Nitrate has become of the key environmental issues because of its implications on human and animal health. Nitrate enters in the human body through the use of ground water for drinking and causes number of health disorders. In Rajasthan, ground waters of Nagaur, Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Jhunjhunu districts were enriched with high nitrate.
The district administration has finally woken up to the reality of the dying Harmu rivulet and has initiated steps to protect it from encroachers.
Today, officials from the administration started measuring the rivulet to identify the areas where it has been encroached on. The drive, led by sadar sub-divisional officer (SDO) Manoj Kumar, will continue for a few more days.
The higher Bt cotton acreage and output will partially compensate the overall decline in cotton acreage and output in North India in 2008-09 (October-September), O P Agarwal, executive director, Cotton Association of India, said today. Lack of irrigation in Ganganagar cotton belt in Rajasthan led to a 35 per cent fall in cotton acreage from 368,000 hectares in 2007-08.
