As the current financial year is coming to an end, the Almora district administration has stressed on the need to complete all the pending developmental projects in time with proper utilisation of the allotted funds for them. Reviewing the progress of various developmental projects in the district, DS Garbyal, district magistrate, Almora, informed that out of Rs33.93 crore released by the State Government against Rs 37.38 lakh proposed under the district plan, about Rs31.76 crore has been utilised which is about 76.23 per cent of the total amount released.

An inspection of the overall status and housekeeping of private captive elephants around Corbett National Park revealed blatant violations and contravention of Project Elephant guidelines. The inspection was undertaken on directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority by co-opted member of Animal Welfare Board and People For Animals Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi.

State BJP chief spokesperson Vijesh Lunawat said that the State budget preparations are an ambitious attempt for the development of the agricultural resources which will create a new attraction amongst the farmers. The format of the State budget expresses the concerns regarding the provision of water at dry land, provide quality electricity facilities, increase the commercial industries for farmers and growth in plan expenditure for planned development.

As a step taken towards improving the power related problems in Madhya Pradesh, the State Government paid special attention to better maintenance of power plants, distribution, power transmission, power management among others besides prioritising increase in power generation capacity during the last years. Several important achievements have been registered in the power sector between the year 2002-03 and 2010-11. During the period, the power generation capacity has increased by more than two-fold to 6,152 megawatts from 2,990 megawatts.

Heavy snowfall experienced in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand has given cause for celebration to companies engaged in the power generation sector. Since the electricity demand hovers around 30.5468 MU (million units) against the generation of 8.6495 MU, excluding Central Pool share which is around 10.1872 MU, the power generating companies claimed that the generation of electricity will reach a new record in near future, once the snow starts melting during summer.

Deputy Director General (Education) of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Omkar Singh said, “Climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India which face large climate variability and are thus exposed to enhanced risks.” He was speaking at the inaugural session of a training programme for women scientists on climate change and carbon mitigation at Forest Research Institute.

The Animal Resources Development Department, along with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, on Sunday commenced the culling of poultry birds at the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) in Bhubaneswar following the advisory from the Union Agriculture Ministry to prevent the spread of the avian influenza (H5N1) virus.

On the first day, an estimated 20,000 birds, including 11,955 chicks, were culled by four Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) at the CPDO, which has nearly 30,000 birds, according to official sources.

Industrialists are up in arms over a penalty imposed on them by the Uttarakhand power corporation limited(UPCL) after a gap of two years. The entrepreneurs are of the view that in case they were found violating the laid down norms or consuming power during restricted hours, the UPCL should have informed them then. Neither they were aware about the restricted power cut hours during peak hours, nor did the concerned department issue any guidelines in this regard. So there should not be any such penalty, they demanded.

Madhya Pradesh Forest department has been bestowed with the international Green Globe Foundation Award for outstanding achievement in environment sector by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Vizcraft International. The award was given away during Delhi Sustainable Development Summit-2012 at New Delhi. The award was received by Chief Conservator of Forests Anil Upadhyay posted in Delhi. In total, awards in eight categories were given away at the function.

A model generating light from water and sunlight was presented before Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here on Saturday. The model developed by Laxmi N Menon from Kerala can light up dark places in buildings during the day. The solar appliance, which costs just Rs 30 to 40, can provide light equivalent to 25 Watts in dark rooms without any additional expenses.