Page 875 - Environment
Chg:Cong alleges pollution of Mahanadi river during Kumbh fair
The main opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh today raised the issue of "pollution" of the Mahanadi river during the ongoing 'Kumbh' fair at Rajim in Gariaband district, on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. Congress MLAs Dhanendra Sahu, Satyanarayan Sharma and Kawasi Lakhma sought a detailed discussion on the issue while moving an adjournment motion notice. "Rajim is a popular historical pilgrim site located on the banks of Mahanadi river. People visit the place to take a holy dip in the river on different occasions," Sahu said. The state government organises the Kumbh fair every year at Rajim during Mahashivratri, which falls on February 13 this year. The fair is held on river bed (on dried part) after laying temporary moorum road on it. "This year also 25-km length of moorum road has been laid while around 600 temporary toilets were made on the river bed," Sahu said. He alleged that the river has lost its identity as sewage water discharged from temporary toilets is
Bird census: Enumerators use various methods in TN
Counting birds was no mean task as enumerators used various methods such as tracking down their direction and adopting 'call count' strategy to ascertain the population of the winged creatures in Tamil Nadu during the annual census exercise. The two-day state-wide census, which concluded today, was aimed at presenting the biodiversity of the avifauna as it is and avoid duplication to the maximum extent possible, forest officials said here. The annual synchronised bird census covered 14 bird sanctuaries and wetlands and was carried out by wild life officials, volunteers, bird watchers, NGOs, ornithologists, and the local people. "There are several methods to enumerate birds. Whichever is appropriate for a given habitat it is used for carrying out the census," a senior Forest official told PTI. Explaining he said 'total count' method is followed in an vast expanse of open area where birds are visible. 'Block Count' is used for several flock of birds and it involves ...
Top experts to attend agri-summit in Hisar on Feb 23
A round table conference of nearly 100 agricultural experts will be organised in Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar on February 23. Thirty three progressive farmers, 33 agriculture scientists from all fields and 33 government officers, including ministers and chairmen from different departments associated with agriculture sector will participate in this conference, Haryana's Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar said here today. He said open dialogue session for ensuring gross income of Rs one lakh per acre will be conducted in this significant conference. "This will also help in realising the vision of (the) prime minister to double the income of farmers by year 2022," he said. Detailing about the benefit of recently launched 'Bhavantar Bharpai' scheme, Dhankar urged the farmers to get registered under the scheme by the deadline February 15 and ensure protected price of their produce, including tomato and potato. "Registration of 850 farmers has been recorded so far. ..
Centre, Delhi government join hands on pollution, says Minister
Asserting that the government means business about the problem of air pollution, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said the Centre and the Delhi government have joined hands and constituted 70 teams for creating mass awareness and testing all mitigation steps taken in the NCR from February 10.
Siemens Gamesa bags 160MW of solar EPC orders
: Renewable energy firm Siemens Gamesa today said it has bagged 160MW of solar EPC orders from two customers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, respectively. The company will provide complete turnkey solutions including infrastructure, engineering and design of solar farm, erection and commissioning of photo-voltaic solar farms in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as per the agreement. The projects are slated for commissioning in March 2018, a company statement said. "Today India is one of the most promising markets for renewable energy. The country has witnessed incremental growth in solar segment in last three years and we expect the momentum to increase in coming years," Siemens Gamesa India, CMD, Ramesh Kymal said. "Having firmed up our roots in solar business, we are fully geared to contribute to the government's target of 100GW of solar power by 2022," he added.
Man held with leapord skin
A man was apprehended for possessing leopard skin in Haryana's Ballabhgarh by a joint team of forest and police officials, the Wildlife SOS said. The raid was conducted last night on the basis of an information gathered by the wildlife conservation organisation, they said. The man, identified as Ram Das, was apprehended by the police and forest officials. He is currently under police custody and the matter is being investigated further, a Wildlife SOS statement said. The joint team, including members of the Wildlife SOS, local police and forest officials, raided the premises of Ram Das and seized the leopard skin from under his bed, the statement said. "During interrogation, Ram Das confessed to having acquired the leopard skin through a middle-man. He has been booked under the relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972," it said. Authorities are investigating the matter further to track down the middle-man. The confiscated leopard skin measures 73 inches in .
Kerala asks TN to release water under PAP pact
Kerala today asked neighbouring Tamil Nadu to release 400 cusecs of water to the state in accordance with the water sharing agreement under the Parabikulam-Aliyar project till February 15. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Palaniswami pointed out that farmers of the Chittor region at Palakkad, who depend mainly on the release of water under the PAP pact, were in distress due to the non-release of water as per the agreement. As per the bilateral pact, Chittoor river basin has to receive 400 cusecs water till February 15. But, Tamil Nadu officials were not ready to release water, Vijayan said. Kerala received only 131 cusecs on February 6 and 91 cusecs on Februry 7. Only 32 cusecs water was released today till eight in the morning, it was pointed out. "This type of pact violation and shortage in water is causing anxiety," Vijayan said and sought the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's intervention to ensure that Kerala got 400 cusecs
Elephant kills man in Uttarakhand forests
A 27-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant when he was attempting to film the animal on his mobile phone, an official of the forest department said on Thursday.
Cabinet approves enhancement of target under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
While expanding the target, the Government has also addressed the practical difficulty faced in PMUY implementation, namely, genuinely poor households left out of Socio Economic Caste Survey (SECC) list. The Cabinet today approved to expand the Scheme to cover all SC/ST households, beneficiaries of PMAY (Gramin), Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, people residing in Islands and rivers etc. in addition to SECC identified households.
NTPC invites bids for agro residue procurement
The National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has invited bids for procurement of 1,000 tonnes of agricultural biomass on daily basis for its power plant in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to provide an alternative to stubble burning -- a major reason for air pollution in northern India.
Place vision document on preservation of Taj Mahal: SC to UP
The Supreme Court today directed the Uttar Pradesh government to place before it a vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal and asked why there was a "sudden flurry of activities" in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ). The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq kms spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta questioned Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UP government, on why leather industries and hotels were coming up in the TTZ when such activities were stopped earlier. "There is a sudden flurry of activities in the TTZ. Is there any particular reason for that? Leather industries and hotels are coming up there. Why? It should remain stopped. Why this activity is there in the TTZ?," it asked. Mehta submitted that he would seek instructions on the issue and get back to the court. The bench also asked the state government ..
MP: 10-year-old girl becomes fourth victim of leopard on prowl
A ten-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in the Tamai forest division area near here last night, the fourth such incident in the last 31 days, an official said today. "The big cat attacked Punam Salaam when she was playing alone outside her house in Khulsan village," said area Deputy Ranger SS Mishra. The leopard had killed Kalpana (5), Harsh (10) in the Tamia forest division area on January 7 and Sawan (12) on January 9, he said. Since January 7, around 500 ground duty officials of Forest department have been scouring the jungle to catch the feline that has apparently turned a man-eater. Officials have installed 50 cameras to track the location of the leopard.
Reports of coal's terminal decline are premature
While less new coal-fired power plants are now being built in China and India, the planned expansion in the use of coal in fast-growing emerging economies, such as Turkey, Indonesia and Vietnam, will in part cancel out the reduction.Only if the countries of the world actively counteract this trend, they can achieve the climate goals agreed in the Paris Agreement.These are the results of the study "Reports of coal's terminal decline may be exaggerated," authored by researchers from the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), published in the journal Environmental Research Letters."The coal problem is by no means self-defeating, despite all the advances in renewable energy. If the international community wants to achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals to avoid the greatest climate risks, then it must act decisively," says PIK's Chief Economist Ottmar Edenhofer, who is also Director of
Kamal Haasan to meet key influencers from TN in US
Actor Kamal Haasan, who is in the US, will meet key influencers from Tamil Nadu and explore a better future for the state.
JK Govt has initiated demarcation of all notified wetlands
The Jammu and Kashmir government today said that the demarcation of all notified wetlands of the state has been initiated. Replying to a question by CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, Minister for Forests, Choudhary Lal Singh informed the state Assembly that the demarcation of all notified wetlands of the state has been initiated in collaboration with the concerned revenue authorities. During 2017-18, the Union government has approved an amount of Rs 59 lakh under for survey and demarcation, surveillance, habitat development, awareness for Hokersar wetland in Kashmir, he said. The funds for conservation and protection of these natural assets are managed through various centrally sponsored schemes, Capex budget and funds, the minister added. He said there was no proposal for inter-linkage of wetlands, lakes, canals with river Jhelum. Singh added there was no report of illegal construction, mining activities and stone crushers inside the protected areas. He said that no ...
CISF foils Naxal attack in Dantewada mines area
CISF security personnel today foiled a Naxal attack on a security post at the NMDC mines area in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, officials said. They said the Maoists' squad of 40-50 Naxals was first detected near the Bacheli area of the Baildila mines at around 9:45 am and an exchange of fire took began between the two sides. The CISF, that guards the mines area of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in the district, fired at least 37 rounds of bullets and lobbed grenades and bombs to push back and counter the Naxalites. The firing continued for sometime after which the Naxals retreated towards the jungles on the Bijapur district side, they said. "Normal operations in the mining area have resumed and there has been no loss," a senior official said. A reinforcement contingent of the CRPF and local police is combing the area to check for the movement of the Naxals, they said. "The CISF and other forces are virtually on alert all the times here as ..
Poachers killed 74 rhinos in Assam in 3 years: Forest minister
Altogether 74 rhinos were killed by poachers in Assam since 2015 and 316 poachers arrested during 2015-17, Forest Minister Pramilla Rani Brahma said in the Assembly today. Twenty one rhinos were killed in 2015, 22 the next year and nine last year, Brahma said in reply to a question by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam. To another query, the minister said police records showed the involvement of militant outfits in poaching of the Pride of Assam, and action was taken against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
NTPC invites bids to procure agro residue based fuel
State-run power giant NTPC has invited bids for procuring 1,000 metric tonne of agro residue based fuel per day as part of the eco-friendly drive in the NCR. The bids are for 2,650 MW Dadri power plant in Uttar Pradesh. The initiative will provide farmers with an alternate to burning crop residues, a major contributor to pollution, an NTPC spokesperson said. The tender will be for two years with a capping price of Rs 5,500 per metric tonne for agro residue based pellets and Rs 6,600 per tonne for pellets or briquettes of torrefied agro residue. To attract startups, NTPC has allowed participation of bidders without any prior experience. The company has broken up the total demand into smaller lots of 20 metric tonne per day. A bidder can bid for any number of lots but not exceeding 12 lots to encourage wider participation. If NTPC is able to attract sufficient bidders for the quantity required, it can open doors for using agro residue in power plants across the ...
Air pollution can contaminate your morality too
Air pollution not only affects your health but may also lead to unethical behaviour such as crime and cheating, researchers have warned.
Tampara Lake to be developed as tourist hub soon
The Centre has recently sanctioned Rs 33.43 crore for development of tourism infrastructure at Tampara Lake near Chhatrapur in Odisha's Ganjam district, a govt official said here today. The state government is planning to make Tampara a major tourist destination under the Centre's Swadesh Darshan Scheme, District Tourist Officer Sanatan Nayak said. The infrastructure around Tampara, about 2 km from NH-16, was damaged when cyclone Phailin lashed Odisha in 2013. The facilities in the area, including jetty, street lights, a sports complex and adjacent roads, are in need of immediate repair, he said. A detailed project report to this effect is being prepared by the Berhampur Development Authority (BDA), said an official of the planning body. "The roads will be widened and measures will be initiated to develop a tourist reception centre, solid waste management and solar lighting system in the area. Besides, facilities like a water park, eco-cottages, two jetties, a trekking .
