Page 946 - Environment
New year delight: Karnataka garden in Ooty to open on Jan 8
Cauvery waters may be a bone of contention between the twin south Indian states, but flowers are set to bridge hearts in Tamil Nadu's Ooty hills where a garden developed by the Karnataka government is set to open early January. Spread over 38 acres in the Fern Hill area of the picturesque hill station, the 'Karnataka Siri Horticulture Garden' is expected to become a major tourism attraction, top officials said. "We are inaugurating the new garden in Ooty on January 8. A few top ministers and senior officials from both the states are slated to attend the opening ceremony. "Ooty gets about 25 lakh visitors per year and we are expecting that 80 per cent of those tourists will visit our garden too," Joint Director of the Karnataka Horticulture Department, M Jagadeesh, told PTI. He said about 75 different kinds of flowers have been planted in the new garden and special potted plants are being sent to Ooty for the inauguration ceremony. "It will have a rose garden, and flowers
Poor monitoring of tigers leading to inflated numbers: Biologist Karanth (IANS Interview)
Poaching of tigers is still a big threat in some parts of India and, despite massive funding, the science underlying their monitoring is poor. Reason: Forest managers who dictate how monitoring should be done and by whom.
Lost WWI-era Australian submarine discovered
A downed Australian Navy submarine that vanished during World War I - 103 years ago - was discovered in the remote ocean area around Papua New Guinea. The submarine HMAS AE1 was discovered near the Duke of York Islands off Papua New Guinea roughly 1,000 feet beneath the ocean's surface. The HMAS AE1 went missing off Rabaul, Papua New Guinea on September 14, 1914, and all 35 Australian and New Zealander crewmembers aboard were lost. The loss was the first one incurred by the Australian Navy during World War I. Researchers used aerial drones and a multi-beam echo sounder to scan the seafloor. The ship was first discovered by a search vessel named "Furgro Equator," and a small service to commemorate those who lost their lives was conducted on the ship, 'Live Science' reported. Dozens of ships were lost in the waters of Oceania in World War II's Pacific Theater, but only a handful, such as Germany's SMS Planet, were sunk during World War I.
Inspiring change: When a once-arid village becomes a national model (IANS Special Series)
John F. Kennedy said "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try". These words of one of America's best-known presidents probably inspired a former engineer in India to try to transform what was once a bone-dry region into a green oasis simply by motivating its inhabitants to do what they earlier thought was impossible.
Tiger census likely in Telangana in Jan 2018
The tiger census is expected to be taken up in Telangana next month, a senior official of the state forest department has said. This would be the first census of the striped animals in Telangana after the formation of the state. The last such count was carried out in 2013-14 in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. "(It will be taken up) mostly in third week or fourth of January... the field exercise (of the census) will be (for) five days," the official told PTI here. He said the tiger population in Telangana is estimated to be around 17. According to the Central government's guidelines, the census needs to be taken up throughout the country in January and February, the official said. The counting exercise also includes carnivorous animals and mega-herbivores (a large herbivore such as an elephant), he said. "There are other parameters also which are taken into consideration. But, because tiger is the flagship animal, naturally it is considered as the tiger census," he ...
Naxal gunned down in Chhattisgarh, weapons recovered
A Naxal was gunned down in an exchange of fire with security personnel in a dense forest in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said today. The skirmish took place last evening in the forest near Karigundam and Itapara villages, Sukma's Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told PTI. Various teams of CoBRA (commando battalion for resolute action - a CRPF's specialised unit), District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) were out on a counter-insurgency operationinthe forest of Chintagufa, around 500 kms from here, since the past couple of days, he said. A team of DRG, while returning, confronted Maoists in the forest near the two villages following which a gun-battle broke out between the two sides. However, after a brief exchange of fire, the ultras escaped into the core forest area, he said. "During a search in the area, the body of a Naxal clad in uniform, a 12 bore gun, a 315 bore gun and a muzzle-loading gun were recovered," Shukla ...
13 TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy
Thirteen fishermen from this island were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy today for allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu close to the island nation's coast, Fisheries department officials here said. The fishermen have been taken to Kangesanthurai port along with their two boats, Assistant Director of Fisheries A Manikandan said. Meanwhile, 69 Tamil Nadu fishermen who have been released by Sri Lankan courts would arrive here later today, Fisheries department officials said. Twenty-seven fishermen from the state were arrested by the Lankan Navy on December 12 for allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu.
Once a Red Corridor, J'khand hamlet is now set for green drive
Jiyan village, a sleep hamlet about 80km from here, is all set to cultivate land scientifically for better yields. The East Singhbhum district police and Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) have come together to start a green revolution in this remote village, previously a stronghold of the CPI(Maoists), Senior Superintendent of Police Anoop T Mathew said. "With little help from farmers of adjoining areas, the district police officers have recently started training the residents of Jiyan on how to cultivate land scientifically," he said. The initiative is a part of a promise made by the police department to the people of this village following the surrender of two Maoists from this area, Kanhu Munda and Fogra Munda, in February. "A majority of the villagers depends on agriculture, thus we have decided to focus on developing farming facilities here with an aim to improve their earnings," Mathew said, admitting that the village lacked irrigation facilities. Last .
Centre sanctions Rs 1,250 cr for Assam inland transport
The central government has sanctioned Rs. 1,250 crore for the development of transport sector in Assam, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said here on Saturday.
Assam gets Rs 1,250 cr central fund for inland water transport
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today announced that Rs 1,250 crore has been sanctioned for overall development of inland water transport of Assam. The Union minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping asked the state water resources department to involve a foreign consultant, if required, for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) within three months, it added. "For the development of transport sector, Central Government has sanctioned Rs 1,250 crore," Gadkari said at a meeting of the Brahmaputra Board and Water Resources Department at Kaziranga. Of this amount, Rs 32 crore will be utilised for constructing 56 terminals and Rs 60 crore for Ro-Ro service, an official release said. Ro-ro is 'roll-on, roll-off' ferry service in which people and goods including vehicles would be ferried. Infrastructural development will also be brought about at the terminals at Bogibeel, Nematighat, Kamalabari, Silghat, Jogighopa, Silchar, Dhubri and Pandu, the release said. Gadkari
Naxals torch 7 road construction vehicles in Chhattisgarh
Seven vehicles, which were engaged in road construction work in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada region, were torched by a group of Naxals.As per the labourers, some 15-20 Naxals, carrying bow and arrow, set the vehicles ablaze on Friday."They threatened the labourers and torched the vehicles. The Naxals even robbed all the belongings of the labourers", said the road contractor.An official said that the investigation has been initiated in this regard.
NC Goel appointed new Chief Secretary of Rajasthan
Senior IAS officer N C Goel was today appointed the new Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, a government release said. Goel, a 1982-batch IAS officer, earlier held the charge of Additional Chief Secretary of Forest and Environment, Tourism, Art and Culture Department, Mines and Petroleum departments, it added. Goel hails from Haryana and has held top posts, including the CMD of Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, Rajasthan. He was also the District Collector and Magistrate of Alwar and Jaisalmer between 1990 and 1993. He replaces Ashok Jain, who completed six months on the post, the statement said.
NCR air quality dips to 'severe'
Air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) worsened to "severe" on Saturday with a drop in wind speed and lowering of effluents' mixing height, officials said.
Fishermen released by Pakistan to reach Vadodara on Monday
A group of 144 fishermen released by Pakistan as a goodwill gesture will arrive in Vadodara in the early hours of Monday, Gujarat Chief Secretary JN Singh told PTI today. Pakistan had released 145 fishermen, belonging to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, on December 28 from Karachi's Landhi jail, said officials. These fishermen had been handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border last evening, said officials. "However we took custody of only 144 fishermen out of 145 released by Pakistan. We did not accept custody of Haresh Bhikha Solanki as his name was not in the list of 145 fishermen submitted to Indian authorities in advance," said J F Toraniya, a Gujarat official who was part of the team that received the fishermen at the border. Toraniya said the 144 fishermen would be traveling in two special coaches of the 12484 Amritsar-Kochuveli Express which will leave Amritsar at 6am on Sunday and reach Vadodara early Monday morning. Officials said that there ..
Beijing launches testing base for autopilot cars
A district in the Chinese capital has launched a testing base for autopilot vehicles in the Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
Haryana govt launches scheme for vegetable growers
Assuring farmers of fair prices for their produce and emphasising on diversification of crops, the Haryana government today launched 'Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana' in which tomato, onion, potato and cauliflower have been included. A separate fund would be constituted by the state government for this scheme, state chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said after launching the scheme at village Ganger in Karnal district. On this occasion, the chief minister did registration of a tomato growing farmer under Bhavantar Bharpayee e-Portal and Crop Cluster Development Programme. The chief minister said that compensation at the rate of Rs 400 per quintal would be given for tomato and potato whereas Rs 500 per quintal would be given for onion and cauliflower. The state government would compensate the difference in price when prices in market will go below the mentioned prices, he said. He said that as compared to traditional crops, micro irrigation would be adopted for tomato, onion,
Soil health card users manage to save urea by 8-10%: Minister
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said about 10 crore soil health cards have been issued and farmers managed to save use of urea by 8-10 per cent by proper use of the card.
25 tonnes of toxic waste found dumped near Belgrade
The mayor of a Belgrade suburb said today that a large-scale investigation will be launched following the discovery of 25 tonnes of toxic waste found dumped in a private field. "This is just the beginning of a major operation that will take place on our territory and in Serbia," Obrenovac mayor Miroslav Cuckovic told state television (RTS). "We will check all the sites where toxic waste could be concealed." The environment ministry announced yesterday the dumped waste had been found, and analysis is under way to determine if the surrounding soil has been polluted. Environment minister Goran Trivan said "an ecological disaster has been avoided," although he did not give details of the materials. However, the N1 television channel reported that the substances contained benzene, which is widely used in a range of products like plastics, dyes, solvents, petrol and detergents. N1 reported the investigation will aim to determine where the waste came from. The owner of the ...
Centre sanctions Rs 20cr for Bengal's BCKV
The Centre has taken a national program to electronically connect all mandis of the country for e-trading that will enable better price discovery, Union Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh today said. Some 470 such mandis are connected or are in the process of being connected. But 17 proposals from West Bengal were lying idle as reforms suggested by the Centre were not adopted by the state, he said addressing the 117th AGM of Bharat Chamber of Commerce said. "Development of eastern region is important if we want a healthy country and growth of industry was interlinked to agriculture and farmers development," he said adding the Centre has sanctioned Rs 20 crore for the state agricultural university Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidalaya. E-NAM (National Agriculture Market) is a pan-India an electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market. Andhra Pradesh, Gurajat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Goa, Madhya ...
Centre, Odisha play blame game over delayed railway projects
The Centre and the Odisha government today entered into a blame game over the delay in execution of railway projects in the state. Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain, who is on an official visit here, alleged in a press conference that several railway projects could not progress in the state due to non-availability of land. Stating that the Centre has this fiscal sanctioned Rs 5,100 crore for railway infrastructure in Odisha, the minister said: "Though works progressed in many projects, some others are delayed due to non-availability of required land for the purpose. The state government has not provided the land for those delayed projects." The minister also said that there was no paucity of funds for the railway projects. "We are not able to progress only due to lack of land and nothing else," Gohain said adding that the state government should expedite land acquisition and hand them over to railway for speedy progress of different projects. Gohain also .
