Is India Winning the War Against Pollution? The fight for cleaner air and water intensifies as the nation grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change. From the devastating floods in Assam to the alarming rise in air pollution levels in Delhi, environmental challenges demand urgent action. This week saw crucial discussions on sustainable agriculture and renewable energy sources at the India Climate Change Conference, highlighting the government's commitment to tackling deforestation and promoting biodiversity conservation. But are these efforts enough? Experts warn of looming water scarcity and the need for stricter regulations on industrial emissions. The future of India's environment hangs in the balance, demanding collective responsibility and innovative solutions. Explore Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and the latest updates on environmental policies, climate activism, and the ongoing struggle for a sustainable India. Discover how you can contribute to a greener tomorrow.
Pune: The civic body's clean-up drive across the city earlier this month saw numerous encroachments razed and citizens fined for littering. At the same time, the activity raised a key question: Although the civic body holds citizens responsible for cleanliness, is it staying accountable for the uncleared garden waste across various areas?Fallen branches, palm fronds, leaves, uprooted bushes and even certain felled trees have taken over roadsides, pavements and empty open land plots for a while now, especially after Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) pre-monsoon tree trimming activity.According to residents from a slew of neighbourhoods, the issue has been unaddressed despite complaints. People pointed out that instead of civic staff being vigilant about garden waste, individuals are forced to call assigned contractors to keep their surroundings clean. In some areas, those picking up the waste take a fee ranging from Rs100-500. Many residents asked why they should be shelling out for this facility despite paying taxes.Common issue across areas"For the last six months, there has been no sweeping or garden waste collection from lanes 3, 3A & 3B in Bavdhan Khurd. We don't understand why PMC falters for something so basic. It's the corporation's job to keep the city clean. Why do we regularly pay property tax if not for these basic services?" asked Chalakudi Subramanian Krishnan, a resident of the area.Amol Mohite, a businessman from Warje Malwadi, echoed, "The inner bylanes near Ganapati Mata temple here have not seen regular cleaning for a month. Ward officials visited after we complained, but nothing changed. Residents have taken the cleaning upon themselves now, as we can't continue to live in squalor. A mere 100m away is a public hospital and cleaning does take place there. Why are we ignored?"Areas like Wagholi also witness inconsistent and erratic clearing of garden waste, said Rohan Aaron, an activist living in the area. "Dry and wet leaves along with trimmed branches aren't picked up by waste pickers. There is a separate van for garden waste," he said.Aaron said trimmed branches and leaves of trees on main streets get picked up after two or three days at least, but garden waste from societies and lanes is not collected for days on end. "This unattended waste is then burned and that presents a whole new set of issues," he added.Kalyaningar is another flashpoint. Monica Sharma, a resident here, said PMC recently trimmed many trees in their locality and failed to collect the detritus till residents complained. "As citizens, we do our part. We click pictures and monitor the area in question for a week. But even though the waste is not picked up, our online complaint gets closed. Pedestrians have no space to walk," said Sharma.Process remains on paperThe PMC website claims it has developed a special collection system for horticultural waste picked up from household complexes, parks and commercial areas.This collected waste undergoes a shredding process, which reduces its size and prepares it for further processing. The waste is then converted into organic fertilizer, mulch, or biofuel. Citizens and housing associations are encouraged to segregate and dispose of horticultural waste properly. But residents said that even if they separate the waste, its collection continues to be neglected.According to experts, getting a PMC van to collect waste is a time-consuming task. Anil Gokarn, founder of ProEarth, a city-based company that offers services towards zero-waste living, explained, "PMC has a system to send a vehicle to collect garden waste from public spaces, for which it has hired contractors. Every ward has a vehicle for collecting garden waste and a schedule for the same. However, residents share that the latter is irregular. Smaller and older societies do not have space to compost garden waste indoors and so, they simply heap it on public streets and it lies uncollected. Citizens also have an option to order a container to clear garden waste from private properties by paying a nominal fee, but this is cumbersome and needs a lot of follow up.""Such a system penalises citizens for having trees and gardens. Considering the amount of follow-up involved, it is far from user-friendly," Gokarn added.Sahakarnagar, which hosts many small bungalows, is a stark example of this trend. "Garden waste collection here has no schedule or structure. There is a perennial heap in all lanes. We raise complaints with the ward office and even tell the mukaddam (contractor hired for waste collection in every area), but nothing happens. When some citizens see waste dumped on the side, they add other kinds of garbage to it, including plastic or other wet waste. So, the pile just keeps increasing," said Sahakarnagar resident Kirti Puranik.Puranik has a garden of her own and said despite composting plenty of such waste, several more bags inevitably get generated -- with nowhere to go. "One time, a collection van arrived at 9.30pm. We cannot just be sitting around waiting for them to come. If I leave it outside my house, someone adds other kinds of waste to the pile. So, I have to keep it indoors. We have raised this issue at the mohalla committee meetings too. The problem is aggravated during the post-monsoon 'fall' period before winter," she said.PMC deputy commissioner (solid waste management) Sandeep Kadam said he will look into why this waste is not being collected. "Every ward has its own ghanta gadi and a schedule for collection. If it is not followed, I will instruct the ward officers to look into it. Residents are not supposed to pay the contractor directly. They should get a receipt of payment, else it is illegal," Kadam said."As far as waste that lies on the road after the garden department trims trees or in cases where the MSEDCL has cut branches, collection should happen by the respective agency or department," he added.RESIDENTS SPEAKThe civic body can coordinate with residents to plan a timetable or understand which localities need more attention. The whole of Bavdhan is filthy due to unattended garbage. We are losing patience -- Chalakudi Subramanian Krishnan | Resident, Bavdhan KhurdThere is a lot of road-digging in the area and because broken branches remain on footpaths for weeks, pedestrians have zero space to walk. This increases chances of accidents, especially for senior citizens -- Monica Sharma | Resident, Kalyaninagar
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 1 (ANI): Assam has set a new record in paddy procurement by procuring nearly 7 lakh MT of paddy during the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said, 'We are proud to announce the successful conclusion of Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25 with a record paddy procurement of 6.97 lakh MT -- the highest ever.' In Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022-23, the state procured 5.92 lakh MT of paddy, and in 2023-24, the state procured 3.14 lakh MT of paddy. 'This remarkable achievement reflects our commitment to e ...Read More >
Mumbai: The death toll in Monday's BEST bus crash rose to seven and the number of injured to 42 even as the driver, Sanjay More, booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, claimed he had noticed a spark and mistakenly accelerated the bus instead of applying brakes. Seeking More's custody, police said they want to investigate if he intentionally used the vehicle as a weapon. The bus on Route 332 had accelerated on a congested 200m stretch near Kurla station hitting vehicles and pedestr ...Read More >
Itanagar, Jun 7 (PTI) The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved on Saturday with water levels of most rivers receding, even as 33,000 people in 24 districts remained affected, officials said. Twelve people lost their lives and one person went missing in rain-related incidents, including landslides, after the monsoon set in, they said. In its daily report, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 33,200 people in 215 villages remained affected due to floods and landslides in the state. The water levels of most major rivers and their tributaries were showing a receding trend o ...Read More >
Bengaluru Power Cuts: Citizens of Bengaluru brace yourself for long hours of power outages from June 29 and June 30. More than 100 areas will be impacted as BESCOM undertakes its quarterly maintenance work in various of its division. Bengaluru Power Outages June 29: According to the update by BESCOM on its X handler, there will be power outages in Kittaganahalli, Palasandra, Saptagiri, Maruthinagar, Sankapur, Raghavendra Nagar, Goolarivee, Baddihalli, Kesaramadu, C.M Badawan, Kalalli and SKS village on June 29 from 10 am to 5 pm. BESCOM's executive engineer has appealed to consumers to coop ...Read More >
Jammu, July 1 (UNI) On the eve of Amarnath Yatra, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today attended the 'Tawi Aarti' at Tawi Riverfront, Jammu. The Lieutenant Governor sought the blessings of Suryaputri River Tawi and Baba Barfani and prayed for a peaceful, blessed and memorable pilgrimage for all the devotees. "Entire J&K is experiencing spiritual bliss on the eve of holy pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath. People of J&K are ready to welcome devotees of Baba Barfani coming from across the country. May Lord Shiva bless everyone with health, happiness and harmony," the Lieutenant Gove ...Read More >
Chandigarh: Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday said the state govt was consistently working to provide better resources to the doctors and quality healthcare services to the citizens.He mentioned that medical colleges were being established in every district.While there were only six medical colleges in 2014, the number has now increased to 15, and nine new colleges are under construction. As a result, MBBS seats in the state increased from 700 in 2014 to 2,185, at present. The state govt aims to increase the MBBS seats to over 3,400 by 2029, said Saini.The CM was addressing a ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: The announcement by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to upgrade Puri municipality into a municipal corporation and revamp the tourist infrastructure marks a crucial turning point for Odisha's premier tourist destination. This long-overdue development comes at a time when the holy city faces increasing competition from emerging tourist destinations.Despite being one of Hinduism's char dhams and home to the revered Jagannath Temple, Puri's tourism infrastructure remained largely underdeveloped. As CM Majhi himself pointed out, visitors to Puri currently have limited options, primar ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Rashtrapati Nilayam, one of the two presidential retreats, in Telangana's Secunderabad will host a 15-day flower and horticulture festival, 'Udyan Utsav', from December 29. People could make themselves aware about the innovation and technological development in agriculture and horticulture by visiting thematic stalls and participating in the workshops, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. The Udyan Utsav, organised in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management ...Read More >
Srinagar, Jun 06: Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have extended greetings to the people on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. They expressed hope that the revered occasion brings peace and prosperity to the region. Dr Farooq Abdullah National Conference (NC) president, Dr Farooq Abdullah conveyed his heartfelt greetings to the people on Eid-ul-Adha, wishing them peace, prosperity and unity. In his message, Dr Abdullah reflected on the profound significance of the day, saying, "As the Muslim Ummah comes together in celebration of Eid-ul-Azha, I extend my warmest greetings to ever ...Read More >
Majuli (Assam) [India], June 28 (ANI): Majuli, the river island district in Assam, has marked a significant milestone as its indigenous organic red bao paddy makes its debut in the global market. In a historic development, the first consignment of this unique variety of rice has been formally exported to countries in Central Asia and Europe, bringing smiles to the faces of Majuli's farming community. Also Read | Long-Awaited Relief for Retired Government Employees? 8th Pay Commission May Reduce Commuted Pension Restoration Period from 15 to 12 Years. The export initiative has been spearhead ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
Mumbai: Two months since the BMC started a dedicated drive to collect domestic hazardous waste, nearly 2,000 housing societies, women's hostels, beauty parlours, and educational institutions registered for the initiative.Currently, an average of 1.7 tonnes of such waste is collected daily and transported to six plasma incineration facilities within BMC's jurisdiction for safe and scientific disposal. This includes adult diapers, sanitary pads, pet waste, discarded medicines, and used waxing sheets, PPE kits, and facial masks.Mumbai generates an estimated 80 to 100 tonnes of domestic hazardous ...Read More >
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar suggests empowering rural youth to drive change in India's underutilized agricultural sector during his visit to Dr YS Parmar University. He advocates for direct subsidies to farmers, emphasizing the need for bridging the gap between production and market access and the use of AI for rural transformation. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has called for empowering rural youth to catalyze significant transformation in India's largely untapped agricultural sector. Dur ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
Agartala (Tripura) [India], June 5 (ANI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the state government is prioritising quality education for students, and quality teachers are being recruited through the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). Saha also informed that more recruitments will be made in the future. Also Read | Centre Notifies Waqf Management Rules 2025; Portal, Database, Audit of Waqf Properties. "Textbook education can never be the standard of life. One can become morally strong through education. Along with education, children should also be engaged in social work," he said. CM ...Read More >
Pune: As per Pune Municipal Corporation's latest Environment Status Report (ESR) 2023-24, the city houses as many as 55,81,578 trees, with the figures showing a steady annual increase.But for a city that claims to host over 55 lakh trees, deteriorating air quality makes the essential act of breathing rather difficult for residents.Even as the civic body boasts of planting lakhs of trees and expanding the city's green footprint, the on-ground reality is riddled with data inconsistencies, opaque processes and a visibly shrinking urban canopy.Citizens, environmentalists and independent researcher ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 4 (ANI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday came down heavily on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) over its pitch to reconsider the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution while saying that it was 'all talk'. He dared and challenged RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and top leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the centre to remove the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble. 'Days before, I heard that some RSS person said that we should remove Secular and Socialist words from ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday took strong action against the police officers allegedly responsible for the Bengaluru stampede, suspending several high-ranking officials, including the city's police commissioner. Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced a one-man commission to probe the lapses that triggered the deadly stampede. "Cubbon Park Police Station police inspector, station house master, station house officer, ACP, Central Division DCP, cricket stadium in-charge, additional commissioner of police, commissioner of police have been susp ...Read More >
Shimla, Jun 7 (PTI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday emphasised the need to empower the rural youth to become instruments of change in India's enormous but "underutilised" agricultural economy. Interacting with students, faculty and researchers during his visit to Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, he also called for giving direct subsidy to farmers and claimed it will increase their annual income by Rs 30,000. Dhankhar said that instead of giving indirect subsidies on fertilisers, seeds and other inputs, farmers should get monetary assistance directly ...Read More >
Gurgaon: MCG additional commissioner Yash Jaluka directed bulk waste generators (BWG) across the city to ensure proper disposal of waste by private agencies who are assisting them. Giving these instructions in a meeting held on Friday, he said it is often observed that BWGs hand over their waste to private agencies, which only sort valuable items and dump the remaining waste on roads, drains, vacant land or public places. This, he said, not only affects cleanliness of the city but also poses a threat to public health."Under the Solid Waste Management Rules-2016, it is the legal and moral respo ...Read More >
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan is all set to become the next Maharashtra BJP chief as he filed his nomination for the post of party's state president on Monday. Mr. Chavan presented the nomination forms to Union Minister Kiran Rijiju, who has been appointed as a central observer for the elections by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and outgoing party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present on this occasion. With no other nomination being filed for the post, Mr. Chavan is certain to become the next state president of Maharashtra BJP, said party leaders. The ...Read More >
Baramulla, Jul 5: Hundreds of mourners from Delina and its neighbouring villages Saturday participated in the Muharram procession, the 9th day of the month of Muharram-Ul-Haram at Delina area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The procession was one of the series of processions being held in the month of Muharram, the first month of Islamic calendar. Dressed in black and carrying flags bearing religious inscriptions, participants from the villages of Hygam, Bulgam, Bohripora, Syedpora, Uri, Boniyar and other villages marched from new Imambargah through the National Highway NH-1 to the ma ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a dramatic turn of events, Canadian PM Mark Carney called PM Modi and invited him for the G7 summit that begins eight days from now at Kananaskis in Alberta. Modi accepted the invitation and said he was looking forward to meeting him at the summit.The announcement by Modi on X followed almost a week of suspense over his participation because of a lack of invitation, drawing barbs from the opposition about his possible exclusion from the summit. India is not a member of G7 but Modi has been invited for all summits since 2019. Modi congratulated Carney on his poll win and thanked h ...Read More >
Ranchi: The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) collected Rs 39.33 crore in property tax during the first quarter (April to June) of the 2025-26 financial year -- its highest-ever quarter-1 collection. The amount came from 81,320 taxpayers, according to official figures.The civic body attributed the rise in collections to multiple factors -- a tiered rebate system, increased digital adoption, expanded door-to-door collection, and payment facilitation centres. A 10% rebate on lump-sum payments was available until June 30, while earlier slabs in April and May offered 3%, 5%, and 7% rebates.Of the ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday announced the provisional attachment of assets worth approximately ₹131.45 crore in Spain, including a luxury yacht and immovable properties, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These assets belong to Pavel Prozorov, a Spanish national and the alleged mastermind behind the unauthorised forex trading platform OctaFX. The attached assets comprise a commercial Italian-model luxury yacht cruising in the Western Mediterranean, a minijet boat, a luxury car, and two residential properties in Spain. The ED's probe was launched ...Read More >
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Marking the Cooperatives Year, a two-day national seminar will be inaugurated on Friday at the Swarn Jayanti Auditorium of Vikram University. Farmers from five major states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Goa are set to participate in the seminar, 'Dairy Development in Madhya Pradesh: Possibilities and Challenges', under the joint aegis of the Indian Dairy Association (DA) West Zone, and Vikram University (VU). Researchers, students, milk producers from across the country, where over two lakh cooperative societies function, along with experts ...Read More >
ITANAGAR, 2 Jul: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday claimed that the frontier state holds the distinction of being India's largest carbon sink, an ecological powerhouse playing a pivotal role in combating climate change and aiding the country's march toward net-zero emissions. In a social media post as part of his administration's 'Pema 3.0 - Year of Ref-orms and Growth' campaign, Khandu highlighted that Arunachal Pradesh contributes a remarkable 14.38 percent to India's total carbon sequestration. With an impressive 79 percent forest cover, the state currently boasts a carbon stock of ...Read More >
Mumbai: Hooliganism under the guise of Marathi pride will not be tolerated in the state, CM Fadnavis warned on Friday. He said police had registered an FIR and taken action in the Mira Road incident where a businessman was beaten up by MNS workers for not knowing Marathi.Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said beating up someone over language was wrong. "We are Marathi and are proud of the language. Insisting that a person speak in Marathi is not wrong, but beating up a businessman because he does not know it is wrong. Our Marathi-speaking people are doing business in different states, and if the ...Read More >
Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Shyam Lal Pal on Tuesday landed in a controversy after saying that no temple was found in the state's Sambhal district. The controversial statement from Pal came days after the local administration reopened a temple that had been locked since 1978 in Sambhal. After the reopening, three idols of around four to six inches were found during the digging of a well near the Bhasma Shankar temple, according to local officials. Notably, the temple was locked since 1978 after the communal riots that led to the displacement of the local Hindu community, locals c ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) In fresh trouble for actor Dino Morea, investigators of the Enforcement Directorate on Friday searched his villa in Bandra West, Mumbai, and questioned him in connection with the Rs 65 crore Mithi River desilting scam, an official said. The model-turned-actor's villa witnessed hectic activity early morning as a fleet of vehicles carrying ED investigators arrived at the spot and took control of all mobile phones and prohibited residents from leaving the premises. The searches, conducted over alleged money laundering linked to the desilting scam, continued for h ...Read More >