Page 83 - Environment
Electric buses introduced in JK
Advisor to the State Governor K Skandan flagged off the operations of the first state-run electric bus service in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. After inaugurating the service at the railway station here, Skandan said, "The government will initially operate 40 electric buses on different routes in the state." The buses are totally environment friendly, Skandan said. Equipped with CCTV cameras, an electric bus can cover a distance of around 150 km after a single charge, a spokesman said. He said various charging stations would be constructed at different locations. The spokesman said electric buses are the need of the hour to protect the environment.
Nepal authorities clear 11 tonnes of trash from Everest
The Nepalese government on Monday concluded its clean-up drive of the Mount Everest and said it had collected nearly 11 tonnes of trash that had piled up on the peak for decades.
Teenager killed in mysterious Kashmir blast
A teenager was killed and another critically injured on Monday in a mysterious explosion in the border area of Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district.
Pawar seeks complete farm loan waiver in Maha; may meet CM
NCP president Sharad Pawar has demanded a complete farm loan waiver in drought-affected Maharashtra and also sought an appointment with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the issue, his party said Monday. Pawar's meeting with Fadnavis may take place in two days, NCP chief spokesperson Malik said in a statement here. "Swathes of Maharashtra are reeling under drought. Pawar Saheb has been touring affected parts of the state. He has demanded a complete loan waiver for farmers," he said. Malik accused the BJP-led government of not paying adequate attention towards fodder camps and water arrangements for the livestock in the drought-hit areas. "Farmers' orchards have become dry, which means heavy losses for them. Therefore, a complete loan waiver must be given," Malik added. In June 2017, the Fadnavis government had announced a scheme, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana, to write off unpaid farm loans amid rising incidents of suicide by cultivators due to ...
NRL facilitates group insurance of KNP forest staff
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has facilitated group insurance for 1,129 forest staff of the Kaziranga National Park with the National Insurance Company to secure their future. NRL, as part of its corporate social responsibility has facilitated this step as the lives of the forest staff are often fraught with danger from wild animals attacks and poachers, an NRL official release said on Monday. The Group Personal Accident Insurance policy will provide an insured sum of Rs five lakh per insured person/ nominee for death or bodily injury resulting solely and directly from accident caused by external violent and visible means. Weekly benefit up to Rs five thousand for maximum 104 weeks has also been provided for temporary disablement and the insured amount can be directly claimed from National Insurance Company Limited at Golaghat. This policy will be effective from April one this year for a term of one year initially and would be further extended on and yearly ...
Shower facility installed for temple elephant in Tiruchy
A shower bath that very few people get to have these days, let alone a jumbo, in this sweltering heat, considering the shortage of water. To help a temple elephant beat the heat, a giant-size shower facility has been installed by the Jambukeswarar temple here. According to the temple officials, the facility was donated by a Chennai-based firm. The shower has 20 pipes constructed in a square pattern in the elephant's enclosure The officials said they were amused to see the elephant taking the shower every now and then to keep itself cool.
Antibiotics in most rivers found above 'safe' levels
The concentration level of antibiotics in rivers around the world exceed 'safe' levels by up to 300 times, says a study.
2 kumkis brought to drive wild tusker away
With two deaths due to elephant attack in the last 48 hours in the district, two tamed elephants (kumkis) have been brought to drive the wild tusker away into the jungles, forest officials said Monday. Steps were being taken to allay the fears of panic-gripped tribals in the area who were temporarily accommodated at the EB quarters, they said. With two teams formed to monitor the movement of the wild elephant, the kumkis could help them send the animal away or take it to the elephant camp, they added. On Sunday, A 55-year old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant. Similarly on Saturday, a seven-year old girl was killed in an elephant attack.
No banned explosives detected in suspicious object along Jammu-Poonch highway: Police
Police officials Monday said no banned explosive material was present in the suspicious object found along the Jammu-Poonch National Highway which was taken for an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and destroyed in a controlled detonation. A bottle filled with a liquid and a polybag filled with some solid materials were found near Kallar Chowk along the highway by a road opening party (ROP) of the Army in the morning, Rajouri SSP Yougal Manhas said. "In context to the suspected object found by the ROP on the highway, it is informed that during initial investigation of the matter, it has come to the fore that no banned explosive material was present in the suspicious object," Manhas said. "It seems that some miscreants placed a suspicious object in a disintegrated form to give it the shape of an IED to create social disorder," he said, adding that further investigation was underway. Earlier in the day, the officer had said that a major tragedy was averted with timely detection of the ..
Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino dies: officials
Malaysia's last surviving male Sumatran rhino died Monday, wildlife officials said, leaving behind only one female in the country and pushing the critically-endangered species closer to extinction. Once found as far away as eastern India and throughout Malaysia, the Sumatran rhino has been almost wiped out, with fewer than 80 left, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Only a handful of the creatures remain in the wilds of Indonesia. Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the Malaysian male, Tam, had lived in a nature reserve on Borneo island. The cause of the animal's death was not immediately clear, but previous media reports have suggested it was suffering from kidney and liver problems. Tam's death puts pressure on an ongoing effort for conservationists hoping to use in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques to create offspring from Malaysia's last female Sumatran rhino, Iman, and an Indonesian male. Tuuga said there were problems with Iman's uterus and that she was
Suspected IED destroyed along Jammu-Poonch highway
A major tragedy was averted Monday with timely detection of a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) along the Jammu-Poonch National Highway, prompting suspension of traffic for nearly one-and-a-half hours, officials said. A bottle filled with liquid material and a polybag filled with some solid material was found on the roadside near Kallar chowk along the highway in the morning, Rajouri SSP Yougal Manhas said. He said an Army unit noticed the suspicious material at around 7.30 am and subsequently the bomb disposal squad of the Army destroyed the IED on the spot. A police team headed by in-charge of Chingus Chatyari police post and Sub-Inspector M D Khan reached the spot soon after the Army flashed an alert and enforced closure of traffic on particular stretch. However, the traffic resumed around 10.00 am after the bomb disposal squad completed its action, Manhas said. The device was suspected to be planted by some anti-national elements, he said. "Timely action by the alert ...
1st cabinet meet must sanction Godavari-Cauvery linking project: Ramadoss
The Pattali Munnetra Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss on Monday urged that the first cabinet meeting of the incoming central government should accord sanction for Godavari-Cauvery river linking project.
Unsafe levels of antibiotics contaminate world's rivers: Study
Concentrations of antibiotics in some of the world's rivers exceed 'safe' levels by up to 300 times, according to a global study of some of the most iconic water bodies including Thames and Tigris. Researchers from the University of York in the UK looked for 14 commonly used antibiotics in rivers in 72 countries across six continents and found antibiotics at 65 per cent of the sites monitored. "Until now, the majority of environmental monitoring work for antibiotics has been done in Europe, North America and China -- often on only a handful of antibiotics. We know very little about the scale of problem globally," said John Wilkinson, from the University of York. "Our study helps fill this key knowledge gap with data being generated for countries that had never been monitored before," said Wilkinson. Metronidazole, which is used to treat bacterial infections including skin and mouth infections, exceeded safe levels by the biggest margin, with concentrations at one site in Bangladesh ...
'Green wave' in EU vote amid climate crisis
With double-digit scores across Europe's biggest countries including a stunning 20 percent in Germany, the Greens bagged record gains in EU elections on Sunday with younger voters leading calls for action to halt global warming. The environmental party doubled its score in Germany from the last EU elections in 2014, knocking the Social Democrats off their traditional second place. In France, the Greens were number three with 12 percent, while in Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands, they garnered double-digits. In Britain, they were on 12.4 percent, nearly double their previous score, and beating the ruling Conservatives into fifth place. "To see The Green Party beating the Conservatives so far in these elections is truly amazing. Something seismic is happening in British and European politics," said Alexandra Phillips, Green Party candidate for South East England. With the two main traditional EU blocs -- the conservative EPP and the centre-left Social Democrats projected to lose ...
Trees uprooted in Bengaluru due to heavy rainfall
Several trees uprooted in Bengaluru due to heavy rainfall on Sunday.Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who is also in charge of Bengaluru development, instructed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to remove the trees and clean low-lying areas"Heavy downpour has brought down several trees at various parts of the city. I have spoken to concerned officials and directed them to clear debris to facilitate the safe movement of vehicles. Request everyone to stay safe," Parameshwara tweeted.The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with gusty winds at isolated places -- very likely over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Interior Karnataka on Monday.
Study reveals crabs rely on camouflage tricks
Crabs from a single species rely on different camouflage techniques depending on what habitat they live in, a recent study has found.Researchers compared the colour patterns of common shore crabs and rock pools crabs. They found that shore crabs from mudflats closely matched the appearance of the mud they live on, while rockpool crabs did not match the background but instead relied on disruptive colouration, a process that uses high-contrast patterns to break up the appearance of the body outline."The crabs are highly variable in colour and pattern and are often extremely difficult to see. We used image analysis simulating predator (bird and fish) vision to test how shore crabs camouflage themselves," said one of the researchers, Professor Martin Stevens.Researchers also found rock pool individuals had significantly higher levels of disruption, and this seems an effective way to disguise the body's outline in the complex rock pool backgrounds were matching the colour of the ...
Bangladesh fishermen protest two month fishing ban
Hundreds of Bangladeshi fishermen staged a protest in the country's south on Sunday, police said, after the government imposed an unprecedented two-month long fishing ban on the Bay of Bengal. Carrying placards and banners, the fishermen marched to Cox's Bazar city from coastal villages days after the government's 65-day long fishing embargo came into effect. "This is wrong. This is injustice. No other country in the world has ever imposed such a long ban," said union leader Kolim Ullah through a loudhailer during the protest. Ullah said the ban has hit the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh's coastal districts, home to about 20 million people, most of whom depend either directly or indirectly on fishing. "The embargo has especially hit the poor fishermen hard. They don't know any other work," he said. Bangladesh imposed the ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal last week in an effort to replenish depleted stocks. The junior minister for fisheries, Ashraf Ali ...
Range officer among four forest officials suspended in JK
Four forest officials, including a range officer, were placed under suspension on Sunday as authorities seized five sawmills in a special drive in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said. However, some owners alleged that their sawmills were non-functional for years and instead of cracking a whip against forest mafia, the forest officials "staged this drama to hide their infighting". Range officer of Neeru in Bhadarwah Forest Division, Javid Abdullah Dev along with incharge block officers Liaqat Ali Khan, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din and Jahangir Iqbal Najar were placed under suspension by principal chief conservator forest, the officials said. They said the suspension followed preliminary inquiry into the illicit felling of trees in various compartments of Neeru range over the past couple of months. On May 22, seven forest officials including DFO Bhadarwah and Range Officer Chiralla were suspended for illegal activities, including illegal felling of trees and encroachments in ...
Lack of cross-equatorial flow hinders progress of monsoon
Unfavourable cross-equatorial flow over the Arabian Sea that aids in the progress of the monsoon is one of the reasons for its delay, the national weather agency said on Sunday. Monsoon reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 18. But it is yet to cover the entire region, the India Metrological Department said. Conditions are likely to become favourable for the movement of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Islands and north Andaman Sea during Wednesday-Thursday, the IMD said. It is also expected to make an onset over Kerala on June 6, five days after its normal onset date, it had said. The weather department said the monsoon was yet to get traction from the Arabian Sea. "The slow pace is because of the lack of cross-equatorial flow in the Arabian Sea," Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the IMD, said. Mohapatra attributed the sluggish pace to the unfavourable MaddenJulian oscillation (MJO) and anti-cyclonic ...
Gas cylinder explosions kills 3 in Nepal
At least three people were killed and seven others injured in two separate incidents of gas cylinder explosions here on Sunday. The first incident happened in Sukedhara area of the national capital where a gas cylinder exploded, killing two persons and injuring seven others. Another person was killed in a separate gas cylinder explosion in city's Anamnagar area, police said. The injured were shifted to hospital where they are undergoing treatment.