Environmental Issues

Punjab govt. fined Rs. 50 crore for pollution The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday ordered the Punjab government to submit a fine of Rs. 50 crore as environmental compensation for polluting rivers Sutlej and Beas due to industrial discharge. The Bench has asked the Punjab government to recover the fine …

Will bring widespread rain, 80-90 kmph gale-force winds Parts of coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will begin to get widespread rainfall from Thursday as Cyclone Gaja comes closer to the Tamil Nadu coast. According to officials of the meteorological department, Gaja now lies over the Bay of Bengal, about 510 …

Forest official wrote on Sept. 20 about lack of coordination Even as this month’s shooting of Avni, the tigress that is said to have killed 13 villagers, remains a subject of intense debate, a letter written by a forest department official to Maharashtra’s Chief Wildlife Warden reveals the disquiet over …

Cyclone Gaja gathers strength over Bay of Bengal The weather office has issued an yellow alert indicating isolated heavy rainfall for Kottayam, Idukki, and Palakkad districts on November 15 and 16 under the influence of cyclonic storm Gaja gathering strength over the Bay of Bengal. An orange alert indicating isolated …

After human deaths continued, the order was to tranquillise the tigress and shoot-at-sight only as a last resort, says A.K. Misra, who sanctioned the kill Avni, the tigress of Pandharkwada, was shot dead by sharp-shooter Asghar Ali Khan on the spur of the moment, said A.K. Misra, the Principal Chief …

System may intensify into severe storm in the next 24 hours The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into Cyclone ‘Gaja’ on Sunday. North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are likely to get good rain on November 14 and 15, India Meteorological Department officials said. Named ‘Gaja’ by Sri …

Opposition parties in Maharashtra demand arrest of Sudhir Mungantiwar and investigation by CBI Opposition parties today demanded the arrest of Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who has been under pressure for allegedly ordering the killing of tigress Avni. The Congress, Shiv Sena and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded his dismissal …

Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Saturday demanded the arrest of Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who has been under pressure for allegedly ordering the killing of tigress Avni on November 3. The Congress, Shiv Sena and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded his dismissal or, they said, protests would be held …

The National Health Mission has said the recent Zika virus outbreak in Rajasthan was under control after the detection of over 150 cases of infection, including those among pregnant women. Source  :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/zika-outbreak-in-rajasthan-under-control-nhm/article25459232.ece

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a three-member team of independent wildlife experts to probe how the man-eating tiger Avni (T1) was killed. After animal activist and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi criticised the killing of Avni (which was legally sanctioned by Maharashtra’s wildlife authorities) last Sunday, the NTCA …