Fertiliser, power sectors likely to resist shifting additional allocation for city vehicles

The Gujarat High Court’s order regarding natural gas allocation for compulsory usage in all vehicles in the State has been hailed by environmental activists and the State government alike, but the fact still remains that India simply does not have enough gas to cope with higher demand. In directions issued on a writ petition filed by the Gujarat Rajya Autorickshaw Federation on Wednesday, the Gujarat High Court directed the State government to compel owners of all vehicles registered in the State to start using natural gas — even if it be at higher prices — within a year.

Environmentalists are demanding greater environmental management of religious tourism.

The death of 98 pilgrims in the Amarnath Yatra has highlighted the need to ensure better man-management in these ecologically-fragile regions. Already, three lakh pilgrims have visited the Amarnath shrine while the number in 2011 was around 7.5 lakhs. Environmentalist Prof. Vikram Soni of the Jamia Milia University points out that such large numbers of yatris are unsustainable given the high altitude and the danger of landslides hitting this area which could result in heavy loss of life.

States to notify core, buffer areas

CEO to prepare report on mounting death toll

Sunita Narain, the director of the Centre for Science and Environment, said here on Saturday that the endosulfan victims in the district should be provided with more facilities. She was in the district to attend the National workshop CONCORD 2012.

Though appreciated the state government for giving the rightful recognition to the endosulfan issue in the district, Narian reminded the government that there were more to be done.

When extreme weather events begin to occur with increased intensity and frequency, they should make us think

During my weekly conversation with my sister, I told her about the unusual searing heat this June, the problems of power cuts and how we are coping in India. She, in turn, told me that in Washington, DC, where she lives, there was a terrible storm that damaged her roof and uprooted trees in her garden. They were fortunate that they still had electricity, because most houses in the city were in the dark. She also said it was unbearably hot because the region was in the grip of an unprecedented heatwave.

Equating the serious health hazards wrecked in the district due to the indiscriminate exposure of endosulfan pesticide for over two decades with that of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, acclaimed environmental activist Sunita Narain has said that the major task before the administration was to bring hopes and cheers back to the life of the hapless victims of the “killer” pesticide spraying.

“Assuaging the hurt feelings of the hundreds of victims of aerial spraying of the endosulfan pesticide in the state owned cashew estates in the district is the most important task before the administration and the State government and the local Member of Parliament had played critical role in partially assuaging the hurt feeling of the ill-fated victims and their families”, the Padmashree award winning environmentalist said.

New Delhi: All tourist operations within 5km of all 600-plus tiger reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and wildlife corridors in the country will have to fork out a minimum of 10% of their turnov