Reply by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in compliance to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated January 21, 2024 in the matter of ‘News item titled “Feeling anxious? Toxic air could be to blame” appearing in Times of India dated 10.10.2023’. NGT had directed CPCB to file a …
D eath and earthquakes do not come by appointment. However, an earthquake gives definitive indications of its arrival. In Gujarat, there were many. A 4.2 magnitude quake rocked the Rann of Kachhch on December 24, 2000. Its epicentre was 22 km away from Bhuj. Bhavnagar, near Bhuj, also felt several …
T he Gujarat earthquake has proved that even in the highly seismic zones like Bhuj, Uttarakhand and the Northeast, our preparedness and crisis management is a monumental failure. Bhuj is one of the 13 hotspots on India's seismic hazard map that was prepared three years ago. The assessment was that …
There is no dearth of scientific knowledge in our country, but it does not get built into our daily lives Disasters come and go, they are just temporary in nature, but our governance has become a permanent disaster. India is a country blessed with one natural disaster after another. If …
bricks make homes, but brick kilns contribute to pollution. Though many states in India have regulations in place, the growing demand for bricks is increasing pollution. Fly ash is a byproduct of all coal-based power plants. In fact, India produces about 75-80 million tonnes of fly ash every year. A …
according to a recently published article, greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions reduction programme undertaken by us cities could help meet 10 per cent of the total target usa has to meet under its Kyoto Protocol obligations. Urban planners in the us believe that enthusiastic participation by the municipalities in such programmes …
many monuments in India are in a dilapidated state. Among all causes - pollution and humidity, temperature, sunlight and salt crystallisation - water does the greatest harm by transporting acids from waste gases (chemical corrosion), salts in the building material to the surface. It is also responsible for frost damages …
the department of science and technology ( dst ) has informed the Delhi high court that buildings lacking in earthquake safety measures or poorly constructed are likely to suffer heavy damages in the event the capital experiences a major upheaval. The dst told the court that the damage would be …
Engineers in Bhutan will now use eco-friendly techniques to build roads in the country. The National Environmental Commission has introduced guidelines for road and bridge construction. "To do this we have to change our traditional methods like using bulldozers and cutting into hillsides. Instead, we will now use excavators and …
Mahmoud Salem of Kingston University in Surrey, UK, has used ash residue from power stations to develop a fireproof ceramic material. A thin coat of the material on a steel bar will allow it to resist temperatures above 950
tiny magnetic particles could help prevent buildings and bridges from toppling during earthquakes or hurricanes, say engineers at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, usa . The particles form a part of a switchable magnetic damping system that cuts in before any damage is done. Construction engineers incorporate dampers …
And now a window to keep out aircraft noise. Fergus Fricke and Ramin Mohajeri at the University of Sydney, Australia, have developed a window that responds to the sound of an aircraft by shutting. When the noise falls below a threshold, the window opens again. The invention could be of …
JOINT NETWORKING: Oracle Corporation of the US has entered into an alliance with the Philippine Long Distance Phone Company (PLDT) to build a telecommunications and computer network in the Philippines. The project called Phil-Net will initially put Oracle's low-cost network Computers on college students' desks giving them access to the …
who needs a roof? Cover your house with solar cells instead. The idea may seem weird, but this is exactly what the architects of a us-based engineering and architectural firm have done while designing William and Deborah Lord's home in Kennebunkport, Maine, us. Now, when the morning sun breaks over …
Fungi, bacteria and dust accumulation in the ventilation ducts of large office buildings is the main reason for the deterioration of the same. Such buildings can now be nursed back to good health thanks to a treatment offered by Prime Clean, a Swedish company, and the Royal Technical University in …
Scientists working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Germany, have devised an 'intelligent window' which can automatically modulate the amount of sunlight entering a room. Just as sunglasses block light, the window's glass surface has a coating which is transparent at cool temperatures but becomes opaque when the …
FOR years, technical book alternative materials and cost building tech have been regularly lished. Government semi-government org tions like Housing Urban Development ration have published erous books and technical papers that have been usefull to the practitioner of alternative tive architecture. Build your own How to the Rhythm of life …
TO COMBAT noise pollution, United Kingdom's (UK) Building Research Establishment (BRE) recently undertook some innovative research aimed at providing noise-insulated dwellings to people. The project includes persuading architects to design houses with considerable insulation against cacophony and finding out construction material that keeps out the maddening noise (Spectrum, No 246). …
It is normal for people in many countries to build their own houses, especially among the poor. Now, a British architect, Walter Segal, has developed a timber-frame building system based on off-the-shelf materials, with a minimum of cutting, and a simple sequence of step by step operations (Appropriate Technology, Vol …
What are the activities of the CSR? We are a very small organisation of just 5 people working on appropriate building technology and materials, water and sanitation. We have also been promoting alternative energy sources -- wind for water pumping and solar photovoltaic for lighting; now we are introducing solar …
• Wireless loop technology could replace conventional cables in congested Calcutta, according to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT). • Heli-skiing has been banned in Himachal Pradesh after the ministry of environment and forests found that it affected the national parks and sanctuaries situated nearby and caused noise pollution. • The …
