The US Centers for Disease Control has been accused of withholding data related to health risks in and around the Great Lakes area. But the agency says the report, pairing toxin concentrations with human health concerns, which was due out last year, had "deficiencies'.

Now, you may not have to shell out those extra bucks that boatmen demand in lieu of taking you deeper into Nal Sarovar to watch the winged visitors. The forest department has framed eight routes in this 120 sq km lake, on the lines of Gir sanctuary, where the boatmen would take the visitors. This will ensure that people do not end up paying more considering that the charges of boating at Nal Sarovar are per person per hour. Forest department officials said that it was noticed that a tourist would hire the boat for one hour and end up spending several hundred more because he would not be able to watch the birds. The officer said that earlier the boatman would row the boat slowly consuming more time and later he would ask for double the amount while in middle of the lake. "A person coming to watch the birds would agree to pay the rate, which is asked when he is in the lake and has not been able to watch the birds,' a forest department official said. After deliberations with the boatmen and their association, the eight routes to eight different islets inside the lake have been fixed. "The routes were fixed following the Gir Sanctuary where there were different routes and the tourist was asked to pick up the route.' said the officer. Deputy Conservator of Forest B D Modi said, "The routes were decided based on the maximum time they can take to reach a location. The timings of the route range from one hour to six hours and the tourists will chose the route and pay accordingly.' Modi said that to identify the spots, the forest department has also put marks and boards on the islets. There were boats put at Dhrabla bet, Sur Bet, Limsi Bet and others. He said that the sixhour route was the longest route. This route was from Nalsarovar entry point to Limsi bet, Sur bet, Panvad Bet, Dhrabla bet, Cholathali bet, Chera bet and back. This was the route which covered all the routes. He further said besides this routes there were rates being in the ratio of per person and per hour. This would help the tourist to choose there route according to their pockets and budgets. People at Nal Sarovar for a boat ride

Chandigarh, February 18 With an aim to plant over a million trees in the city this year, UT Administrator Gen S F Rodrigues (retd) today launched a plantation drive at Saketri village. He also released Green Chandigarh Action Plan ' 2008. Stating that Chandigarh has a green cover of 35.6 per cent, Rodrigues stressed on the need to make the city greener by planting maximum number of trees possible. The Green Action Plan released by the Administrator stated that during the year 2007-08, 14,9723 saplings were planted against the target of 10,9170 in the Union Territory.

The impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers is becoming apparent. Studies show that most valley glaciers are retreating. Vertical shifts of up to 100m have been recorded during the last

Badha lake at the periphery of Fazilka town has dried up. The Badha lake, with its fresh water source and green surroundings was the attraction for establishing the boating station at this place. Now that it was dried up and is likely to be never change with water from Sutlej.

This Writ Petition arrays a range of legal concerns relating to the ongoing privatisation of lakes/tanks in Bangalore and exposes
that such actions are opposed to settled legal norms relating to
management and conservation of such ecologically sensitive
water bodies, which are also wildlife habitats and support a

This report reviews the terrestrial Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), which are endorsed by the UNFCCC and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). Details are provided on why these observations are needed to understand the causes of climate change, analyse the potential impacts, evaluate the adaptation options and enable characterization of extreme events such as floods, droughts and heat waves.

The Tanzania government has put Tata Chemicals's soda ash plant around Lake Natron on hold. National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), the country's environmental watchdog, has recommended a

Sukhna lake in Chandigarh is steadily shrinking. Siltation and commercialization of the surrounding area are taking their toll on the lake. "Sukhna has become a pond and the administration is just

cleaning Colombo: The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in the second week of October has directed the attorney general to prepare a new action plan within a month to reduce air pollution caused by

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