Havoc in the hills
Fury of the water that has swept away life and property in Uttarakhand continues unabated. City-based environmentalists say that planning in the hills has to be different from that of the plains as the fragile Himalayas cannot take the load of industrialization it is being subjected to.
Come monsoon, the Yamuna rises
Even as the capital welcomes the monsoon after the scorching summer, it readies to face the flood fury of the Yamuna. People have been evacuated from low-lying areas, civic agencies are ready to swing into action and the army is on high alert as the river rises above danger level.
Shimsha river in death’s throes
Lack of rains and illegal sand mining have rendered the Shimsha, one of the Cauvery’s largest tributaries, completely dry. What is a shrinking dried up riverbed today was a river alive with water flowing few months ago.
Green ministry does a rethink (for once)
The proposed Tipaimukh hydroelectricity project in Manipur would involve the felling of 78 lakh trees and 27,000 bamboo columns. Because many endangered species could be destroyed resulting in severe environmental damage, the environment ministry is hesitant to clear this project.
Stop abusing the Cooum
The Cooum can’t be restored by simply relocating residents who live near it. First, dumping of garbage and untreated sewage must be stopped. As much as residents who live near the Cooum agree with this, they strongly feel that they must be relocated very close to where they live now. Moving them too far away from their settlements leaves them in a fix.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from June 17 -23, 2013.