Page 95 - Environment
Over two million face famine in drought-hit Somalia: UN
Rome, May 15 (IANS/AKI) A devastating drought in Somalia could leave some 2.2 million people - almost 18 per cent of the population - facing severe hunger in July-September after poor harvests, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Wednesday.
Patnaik proposes UN to set up a centre for disaster mitigation in Odisha
The Odisha government Wednesday urged the United Nations (UN) to set up an international centre for disaster mitigation and recovery in the state. The proposal was mooted by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik when he met the officials of United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international organisations here in a meeting. Officials of the Department of Economic Affairs were also present. Stating that the UN system plays an important role in developing global public good, Patnaik said the United Nations University could consider setting up an international centre for disaster mitigation and recovery in Bhubaneswar. "This could help in building upon the exercise that Odisha has gained in this sector as well as in developing international best practice for use across the world," Patnaik said. He also assured the UN team of support for establishment of such a centre in Bhubaneswar. The chief minister also laid stress on disaster-proof energy infrastructure, development of
Russia to release killer whales in new habitat, despite expert advice
Russia is set to free controversially captured killer whales over the next month, but not return the animals to their original habitat despite expert advice, a scientist said Wednesday. Instead the animals will be released from their pens in Russia's Far East and may "disrupt vacationers" at resorts nearby, said Vladislav Rozhnov, who was involved in talks over their fate. Nearly 100 belugas and orcas were captured last summer and kept in small pens by commercial firms who had planned to deliver them to aquariums, including in China where the industry is booming. Ten killer whales, or orcas, will be released "in late May to early June," Rozhnov said during a briefing at the Russian environment ministry. He said it would be better to transport them, as Russian and foreign scientists have advised, but this has been deemed too costly. Instead they will be freed near their captivity location near the town of Nakhodka -- over 1300 kilometres (800 miles) south from where they were caught in
Odisha: CM Naveen Patnaik takes stock of situation in Odisha, post cyclone Fani
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday reviewed the situation and restoration work undertaken in the state in the aftermath of the destruction caused by cyclone Fani.The meeting was attended by senior state and district officials.Talking to media after the meeting, the Chief Minister expressed his sadness on damage caused to Puri."I am deeply saddened by damage caused to Puri. We will make Puri into a World class heritage city," the Chief Minister said after the meeting.Acknowledging that Puri district gets its electricity sourced through three lines, all of which were badly damaged, the Chief Minister said, "With thousands of workers working day and night on a war footing basis - one line is getting restored today.""With the restoration of this one line, power supply to start in Puri town, Nimapara NAC and Konark NAC from tonight in a phased manner. With so many uprooted trees, tree safety is an important aspect of power restoration. I appeal to everyone to cooperate in .
Odisha CM seeks international disaster mitigation centre
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday placed a proposal before UN officials to set up an International Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Recovery in the state.
Zimbabwe sells 100 elephants to China, Dubai
Zimbabwe has sold nearly 100 elephants to China and Dubai for a total price of USD 2.7 million over six years, the country's wildlife agency said Wednesday, citing overpopulation. Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP Zimbabwe's elephants were overcrowding national parks, encroaching into human settlements, destroying crops and posing a risk to human life. "We have 84,000 elephants against a carrying capacity of 50,000," he said, justifying the sales. "We believe in sustainable use of resources, so we sell a few elephants to take care of the rest. Farawo said 200 people have died in "human-and-animal conflict" in the past five years, "and at least 7,000 hectares of crop have been destroyed by elephants". The animals' natural habitat has been depleted by climate change, he added, while recurrent droughts have added to strain on the overburdened national parks, forcing the pachyderms to seek food and water further afield. Farawo said money from the ...
Maha govt hikes grant for fodder & water in cattle camps
Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil Wednesday said grant for animals in the cattle camps has been increased for the purpose of their fodder and water. At present, there are 1,417 cattle camps functioning in the state housing 9.39 lakh animals. So far, big animal got a grant of Rs 90 and the small one Rs 45 for water and fodder, he said. "Now, each big animal will get Rs 100 and small one will get Rs 50. The decision was taken in the cabinet sub committee meeting held today," Patil said. Total 4,331 villages and 9,470 wadis (hamlets) are being provided drinking water through 5,493 water tankers, he said. "As many as 67 lakh farmers have been given Rs 4,412 crore compensation for crop losses in the drought-hit areas," the Relief and Rehabilitation Minister said.
Thousands of stranded vehicles cleared along Jammu-Srinagar NH
Thousands of stranded vehicles were cleared off the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Wednesday despite rocks sliding intermittently from a hillock overlooking the strategic road, officials said. The 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for vehicular traffic Tuesday morning following multiple landslides in Digdole area of Ramban district. The highway was reopened for vehicles early Wednesday after a 15-hour clearance operation but a fresh slide and intermittent shooting of stones hampered the movement of traffic, the officials said. "The movement of vehicles was better compared to the previous couple of days. Over 4,000 stranded vehicles were cleared from both sides during the day," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, in Ramban, Suresh Sharma, told PTI. Vehicles on the highway usually run alternatively from the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu in view of the ongoing four-laning. Residents blamed construction ...
CIAL commissions parallel 110 KV substation to export power
Cochin International Airport Ltd,the world's first airport fully powered by solar energy, Wednesday commissioned a parallel 110 KV Electrical substation to export power generated by its eight solar plants, to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) grid. CIAL Managing Director V J Kurian inaugurated the plant, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 16 crore. CIAL has so far been using only one substation to facilitate power banking arrangement with the KSEB. "This became insufficient as the company had augmented its solar power plants total installed capacity to 40 MWpl, a CIAL release said here. With the commissioning of additional substation, CIAL is now able to bank the power through two channels; one for the export of power and the other for the import of it form KSEB grid, it said. At present the 40 MWp solar power plants generate approximately 1.63 lakh units of power a day. The average daily consumption is approximately 1.53 lakh units. The annual savings on power
Pest attack affects 68 per cent maize cultivation in Mizoram
The recent pest attack has affected 68 per cent of maize cultivation in Mizoram, an official said on Wednesday. The pest, fall armyworm (Sodoptera frugiperda), has affected 2,424 hectare out of 3,539 hectare of maize fields in the state, the Joint Director of the Agriculture Department, James Lalsiamliana, told PTI. As a result a total of 5,525 families have been affected, Lalsiamliana said. The pest attack was first detected in the state on April 8 and it spread across all the eight districts of the state very fast, he added. State level Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and district level RRTs are working together to combat the menace by using pesticides, Lalsiamliana said. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a pest that feeds in large numbers on the leaves and stems of more than 80 plant species, causing major damage to economically important cultivated grasses such as maize, rice, sorghum and sugarcane but also other vegetable crops and cotton, officials said. A .
Karnataka govt to take up cloud seeding, amid monsoon worries
The Karnataka government Wednesda Wednesday said it would take up cloud seeding by the end of June, amid reports forecasting deficit rainfall. The government has already called for tenders for two years and will spend an estimated Rs 88 crore forthe purpose. "In newspapers we are seeing that in 2019 there is a possibility of deficit rainfall. We have already takenprecautionary measures regarding this- for 2019-20 and 2020-21-for two years we have decided to implement cloud seeding,"Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said. He said the government would award the tender in a week to 10 days. "By June end, we will begin the cloud seeding process in the state. The tender has been called for two years together. Anexpert committee had also given similar recommendation," he said. For two years together, the estimated cost would be Rs 88 crore, he said, briefing mediapersons after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's video conferencing with Deputy Commissioners of ...
Over 56 lakh household toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission till Feb this year: RTI reply
Over 56.6 lakh individual household toilets have been constructed till February this year and another 6.33 lakh toilets were under construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), the government has said in an RTI reply. SBM-U aims at making urban India free from open defecation and achieving 100 per cent scientific management of municipal solid waste in all the 4,041 statutory towns of the country. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said in Uttar Pradesh, as many as 7.53 lakh individual household toilets have been constructed while in Maharashtra, 682,812 units have been built under the Mission till February this year. According to the RTI reply, only 480 such units have been constructed in Delhi and 336 in Andman and Nicobar Islands. The ministry said 357,767 individual household toilets have been constructed in Rajasthan and added that 293,614 units have been constructed in Bihar.
Vegetable Oil Imports Slide Around 11% In April
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Scientists unearth 'most bird-like' dinosaur ever found
Researchers in Germany have unearthed a new species of flying dinosaur that flapped its wings like a raven and could hold vital clues as to how modern-day birds evolved from their reptilian ancestors. For more than a century and a half since its discovery in 1861, Archaeopteryx -- a small feathered dinosaur around the size of a crow that lived in marshland around 150 million years ago -- was widely considered to be the oldest flying bird. Palaeontologists from Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich and the University of Fribourg examined rock formations in the German region of Bavaria, home to nearly all known Archaeopteryx specimens. They came across a petrified wing, which the team initially assumed to be the same species. They soon found several differences, however. "There are similarities, but after detailed comparisons with Archaeopteryx and other, geologically younger birds, its fossil remains suggested that we were dealing with a somewhat more derived bird," said lead ..
Forest Minister takes exception to foreign trip of top officers
With forest fires raging in Uttarakhand, state Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat on Wednesday took strong exception to the foreign tour of three top forest department officials who went to England other European countries.
Palm oil imports drop 9.17 pc in April
Palm oil imports dropped 9.17 per cent to 7,07,450 tonnes during April this year, industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) said Wednesday. Imports of palm oil stood at 7,78,884 tonnes in April 2018. Palm oil accounts for over 60 per cent of the country's total vegetable oil imports. India's total vegetable oil imports also showed a decline of 11 per cent to 12.32 lakh tonnes in April from 13.86 lakh tonnes in the same month last year, it said in a statement. "In last one year, global prices of various edible oils have gone down in the range of 11 to 20 per cent due to excess supply in the world market, but rupee has depreciated by nearly 6 per cent in last one year," the SEA said. Among palm oil products, import of crude palm oil declined to 4,49,762 tonnes during April this year from 5,56,822 tonnes in the same period last year, as per SEA data. However, shipments of RBD palmolein rose marginally to 2,38,479 tonnes from 2,09,772 tonnes, while that of crude palm kernel oil ..
HC refuses to vacate stay imposed on BMC's Tree Authority
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused the BMC's plea to vacate a stay imposed on the working of Mumbai civic body's Tree Authority that has the power to approve cutting of trees for development projects or repair and upgradation work. A vacation bench of justices A S Gadkari and N J Jamadar, however, refused to restrain the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from cutting trees in Aarey area for the proposed Metro car shed and some allied works. The bench was hearing applications filed by the Mumbai Metro Corporation Limited, the BMC, and environmental activist Zoru Bhatena, seeking various reliefs related to the Tree Authority. On October 24, 2018, a regular bench of the high court restrained the Tree Authority from taking any decision on the application to cut trees until it had independent experts as nominated members. Till then, the municipal commissioner would tackle emergent situations, the court said. The order followed Bhatena's plea pointing that the Tree Authority .
Viable alternative emerges to burning paddy straw in Punjab (Environmental Feature)
Stubble burning creates a huge environmental problem and farmers of Punjab are aware of it but still resort to this practice, saying their is no viable alternative available.
NIO takes up study of soil erosion on Goa, Maha beaches
A Goa-based research institute has taken up a detailed study of the threat of soil erosion along the coast of the state and neighbouring Maharashtra. The Central Water Commission approached the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) here with a proposal to study the environmental phenomenon of soil erosion, the institute's director, Sunil Kumar Singh, told PTI on Wednesday. He said beaches along the coast of Goa and Maharashtra would be studied as part of the project. "A study will be conducted on the cause of coastal soil erosion, its current impact, and to recommend ways to control the situation in future," Singh said. "As per a preliminary study, it has been observed that sediment supply has stopped, leading to erosion. As a result, the coastline is changing significantly," he said. In 2015, the Central Water Commission conducted a similar study covering the entire Indian coastline using satellite data of 1989-1991 and 2004-2006 time frames. The study then revealed ...
AWS announces 3rd availability zone in Mumbai Cloud region
The company launched AWS Asia PacificA(Mumbai) Region with two availability zones in 2016 and has seen tremendous growth in adding new customers in the region