Page 958 - Environment
Cong says Parrikar's Mahadeyi move with Karnataka "anti-Goa"
The Congress has termed the Goa governments openness for bilateral talks with Karnataka over the diversion of Mahadeyi river water as an "anti-Goa" move. Congress Goa Chief Shantaram Naik in a press conference here today stated that the reason for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to take such an "anti-Goa" and "anti-Goan" decision on Mahadeyi water was to win the Karnataka elections. "Manohar Parrikar has gone against the interest of Goa and Goemkars (Goans) by taking a decision to allow Karnataka to lift water of the Mahadeyi when the matter is pending before the Mahadeyi Water Tribunal," Naik said. "The stand taken by Parrikar that in principle Goa would not oppose reasonable and justifiable quantum of drinking water to Karnataka from the Mahadeyi river on humanitarian grounds is unrealistic. It will prove harmful for Goa's claim placed before the tribunal," Naik added. Naik alleged that Karnataka is full of underutilized drinking water sources like the tributary of the
UP CM calls on investors to tap opportunities
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said the state has considerably became investor-friendly from the time they came into power.Talking at the Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit 2018 in Mumbai, Adityanath also called on the investors to take part in the investor summit being organised in the state in the month of February."A favourable environment for business is being witnessed in the Uttar Pradesh and we want to take advantage of it. When we look back at the condition of the state, the situation a-year back was not good. We were concern what will happen and a change was necessary for that. When we came to power in the state the first thing was to change the situation in terms of doing business. We started working with a team spirit and were able to witness a major change within a short span of time", Adityanath said.Adityanath said that with the growing interest of the world and the nation to invest in the state would provide ample amount of employment opportunity to .
CMFRI to use satellite data for spatial mapping of marine
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute would utilise satellite data for a spatial mapping of marine fisheries and mangrove resources in the country, its director Dr A Gopalakrishnan said here today. "Spatial mapping of marine fisheries resources will help easily locate the fishing areas, navigational channels and protected areas distinctively in the open sea waters", he said. He was addressing the valedictory of the Winter School organised by the CMFRI to train young researchers in using satellite remote sensing data. He said as part of the marine fisheries management, the CMFRI has already launched a research project to analyse the productivity of sea waters utilising the satellite data. The study is aimed at correlating the data on the presence of chlorophyll in water bodies collected physically with the data generated from the satellites, he said. Also, CMFRI has inked a pact with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad, of the Indian Space ...
Mahadayi row: 'KTK ready for talks at any place, date'
Karnataka is ready for talks at "any place and date", to work out an amicable settlement with Goa on sharing inter-state Mahadayi river water for drinking needs of drought prone areas of northern districts. Speaking to reporters at Belagavi, state water resources minister M B Patil took exception to Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar not following "protocol" in communicating his government's willingness to consider an amicable settlement. Parrikar, in a letter to state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa yesterday, had said, in principle, Goa would not oppose the "reasonable" and "justified" quantum of water meant to be utilised for drinking while pointing out that the matter is pending before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal. However, the same needs to be discussed bilaterally as suggested by the tribunal, Parrikar said. Patil said it would have been appropriate for the Goa chief minister to write a letter to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah. He claimed Siddaramaiah
NGT notice to MoEF on disease affecting Himalayan blue sheep
A mysterious disease affecting the Himalayan blue sheep in the Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand has caught the attention of the National Green Tribunal which has sought response from the environment ministry and other authorities on the issue. A bench headed by Acting NGT chairperson Justice U D Salvi issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, National Biodiversity Authority, Uttarakhand government and Uttarakhand State Biodiversity Board while seeking their reply before February 9. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal seeking shifting of the infected animals, locally known as Bharal, from the national park to a safer place. According to the plea, in September this year, a group of BSF officers, who were camping at the Kedar Tal area of the Gangotri National Park, spotted several Himalayan blue sheep with their eyes popping out and bleeding. "During the camping activity, one of the officer found several blue sheep with their
Ljungstrom wins equipment supply contract for UP power plants
The contract, from Doosan Power Systems India, is for supplying these equipment for the Obra-C plant in Sonebhadra district, and for the Jawaharpur utility in Etah district
Khadse slams govt for not declaring 3 tehsils in Jalgaon as
Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse today criticised his own party-led state government for not declaring three tehsils in Jalgaon district as scarcity-hit. Khadse raised the issue of scarcity-hit villages during the Question Hour of the state Legislative Assembly. While replying to his question, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said the government has not received any complaint of crop losses from Jalgaon district. However, Khadse, who represents Muktainagar assembly segment in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, was agitated over his reply. "If the Centre's norms for selecting villages under the scarcity-hit category are stringent, then how come three tehsils from Vidarbha region have been selected?" he asked. "I want to know why tehsils like Muktainagar, Bodwad and Amalner are not declared as scarcity-hit when farmers there have lost crops and the rainfall has been deficient," Khadse said. As per the anewari method of calculating crop yield, ...
Star found eating its planetary offspring
Astronomers have discovered that a Sun-like star 550 light years from Earth is slowly consuming its "offspring" - crushing one or more planets in its orbit into vast clouds of gas and dust. The distant star called RZ Picseum located in the constellation Pisces - is an insatiable "eater of worlds". The discovery, published in the Astronomical Journal, may shed light on a brief but volatile period in the history of many solar systems, including our own. "We know it's not uncommon for planets to migrate inward in young solar systems since we've found so many solar systems with 'hot Jupiters' - gaseous planets similar in size to Jupiter but orbiting very close to their stars," said Catherine Pilachowski, from the Indiana University in the US. "This is a very interesting phase in the evolution of planetary systems, and we're lucky to catch a solar system in the middle of the process since it happens so quickly compared to the lifetimes of stars," Pilachowski said. Doomed ...
Centre returns Jharkhand's amendment on land acquisition: JMM
The Central government has returned the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Jharkhand Amendment Bill), 2017 which was moved with some amendments from here.
Sun-like star found eating its own planetary offspring
Researchers have found evidence to show that a Sun-like star 550 light years from Earth is slowly consuming its "offspring" -- crushing one or more planets in its orbit into vast clouds of gas and dust - like the ancient Greek god Cronus who devoured his children.
India wears 'green' stripes with pride, wants more in 2018
Driven by a historic low solar and wind power tariff, India is about to take a leap of faith on the renewable energy front, lining up green project auctions to the tune of about Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2018. The government has drawn up a plan to auction 30 GW (gigawatt) of solar, 10 GW of wind and 5 GW of offshore wind projects next fiscal, pegged at Rs 2.7 lakh crore with an average equipment cost of Rs 6 crore per megawatt (MW). To put things in perspective, wind power tariff dropped sharply to an all-time low of Rs 2.43 per unit during an auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) yesterday. Earlier, the tariff was down at Rs 2.64 during the second auction of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 1 GW projects in October this year. In the first round, the tariff stood at Rs 3.46. A senior official attributed this to a fair and transparent bidding process on the back of lower equipment and borrowing costs. As for solar power, the tariff too ...
Odisha: 31 fishermen arrested, vessels seized
Forest personnel have arrested 31 fishermen for carrying out unlawful fishing activity in the prohibited corridors of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapara district. Four sea-worthy vessles used for fishing along the marine sanctuary were also seized by the patrolling unit of the forest department near unmanned Babuballi island yesterday, forest officials said. Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is famous for the mass nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles. Sea patrolling has been stepped up in the sanctuary to keep the Olive Ridley turtle concentration zones free from human interference. With this, 200 fishermen have been arrested and 62 fishing vessls seized since the last two months for sneaking into the prohibited sea territory, the official said. Prohibition on sea fishing is enforced throughout the year within the marine sanctuary limits. Sea patrolling is stepped up within the marine sanctuary water territory during November-May every year in view of the annual mass
Dilip Buildcon secures two EPC projects worth Rs 517.81 crore
From Icron International
Farmers protest in Sheopur and Morena districts of MP
Farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur and Morena districts today took to the streets seeking fair prices for milk and better irrigation facilities. In Sheopur, farmers staged a protest at Patel Chowk, demanding that a canal from Chambal river be routed to 35 villages in the area. In Morena, farmers dumped milk on roads in Salabgarh area, demanding fair prices. Kishore Maheshwari and Bupendra Baghel, protesters' leaders, said big dairy product manufacturers were asking farmers to sell the milk at Rs 35 per litre instead of Rs 50, following the imposition of the GST. "We are going to stop the milk supply from tomorrow to intensify our protest," the farmer leaders announced. The state had witnessed an intense farmers' agitation in June this year. Five farmers were killed in police firing on June 6 in Mandsaur district.
Maharashtra wants to shrink no-development zone in CRZ area
The Maharashtra government is keen on reducing the no-development zone limit in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area to 200 metres from the coastline, against the existing 500 metres, it said today. The state would be sending a proposal in this regard to the Centre, it said. Environment minister Ramdas Kadam, speaking in the Legislative Assembly here, said the purpose was to encourage development of ports in the state. As per CRZ norms, no development is permitted in areas less than 500 meters from coastline. "We want to develop ports, and because of CRZ norms, we can not do it. If we could revise the distance limit up to 200 meters, it will be helpful for infrastructure development. "We will send the proposal to the Union government for its approval," Kadam said, while replying to questions related to environment.
Be ready for Odd-Even, impose restrictions till January 31: Pollution board
As the air quality across the National Capital Region (NCR) worsened to "severe-plus or emergency", which is expected to prevail for some time, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Thursday imposed "severe" category restrictions, while directing the authorities to stay prepared for implementing the Odd-Even scheme.
Naxal killed in Chhattisgarh's Dabbakonta
A naxal was killed by security forces in forest area of Chhattisgarh's Dabbakonta.The security force also recovered one 12-bore rifle, ammunition and paraphernalia from the site.The search operation is underway.Further details are awaited.
Notice to Centre, Uttarakhand over 'virus' in national park
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday sent a notice to the Central and Uttarakhand governments, seeking details of an unknown virus or disease reportedly spreading across the Gangotri National Park and infecting the wildlife.
Methanol to cut 30p crude oil imports by 2030: NITI Member
India is planning to reduce its crude oil imports worth Rs 6 lakh crore every year by 30-40 per cent by 2030 by use of methanol produced from coal and stranded gas, NITI Aayog Member V K Saraswat said today. "By 2030, we want to reduce crude oil import bill by 30 to 40 per cent because of (use of) methanol. It is around Rs 6 lakh crore (per annum) today," Saraswat told reporters after a meeting of a task force on methanol here. Talking about the benefits of the fuel, he said that it appears to be good solution in view of huge reserves of high ash content coal in the country. He further said, "We are also working converting biomass into methanol. We have decided to sanction 2-3 projects in this area. We also want to use stranded or flared gas to produce methanol. This will reduce our cost." He informed that the technology to produce methanol from coal is available abroad. There are couple of plants being set up in India based on foreign technology. But those plants are not
Oil refinery will destroy beauty of Konkan: Sena MLA
An MLA of the ruling coalition partner Shiv Sena today attacked the BJP-led Maharashtra government over a proposed oil refinery in Ratnagiri, saying it would "destroy the beauty" of the coastal Konkan region. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Sena's Rajan Salvi sought to know the state Industry Department's stand on local people's demand that the project be scrapped. Industry department is headed by Sena's Subhash Desai. Salvi and other Sena MLAs had protested against the project earlier too, supporting the villagers of Nanar in Ratnagiri district in their opposition. "This project is going to destroy the beauty of Konkan region. People unitedly protested against the Jaitapur Nuclear power project and the work at that project is stalled. Now the government wants a refinery exactly in the neighbourhood of the nuclear power project," said Salvi. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that Shiv Sena MPs too wanted the ...
