Page 872 - Environment
Varsity working on sensors for precision in crop water mgmnt
An agriculture university here is working on developing sensors to achieve precision in releasing the right amount of water required for the proper growth of crops. The researchers at the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University are hopeful that the sensors, once installed in the soil, would help in checking wastage of water and enhance the crop productivity. The water management is mainly about how much water to supply, when to supply and how best to supply, the university's vice chancellor, V Praveen Rao, told PTI. He said so far, there has been a "critical growth stage approach" without quantifying the water in a better way. "We are developing sensors which would be installed in the soil and continuously provide information about the amount of soil moisture that is available for the crop, whether the crop is facing stress, whether an excess moisture is there," "So, it will enable us to not only improve the productivity, but also to cut down ...
Pangolin scales seized, 4 held
The Belakoba forest department arrested four persons and seized pangolin scales, known for their aphrodisiac and medicinal values, in large quantity here on Saturday.Those arrested were identified as Om Bahadur Gurung, a resident of Ilam district of Nepal, and Nima Tshiring Bhutia, Suren Gurung, and Jumba Bhutia, residents of Darjeeling."After receiving the information that a group of four people were gathered at Salugara to smuggle wildlife article (Pangolin scale) to Bhutan, the forest officers' team intercepted them and during a thorough search, found the scales in a shopping bag. It was stored from Bhutan and they had a plan to smuggle them to Nepal," Belakoba Range's Ranger Sanjay Dutt told ANI.The arrested persons will be produced on Saturday before the Jalpaiguri district court.
Burying carbon emissions gets boost in U.S. budget deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oil drillers that use a method to store carbon dioxide emissions underground to boost crude production, a technique that coal miners and some environmentalists support, got a boost in the budget agreement President Donald Trump signed on Friday.
BMW close to 10-year supply deal for battery minerals: FAZ
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW is close to signing a 10-year supply contract for lithium and cobalt, the company's procurement chief told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, amid an industry-wide scramble for raw materials needed for electric car batteries.
Slaughter of poultry at Ghazipur Mandi under HC scanner
The alleged illegal slaughter of poultry birds at Ghazipur Mandi here as well as the manner in which they are kept there is under the scanner of the Delhi High Court which today sought the AAP government's stand on the issue. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's food safety and animal husbandry departments and sought their reply to a PIL alleging that poultry birds are being traded and slaughtered illegally at the mandi. The court also sought response of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) here and the municipal corporation of east Delhi, where the mandi is located, and listed the matter for further hearing on April 25. The order came on the plea by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi who has contended that there is "blatant violation" of mandatory health checks and veterinary screening of the birds which leads to ...
Uddhav 'fooling' people on Ratnagiri refinery: Narayan Rane
Stating that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray was "fooling" people, former Congress leader Narayan Rane today dared him to shut down the green refinery project in Konkan's Ratnagiri district. "Uddhav Thackeray is fooling MPs, MLAs and the people. It is the policy of the Shiv Sena chief, on one hand, to say that he opposes the project and, on the other, engage in farm land acquisition for the project," Rane, who has set up the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh (MSP), told reporters in Ratnagiri. "If he (Thackeray) has the courage, he should get the project scrapped," he added. Rane had earlier said that the proposed green refinery would spoil the flora and fauna of the Konkan region. He said he disagreed with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' comment that the refinery would not lead to pollution. Producing a anonymous threat letter addressed to Ashok Walamb, chief of the Sangharsh Samiti, Rane had earlier said that Walamb was threatened by Thackeray at Matoshree.
Gold deposits in Banswara, Dungarpur likely to be at 114 MT
Gold deposits in Rajasthans Banswara and Dungarpur are estimated to be over 114 million tonne. The exploration by Geological Survey of India (GSI) has revealed that the deposits of gold are 114.78 MT in Bhukia- Dagocha area. The work of exploration of gold and copper in other areas like Kamalpura, Neem Ka Thana and Mundiawas Kheda area is also going on, Director General of the GSI department N Kutumba Rao told reporters here. He also said that department is now looking for exploration beyond the depth of 300 meters but has no technology, therefore the department is procuring advanced drill machines so as to drill beyond 300 meters for mineral exploration. During his visit to the GSI office here, the DG held meeting with the officials and discussed on progress of various exploration projects.
Plastic moulding facility to be set up in Karnal
A state-of-the-art plastic moulding facility will be set up at plastic packaging cluster in Karnal for which a grant of Rs 10.5 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre. The facility will benefit about 70 micro and small-scale plastic packaging units in Karnal and generate additional 500 jobs in the cluster, an official spokesman said here today. He said under the Ministry of MSMEs flagship scheme Micro and Small Enterprise Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) -- the Centre has granted final approval for setting up this Common Facility Centre (CFC). "Arun Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, while granting the final approval, praised the Haryana government for proactively undertaking cluster development initiatives across the state, and applauded its own contribution of Rs 3.7 crore towards the project cost," he said.
Badal asks Pb govt to clear two pending cold chain projects
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to instruct officials to issue statutory permissions for two cold chain projects sanctioned for Punjab. She alleged that granting of permissions have been inordinately delayed. The Union Minister for Food Processing Industries in a letter to the chief minister said both cold chain projects had the potential togenerate thousands of direct and indirect jobs for youth and ensure enhanced prices to farmers. "The apathy of state government functionaries in not granting the required statutory permissions on time is a cause of concern as delaying the projects deprives the farmers and youth of the benefits that they are likely to get as a result of early operationalisation of these projects," she wrote, as per a press release here today. Giving details, the SAD MP from Bathinda said the Ministry of Food Processing Industries had sanctioned two cold chain projects in Punjab in April, 2017. She ...
Park demonstrating tech pertaining to waste management
To create awareness on various technologies pertaining to toilets, and solid and liquid waste management, the Union minister Uma Bharati today inaugurated a sanitation park in the national capital. The Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation today inaugurated the park which was developed by her ministry in collaboration with the Environmental Sanitation Institute and Tata Trusts, an official release said. The park has been developed at the CGO Complex in Delhi with an objective to create awareness on various safe technological options, it said. It demonstrates various options pertaining to toilet and solid and liquid waste management technologies, with a brief description. It displays information regarding various interventions undertaken under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), capturing the success stories and impact created under it across the country, the release said. The park also presents the opportunity for visitors to understand the various components and ...
Gujarat allowed to use 'dead water' of Sardar Sarovar Dam
As Gujarat is staring at a water crisis this summer, the Narmada Control Authority has allowed the state to use 'seepage and dead water' of the Sardar Sarovar Dam over Narmada to provide drinking water. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani made the announcement in Gandhinagar today. The state could face a severe crisis due to the plummeting water level in the Sardar Sarovar reservoir following an unprecedented reduction in water inflow. "The Narmada Control Authority today gave us (in a meeting in Delhi) the permission to lift seepage as well as 'dead water' from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to provide drinking water to people living in over 10,000 villages and 167 towns. I want to assure people that they will get drinking water (from the dam) till July 31," Rupani said. 'Dead water' storage refers to the water in a reservoir that can not be drained using the dam's outlets and can only be pumped out. Last month, the Gujarat government had urged farmers not to sow summer crops in view ..
Steps taken to prevent man-animal conflict: Dindigul
The Tamil Nadu government is taking concrete steps to prevent man-animal conflict in the state, Forest Minister Dindigul S Srinivasan said today. Responding to a query from reporters here on the increasing incidents of man-animal conflicts, Srinivasan said the state government was taking steps to minimise and prevent the recurrence of such incidents. To another question on the demand for increasing solatium to the kin of those killed by wild animals, he said there was a proposal to increase it. Earlier, he inaugurated the 48-day rejuvenation camp for 52 elephants at various places including Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The camp will conclude on March 28. Nilgiris District Collector, Divya Innocent and senior forest department and district officials were present at the function.
Mundhe, in first meeting, pulls up fire official for not being
IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, who took charge as Nashik Municipal Commissioner today, hit the ground running and, in his very first meeting with the heads of departments, pulled up the Fire Brigade chief for not being in uniform. Fire chief Anil Mahajan, who came to attend the meeting from the brigade's headquarters at Shingada Talav here, had to rush home to change into uniform, officials said. Mundhe, whose stint as Navi Mumbai civic chief was much written about including a no-confidence motion moved against him by corporators there, was Chairman and Managing Director of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) before being appointed as Nashik municipal commissioner. Speaking to the press after taking over from Abhishek Krishna, Mundhe said that among his priorities was to provide online services to the people and to keep the city clean. He told reporters that tackling the issue of pollution of the Godavari river would also be high on the agenda. Mundhe said that .
CACP chairman visits PAU to discuss stubble burning issue
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Chairman Vijay Paul Sharma today visited the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here to discuss the issue of paddy straw management. The talks stressed on providing incentives to farmers who refrained from stubble burning and managed it using various alternatives, a PAU release said. Since residue management involves additional costs, the Punjab government had requested the CACP to provide incentives to farmers who refrain from stubble burning, it added. According to the release, Vijay Paul Sharma said paddy straw management was a challenge and was causing severe pollution, and resulting in land degradation. For straw management, he referred to three essentials, including research which provides need-based technology, efficient agricultural engineers to develop machinery, and effective transfer of technology to encourage farmers to make use of the recommended technology. "We have come to PAU to solve the problems of ...
Delhi HC seeks response on illegal poultry slaughtering
The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the Delhi government and others to file a response on a plea seeking a ban on illegal slaughter of poultry birds in the national capital including at the Ghazipur Murga Mandi.
NGT notice to Centre, Maruti on plea seeking refund of subsidy
A plea seeking refund of incentives given to mild hybrid vehicles of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Ltd under the FAME India scheme prompted the National Green Tribunal today to seek responses from the Centre and the carmaker. A bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim issued notices to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Environment and Forests, International Centre For Automotive Technology and Maruti Suzuki India Limited while seeking their replies before February 21. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar seeking directions to the carmaker to deposit Rs 95 crore subsidy along with interest received during sale of its vehicles 'Ciaz and Ertiga' with the Ministry of Heavy Industries. The petition, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, alleged that the vehicles manufactured by Maruti claiming to be mild hybrid vehicles were "in fact not anywhere close to being such hybrid vehicles and the subsidies received were totally wrong, mala fide and ...
Himalayan blue sheeps spotted with eye infection: U'khand
Himalayan blue sheeps, also known as bharals, have been spotted with "symptoms of eye infection" and difficulty in movement in the Gangotri National Park, the Uttarakhand government today told the National Green Tribunal. The endangered species live on high-altitude mountains mainly in India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, and Bhutan. Many Buddhist monasteries protect the bharals found around them. The animal is categorised as 'Least Concern' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The population faces two threats: poaching for meat and competition with livestock. Uttarakhand's forest department told the tribunal bench that its team had brought a baby bharal with symptoms of eye infection for medical examination, but the animal died during treatment. "The Gangotri National Park teams did survey in Nelong, Kedartal and Gaumukh valley to observe bharals in September, October and November last year. They could only observe two bharals with ...
Cotton output this season likely to be 367 lakh bales: CAI
The cotton production for the 2017-18 season is expected to be 367 lakh bales, of 170 kg each according to the January estimates of Cotton Association of India (CAI). The cotton crop estimate for the ongoing season is lower by eight lakh bales due to severe infestation of the cotton crop by pink bollworm, CAI said in a release here. To tackle this, farmers in several areas in Maharashtra and Telangana have uprooted their cotton crop without waiting for further pickings as advised by scientists, it added. However, the estimate is higher than last year (2016-17) production, which was 337.25 bales. Total cotton supply for the season was at 417 lakh bales, including the opening stock of 30lakh bales at the beginning of the season and the imports which is estimated at 20 lakh bales for 2017-18 crop year, CAI said. Domestic consumption is estimated to be 320 lakh bales while exports for the season is likely to be 55 lakh bales. The carry over stock at the end of this season on
Virus attacks Himalayan blue sheep, eyes bulge out
The Uttarakhand Forest Department on Friday told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it spotted at least seven more Himalayan blue sheep with infection in eyes due to an "unknown virus" at the Gangotri National Park.
China's top steel city Tangshan to extend winter output curbs
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top steelmaking city of Tangshan said on Friday it would extend restrictions on production beyond the end of the winter heating season on March 15.
