are looking forward to the second season of the web series. "We are both excited and proud to officially confirm the second season of Amazon Original 'Inside Edge'. Further details to follow soon!" the director-producer said in a statement. Riteish added, "We have had a successful collaboration with Amazon Prime Video, starting with Amazon's first Original, 'Inside Edge' which was hugely successful. We are excited on the commencement of Season 2 of 'Inside Edge' ..
Speaker urges people to help birds quench thirst this summer
As summer knocks on the doors, Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi has urged people in Vadodara to place water bowls outside their homes to help birds and animals quench their thirst. Every year, hundreds of thirsty birds and stray animals die of dehydration. Like human beings, the animals also need water every day to survive, Trivedi said here yesterday. But, he said, the rapid urbanisation has reduced the number of water bodies in Vadodara, considered as the cultural and educational hub of Gujarat. "This summer, a small and simple effort on the part of peoplecan save hundreds of birds," the BJP MLA urged. "All you need to do is just place a water bowl or pot containing clean drinking water on the balcony, roof, verandah, window, garden, park or roadside and help in quenching the thirst of animals and birds," Trivedi said. He was speaking at an event where clay water bowls were distributed to bird lovers and other citizens. "The summer temperatures often cross 40 ..
More than 1 lakh toilets constructed in Rajouri in a year
Taking forward the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a total of 14897 individual household toilets (IHHLs) have been constructed so far for villagers, by the Rajouri Administration in 2018.Under the flagship of Swachh Bharat Mission, the district administration has initiated a mass movement of linking every rural family with sanitation.A team of 1200 odd officials has been assigned the task of completing five IHHL units each and handholding of families in the rural area for behavioural change and making sanitation a habit."The main aim behind the SBM scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2014 was to build IHHLs to be used by people. The project is also aimed at creating awareness among people to stop open defecation," Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, DDC Rajouri told ANI."We have a mission to make this block open defecation free and we soon accomplish it," Choudhary added.Public participation has become a hallmark of the target to cover all ..
China commerce ministry says firmly opposes US tariffs
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said Wednesday it firmly opposes the proposed U.S. tariffs following the Section 301 probe and will take counter measures, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Air pollution, waste management continue to be areas of concern: report
Air pollution and waste management continue to be areas of concern and in 2016, over 68 per cent of air quality monitoring sites exceeded the annual ambient concentration level of PM2.5, according to a report by TERI. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) today launched its yearly data directory TERI Energy Data Directory and Yearbook (TEDDY) 2018 in the national capital. The yearbook said air pollution and waste management are still areas of concern. Data from 2015 shows that almost all states experienced high concentrations of PM10, exceeding CPCB standards. In 2016 too, 68.4 per cent of air quality monitoring sites exceeded the annual ambient concentration level of PM2.5, which is even more minute and harmful than PM10, the yearbook said. It also said that door to door collection of solid waste is quite low in some states. With regards to solid waste management, the per capita waste generation in the country ranges from 200-600 grams per day. Of this, door to door collection of
FAO chief champions agroecology in call for healthier, sustainable food systems
Rome, April 4 (IANS/AKI) United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation chief Jose Graziano da Silva has called for healthier and more sustainable food systems, saying agroecology can contribute to such a transformation, FAO reported on Tuesday.
