Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Are missing palm trees causing more lighting deaths in Bihar appearing in ‘The Times of India’ dated 29.05.2025". The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Are missing palm trees causing …
NATURAL disasters may be proposed by God, but they are disposed by man. Though it may not be possible to prevent such disasters, their devastation potential can be contained, depending on the state of human preparedness and economic conditions. The earthquake in Marathwada on September 30 has once again, so …
THE RIGHT Livelihood Award Foundation has rejected criticism about selecting Bangladesh's Gonoshasthaya Kendra and its founder, Zafrullah Chowdhury, for its 1992 award, by the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), which claimed the recipients had been engaged in anti-people activities. In a letter to the BMA, the foundation said that for more …
SOCIOECONOMIC factors greatly influence pregnancy rates among teenagers, according to a 11-year study by Trevor Smith published in the British Medical Journal. The study, based in Tayside, Scotland, found the pregnancy rate in girls below 16 years was three times as high in the most deprived areas as in the …
THE BANGLADESH government has modified procedures for nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in order to simplify procedures and establish their accountability, reports Mostafa Kamal Majumder. The step followed allegations by the NGO Affairs Bureau that leading NGOs were violating rules. Under the new rules, the ministry of home affairs will decide whether …
AS THE sun rose slowly over a picturesque Andean valley in south Ecuador last month, fear-stricken people sheltered on high ground watched helplessly while a deluge of storm water swept through the valley, washing their homes and crops away. "It's a lifetime's work, senor, the bread for our mouths every …
PHOTOGRAPHS of the recent devastating tornado that swept away five villages near Kandi in West Bengal's Murshidabad district show some high walls still standing amidst surrounding debris -- mute witnesses to nature's wrath. A closer look shows the walls are made of mud and they were part of the double- …
"THE PADMA takes away as much as it gives," says Kuber, the protagonist in Padma Nadir Majhi (Boatman on the River Padma). It is a line that both sums up the vulnerability of fisherfolk and forms the theme of this award-winning film. Goutam Ghose's stark saga, set in Bangladesh, won …
WHILE it was still dark on a recent February night, a swath of light streaked across Europe for a few moments, telling the world that brightness at midnight had become a reality. For six minutes beginning 0522 GMT (1052 AM in India) on February 4, sunlight reflected by a space-based, …
NORMAL life in the Philippines is often disrupted by nature -- typhoons andoccasionallyvolcanic eruptions. The archipelago of more than 70islands is struck by typhoons several times each yearmainly between June and December. These storms can cause extensive damage and in some yearsup to 25 typhoons hit the country. Volcanoes are …
IN MARCH 1991, Aeta tribals living in Pinatubo region felt a rumbling in the long-dormant volcano. Birds and animals also exhibited showed signs of agitation. Here is an account of what followed: April 2: A hydrothermal explosion shakes the area, forcing columns of steam upto 800 m high from vents …
EIGHTEEN months after the Pinatubo erupted, much of the landscape in the Zambales, Pampanga and Tarlac provinces is blanketed by what looks like slurry, but is in fact volcanic sediment deposited by lahars -- thick, flowing mixtures of volcanic material and water. Lahars carry much more sediment than the muddiest …
THE CYCLONE that struck southern India in October-November 1992 caused unusually extensive damage in Kanniyakumari district. The area was lashed daily by winds of 80 km per hour and 10-15 cm of rain. There were landslides, and major roads, railway tracks, bridges and houses in the district were washed away. …
The department of science and technology (DST) is to launch three missions to focus on the crucial issues of biotechnology and genetic engineering, improving prediction of natural disasters and increasing leather exports. The missions will function as part of the department but draw on expertise from the department of biotechnology …
What can be done When Elements that sustain life -- air and water Turn to destroy...? -- Dasarathi, the acknowledged poet laureate of Andhra Pradesh. DASARATHI'S poem was inspired by the fury of the killer cyclone that crossed the Andhra coast at Chirala during the evening of November 19, 1977, …
THE SOUTH Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ratified the setting up of a technical committee on environment at its July 8-9 foreign ministers' meet in Colombo. This gives permanent status to the ad hoc committee set up in November last to examine the recommendations of the SAARC secretariat report …
This report remains one of the few chronicles of the ecological change taking place in the Indo-Gangetic plains - India's most densely populated area. Focussing on the recurrent problem of floods in this region and describes the nature of challenge posed by ecologically sound development and suggests new ways of …
The four recent major earthquakes of the Himalayan Convergence Zone, viz., the Kangra earthquake of 1905, the Bihar-Nepal earthquake of 1934, and the two Assam earthquakes of 1897 and 1950 were assigned magnitudes greater than 8 by Richter. Although estimates of areas vary, it is agreed that an extended rupture …
This report was published by CSE for a presentation to the Parliament of India on the impact of environmental destruction on floods and droughts. See Also CSE Video The Wrath of nature CSE Report ( a chapter) Havoc in the Himalaya
Brief studies of microearthquakes in four separate parts of eastern Afghanistan reveal a high level of seismicity over a broad area. In general, the activity is not concentrated on well-defined faults, nor does it define new faults, but seismicity on or close to the Chainart and Sarubi faults attests to …
Even as floods play havoc in Uttarakhand, states have opposed provisions of this bill prepared by CWC in 1975. It provides clauses about flood zoning authorities, prohibition of the use of the flood plains, compensation & most importantly removing obstructions to ensure free flow of water. Model Bill for Flood …
