Environmental Issues

It roams near Amaravati riverside Unsuccessfully translocated wild elephant Chinna Thambi has been on the move, oscillating between Palani range of Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary and Amaravati Rage of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), since 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Forest range officers and anti-poaching watchers from Amaravati, Palani and Udumalpet ranges are …

The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Forest Department to file a status report on Monday listing the behavioural traits of 25-year-old Chinna Thambi, a translocated wild elephant of Thadagam valley near Coimbatore, and the steps taken so far to rehabilitate him. A Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar …

Road and air traffic between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country was suspended on Wednesday due to heavy snowfall across the Valley, officials said. Of the 27 flights scheduled to arrive at the Srinagar Airport, 15 have been cancelled due to low visibility and incessant snowfall, an …

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train corridor project was accorded wildlife clearance on January 10, according to records of the meeting of the committee chaired by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan. The Thane Creek Flamingo (TCF) Wildlife Sanctuary, which the project will eat into, came into being on August 2015 and …

A committee, chaired by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, has accorded wildlife clearance to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train corridor that encroaches upon a flamingo sanctuary and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the home to leopards, in Mumbai. The proposal involves diversion of 3.2756 ha of forestland from the Thane …

Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a wildlife activist, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the top brass of the Forest Department, including the Kawal Tiger Reserve Field Director, to explain measures taken by them to protect tigers in the State. A Division Bench comprising Chief …

Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers, the world’s “Third Pole”, could melt by 2100 if global emissions are not reduced, scientists warned in a major new study issued on Monday. And even if the “most ambitious” Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5° C is achieved, one-third of the glaciers …

At a time when a recent survey found seven elephant corridors in the country impaired, the Asian Elephant Alliance, an umbrella initiative by five NGOs, has come together to secure 96 out of the 101 existing corridors used by elephants across 12 States in India. The joint venture is aiming …

Mr. Goyal has already earmarked Rs. 20,000 crore for disbursal among 12 crore farmers under the scheme in the current financial year. “It has been decided to implement the scheme with effect from December 1, 2018. The allocation of Rs. 20,000 crore, required for the current fiscal, has been made …

In the basement of the new Van Volxem vinery building, Christoph Dirksen, one of the Mosel region’s most important wine tasters, was making his rounds sampling from giant stainless-steel tanks.It’s early to make a final judgment on the wines of 2018, even for Dirksen, a critic for Vinum , an …

The Flamingo Festival had a flying start on Sunday with tourists, both domestic and foreign, making a beeline for the picturesque Pulicat lake, a safe haven for migratory birds. It was a virtual treat for bird watchers as over 90,000 birds have come from far away places to the lake …

The excise and prohibition officials are going ahead with the special drive to destroy the ganja plantations in the Agency areas Visakhapatnam district, despite the stiff resistance from the tribal people. The drive was launched around two months ago with the aim of curbing ganja smuggling in the Agency and …

Plea by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. in Assam rejected The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) and ordered demolition of a 2.2-km boundary wall erected on an elephant migration corridor in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district. Environmentalists had objected to the wall the refinery had …

Chilika Lake is claimed to have 20% of India’s seagrass distribution, which plays a vital role in oxygen production and absorption of carbon dioxide and acts as a purifier in aquatic ecology. According to the Chilika Development Authority, the apex body for the Lake’s management, seagrass species such as Holodule …

Two clear images of a Royal Bengal Tiger going up and down a path beside a camera trap laid at 9,538 ft have provided the first visual evidence of a tiger in the Himalayan State of Sikkim. “The images were captured on the night of December 6 at 6.23 p.m. …

Morocco has been named the second best performing country after Sweden in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The North African country significantly increased the share of renewables over the past five years and increased new renewable energy capacity. Sweden is in top position, followed by Morocco and Lithuania in …

Birdwatchers call it a rare sighting It is usually during the winter that a distinctly dark large bird – the Cinereous vulture, with a blacked-tipped pink beak – migrates from the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia to warmer places, including India. While earlier records of this migratory bird have …

Cleaner stretches recorded across all riverine States The water quality of the Ganga in 2018 has “improved over last year”, according to a written statement in the Rajya Sabha on Monday by junior Water Resources Minister Satyapal Singh. The statement said “dissolved oxygen” levels had improved at 39 locations, and …

Price of cloth bags shoot up from Rs. 3 to Rs. 50, say sellers Day one of the ban on single-use plastics in the State on Tuesday witnessed the hiking of prices of alternatives such as cloth bags and banana leaves, sale of non-woven bags as permissible, many hotels and …

Authorities in tourist hotspot Leh have put 65 tonnes of waste to productive use after the ecologically sensitive region’s garbage output went up drastically following the release of 3 Idiots on Christmas day nine years ago, drawing tourists in hordes. “The 65,000 kg of waste was first collected from the …