Interlinking of rivers not an easy task: PM

October 9th, 2009 HYDERABAD - The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on Friday announced Rs 1,000 crore as immediate flood related relief to rehabilitate people in Andhra Pradesh. Addressing a press meet here after conducting an aerial survey of the flood-affected regions of the state, Singh said, "Initially, the Central Government will release Rs.

September 17th, 2009 Obama's ocean task force to recommend new policySAN FRANCISCO — The Obama administration is unveiling the first draft of recommendations for a new, comprehensive national policy for protecting and restoring the oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes. President Barack Obama's Ocean Policy Task Force — comprised of officials from a range of agencies — will help create a new framework for future conservation and restoration efforts.

September 16th, 2009 RANCHI - The vigilance department of Jharkhand will seek help from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the assets of a former chief minister as well as other ex-ministers. The vigilance department has submitted a detailed status report of progress made in investigating the assets of former ministers to the Jharkhand High Court.

September 4th, 2009 TORONTO - Mammoth farming projects can erode the earth's surface at rates comparable to those of the world's largest rivers and glaciers. A new University of British Columbia (UBC) study offers stark evidence of how humans are reshaping the planet.

August 19th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Release of water from barrages in Nepal and heavy rain have flooded hundreds of villages and affected hundreds of thousands of people in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said Wednesday. According to officials, in the past two days, over 500,000 cusecs of water have been released from Banbasa and other barrages situated near the India-Nepal border, flooding villages in Shrawasti, Sitapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar, Maharajganj and Bahraich districts.

July 31st, 2009 Kenyan PM: government to evict people from forestNAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government will evict thousands of people from the country's largest forest to protect the watershed for Lake Victoria, a source of the Nile, the prime minister said Friday. Humans have built homes and farms and cut down trees for timber in a complex of forests in southwestern Kenya known as the Mau.

July 23rd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The death tally in Orissa's flash floods, due to nearly two weeks of incessant rains, went up to 41 Thursday even as the officials said the water level has started receding in most of the rivers and streams. The death toll has risen to 41, D.N.

July 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh Friday admitted that the Ganga and Yamuna rivers were no cleaner now than they were 20 years ago, despite the government spending "hundreds of crores of rupees". The minister also said the pollution load on the major rivers in the country has increased over the years due to "urbanisation and industrialisation".

July 14th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Rising water levels in various rivers and reservoirs of Orissa due to continuous rain since Monday have led to flood scares. "The water level in major rivers is showing a rising trend.

July 14th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Within 48 hours of Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal visiting Nepal to inspect the repaired embankment of the Kosi river that had created havoc in both countries last year, India gave Nepal NRs.131.6 million (about $1.6 million) to fight floods. Alok K. Sinha, deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, Tuesday handed over a cheque of NRs.131.6 million to Umakant Jha, secretary at Nepal's irrigation ministry, as India's contribution for the construction of embankments along the Lalbakeya and Bagmati rivers.

June 18th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A wildlife body Thursday demanded a ban on fishing in rivers and natural lakes in Orissa during the breeding season, as this was leading to a decline in the population of fresh water fish. "The state has a breeding season ban only in the sea and the reservoirs from April 15 to June 15 but fishing is yet to be prohibited in the rivers and natural lakes," Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa told IANS.

June 5th, 2009 LIMA - Peruvian drug syndicates dump nearly 15 million litres of harmful chemicals into the rivers in the Amazon region annually, causing large-scale destruction of the fragile ecosystem, an official said. Over two-dozen chemicals, including solvents and acids, are dumped into the rivers after use by the cocaine production laboratories, causing widespread pollution, Lucio Batallanos of the counter-narcotics department said Thursday.

June 2nd, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh's lawmakers, media and industry leaders have launched a campaign to 'save' the rivers around the national capital by evicting encroachers and improving the environment. Called "Save rivers, Save Dhaka" campaign, the programme was launched Monday by parliament Speaker Abdul Hamid with the participation of The Daily Star newspaper and 'i'TV channel.

April 19th, 2009 JAMMU - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti Sunday said the water sharing treaty with Pakistan was discriminatory as it denies Jammu and Kashmir its due share of waters of the rivers flowing through it. 'I will launch a mass movement if the state is not adequately compensated over the use of its waters by the central government,' Mehbooba Mufti told an election meeting in Kishtwar, 230 km northeast of Jammu.

January 14th, 2009 JAMMU - Budget planning for debt-ridden Jammu and Kashmir is going to be a 'Himalayan task' for the National Conference-Congress coalition government, according to state Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather. Rather, a known authority on finance and law in Jammu and Kashmir, said the budgetary exercise in the backdrop of 'financial mismanagement of the past' was a big challenge.