The district administration’s decision to close down 15 sand mining ghats came as a bolt from the blue for around 5000 sand mining labourers, who are now left in the lurch, struggling every day to

At a time when the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) is facing threats due to construction activities and illegal entry, the proposal for declaring an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the national park is still in cold storage.

Though the proposal has reached the state government sometime back, it has not been sent to the Union Government, for unknown reasons. The Forest Department has been on a mission to protect the national park. Earlier, there were demands for a wider buffer zone for the sanctuary. It has been pointed out that a buffer zone of merely 44 sq kms would not be sufficient for a tiger reserve like Periyar.

The first phase of the operation ‘Blossom Spring’ (endosulfan detoxification process) started at the Plantation Corporation’s godown in Periya here on Sunday.

The task force entrusted with the work including experts, medicos and other officials reached the spot early in the morning and started the procedure at around 11am and continued till 4.15pm.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday said that the lack of successful models which could showcase the efficiency of the new waste management technologies to be introduced, was creating credibility issues among the public. He was speaking at the seminar on municipal waste management here.

“This is one of the greatest problems that the government is facing. Even if new technology is introduced, people are not willing to accept the same. There are no successful models to demonstrate the efficiency of the method,” he said.

Spoiling all hopes projected by grand events organised to mark the Environmental day on Tuesday, about 50 mangrove trees were found destroyed on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake at Asramam alongside the Link Road on Wednesday.

The act was clearly mindless activity of the officials, while conducting a pre-monsoon cleaning of a culvert that leads to the lake.The trees belonging to endangered species including Ceriops tagal, Excoecaria indica, Sonneratia caseolaris and Aegiceras corniculatum were the destroyed, said a statement by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad(KSSP), which demanded action against the offenders.

The Corporation will launch a series of novel programmes in connection with the World Environment Day on Tuesday.

The highlight will be the anti-plastic and eco-friendly campaign ‘Bhoomika’ organised by the civic body. Several private agencies will join hands with the civic body to take the environment-friendly initiatives forward. These agencies will carry out ecofriendly initiatives as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

After the Supreme Court directive to remove sun control films from car windows, the city is threatened with a new pollutant.

Hundreds of these tinted films being removed on a day-to-day basis, have found a place in the streets after the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) intensified the drive against sun control films. It is estimated that films from around 500 vehicles are removed on a daily basis in the city.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tobacco is being used in a wide variety of ways in India, either as smokeless tobacco as chewing pan, pan masala or gutka, and ‘mishri’ (a powdered tobacco rubbed on the gums a

PATHANAMTHITTA: The draft project report on the three new eco-tourism centres of Kakki, Anathode and Moozhiyar is ready for approval of the Forest Department authorities.

“Students, gather plastic waste and get rewarded,” says the Corporation. And the reward would include grace marks, notebooks and other study materials.

The Corporation’s novel programme is the latest addition to the “Say No to Plastic Waste” campaign which is being carried out as part of the year-long ‘Suchitwa Varsham’ project. “The student who collects maximum quantity of plastic waste will be awarded with grace marks.