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Amidst growing concerns over pollution enveloping the entire city, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation is initiating a plantation drive across its 104 wards. The newly-elected standing committee chairman Shailendra Singh announced that saplings that help in reducing pollution levels will be planted across its areas of jurisdiction.

Singh also added that at present, ornamental plants are planted in their parks but they will be replaced by plants which helps in controlling the rising levels of pollution. There are around 6,500 parks under the jurisdiction of South Corporation.

“We will initiate a plantation drive across our 104 wards in a bid to control the rising level of pollution and the use of ornamental plants in our parks will be discouraged and they will be replaced by plants or trees that helps in bringing down the pollution levels,” said Singh.

Singh further added that the rising level of pollution is a serious concern and everyone must contribute to bring it down. Residents and market associations should participate and plant more trees.

“The aim for the current fiscal year is to ensure we help in some or the other way to control pollution. RWAs and market associations should also come forward and participate in the plantation drive,” added Singh.

As per the South Corporation proposal, Neem, Peepal and other similar trees will now be planted in colonies and inside parks. The drive is expected to start with the onset of monsoon in the capital.

 
“We will launch the drive probably in another few weeks before the onset of monsoon as that is the favourable time for these trees to grow and horticulture department will ensure that these trees don’t die and they are well maintained. I will be monitoring it myself. We will check whether our nurseries have so many saplings or we need to procure more and based on this we will decide about the launch of the drive,” added Singh.

Singapore has raised concerns over transboundary air pollution at a United Nations ( UN ) meeting involving some 120 environment ministers in Africa last week, the Ministry for the Environment and Water Resources ( MEWR ) have announced.

During the meeting, called the second session of the UN Environment Assembly ( UNEA-2 ), Amy Khor said air pollution stunts economic development and has adverse impacts on human health.

Khor, Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources, noted that the World Health Organization had estimated that seven million deaths occur each year from air pollution exposure.

But she added that tackling air pollution requires action on many fronts, and the joint efforts of governments, civil society, businesses and international organizations such as the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ).

In Singapore and South-East Asia, haze is a perennial problem, especially during the dry season from June to October.

Forest and peatland fires in countries such as Indonesia release smoke-haze that clouds the region.

Khor said overcoming haze pollution is relevant to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically in promoting sustainable forest management and well-being for all.

In this regard, both domestic and greater international cooperation are needed to address transboundary air pollution, Khor said as she delivered Singapores national statement at UNEA-2.

She pointed out how Singapore collaborates with its neighbors on fire prevention and mitigation, and capacity building projects to keep the haze at bay. The Republic has also enacted the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to punish errant firms and individuals whose actions have caused haze pollution in Singapore.

Khor urged businesses to enhance the transparency and accountability of their supply chains, even as civil society helps to foster an informed consumer movement and strengthen support for sustainably-sourced products.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2016/05/30/singapore-raises-concerns-over-haze-at-un-meeting-.html

This year, the Indian Dental Association (IDA) chose Chennai’s Elliots Beach at Besant Nagar to tell people the ill-effects of consuming tobacco.

Student volunteers from more than 15 dental colleges in the city, carrying placards, formed a human chain to create awareness on the health problems tobacco consumption causes. A silent skit by students and a signature campaign was also held

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/world-no-tobacco-day-observed/article8670751.ece

The search for water may be going high tech. The CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) is working on a plan to map Indias groundwater reserves by a helicopter-based electromagnetic survey.

The heliborne transient electromagnetic technique, as it is called, involves sending electromagnetic pulses to the ground in timed bursts and analysing the unique pattern that these waves make as they bounce off the freshwater or saline water reserves. It would allow mapping potential water reserves nationwide, Purnachandra Rao, chief scientist, CSIR-NGRI, said, and cost Rs.12,000 crore over 10 years. This approach would be less cumbersome than the manual methods now being used to map the groundwater.

The CSIR leadership said the proposal was still at a preliminary stage. We could seriously consider this In Rajasthan, there are excellent water reserves, and such an approach would help in estimating the exact spots, said Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director-General Girish Sahni.

According to the estimates from Indias groundwater authority, groundwater irrigation has been expanding at a very rapid pace since 1970s and now accounts for over 60 per cent of the total area irrigated. About 85 per cent of the rural drinking water supply is also met from groundwater sources. The most significant change in the groundwater scenario is that the share of bore-well irrigation went up from one per cent during 1960-61 to 60 per cent during 2006-07, according to 2008 statistics. The estimated number of wells and bore-wells is around 27 million, with bore-wells accounting for more than 50 per cent.

The helicopter-based assessment was used for mineral exploration surveys and would require coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Rao said.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/water-sensing-from-the-skies-in-pipeline/article8669482.ece