The annual ban on fishing in East Coast area will commence from Monday, April 15 and continue till May 31. The government of Andhra Pradesh has imposed the ban to protect marine life. Engine propelled trawlers and mechanised boats are not allowed for fishing activities during the ban period.

The ban coincides with the spawning season for fish, during which they release eggs. As trawlers use fishing nets with small gaps, eggs and young ones (fries) would be caught in the net, leading to resource depletion.

Governors can repeal or amend any law when peace is disturbed: Kishore Chandra Deo

Unrelenting in his battle against destruction of tribal habitations for exploitation of forestland and resources, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs V. Kishore Chandra Deo has written letters to Governors of various States asking them to cancel mining leases in the Agency areas.
Noting with alarm the growth of extremism in Schedule V areas, the Union Minister said that this was due to the neglect of these areas by the people in power, who are mostly from urban areas.

Villagers’ protest against shifting of Anakapalle municipality’s garbage dumping yard took a serious turn on Wednesday afternoon when 20 villagers and others supporting them were taken into custody at Achayyapeta under Sundarayyapeta Panchayat, a few kilometres from Anakapalle.

Even as the police took the men into custody, women of the village continued their dharna and the municipality’s tractor was not allowed to proceed. The villagers intensified their protest from Tuesday when they gheraoed Municipal Commissioner S. Muralidhara Rao and stopped the municipal vehicles from entering the area marked for the dumping yard. The protest continued on Wednesday and the police took away 20 villagers.

Sighting a dolphin on the shores between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada may become a thing of the past with such a death reported at a regular interval.

North Andhra coast is a habitat for mostly bottlenose dolphins. Spinner, humpback and common dolphins are also found in limited numbers. Dolphins provide relaxing moments for the mariners and tourists going on a boat ride being organised by AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC). There is also a proposal to promote dolphin tourism in a big way by deploying more vessels to enthral animal lovers.

The move may have impact on mining ops across the country

The Centre is set to cancel bauxite mining leases given to the a Middle Eastbased company in Andhra Pradesh’s tribal-dominated Vishakhapatnam district for violating Forest Rights Act and provisions of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act. The move may have impact on mining operations across the country.

With an eye on bigger imports, the oil marketing firm may get its French partner Total to set it up

State-run oil marketing firm Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is planning to invest Rs 600-700 crore to set up its second underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility in Mangalore. The company could rope in its partner, Total SA of France, to build the cavern. "Given the demand for LPG, we think importing in large quantity would make more sense than importing in smaller capacity. We are discussing the feasibility of this project and would decide on the same in the next six months," said a senior HPCL official, requesting anonymity.

There was a gas leak in the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant late on Monday night, around 11 p.m. or so, resulting in the hospitalisation of 11 employees.

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is setting up a 240Mw (120X2) captive power plant to meet its future power requirements. At present, it has a coal-based power plant -- about 18 Mw -- to run the 3-million tonne capacity steel plant.

VSP is expanding its capacity to 6.3 million tonnes and this will be ready during the next fiscal. In view of this, the company is setting up the first 120 Mw blast furnace gas-based captive plant with an investment of Rs 677 crore. AP Choudhary, chairman and managing director of VSP, launched the works related to the power plant on Wednesday.

Company has proposed a 5-mtpa LNG terminal at Gangavaram in Visakhapatnam district

A public hearing on the establishment of a 5-million tonne per annual (mtpa) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal proposed at Gangavaram in Visakhapatnam district by Petronet LNG Limited is being held tomorrow. The Vizag district administration has made arrangements for the same at Gangavaram port after the chief secretary intervened in the matter, officials said here.