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| Industrial use of bamboo stressed: It is time that bamboo and cane are used industrially in the North-east so as to turn them as an alternative of wood. This was stated by B S Oberoi, Executive Director of National Mission on Bamboo Application (NMBA), at a function where Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi launched the manual of the Bamboo and Cane Policy, 2005. |
| The Sentinel, Guwahati, Dec. 15, 2005 |
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| Mob fury in coke plant: At least 17 persons, including five security personnel, were injured when an irate mob demanding a halt to the construction of a coke industry at Azara in Khanamukh in Assam clashed with police at the construction site. The protesters, demanding a halt to the construction. The Sanjukta Pradushan Niantran Sangram Samity has threatened to intensify their agitation if the authorities failed to check these sources of pollution immediately. |
| The Sentinel, Guwahati, Dec. 12, 2005 |
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| Pharma factories poison village water For 20 years, Toansa struggled to cope with debilitating industrial pollution. Now, it may just have to carry on its fight thirsty. The village, on the Ropar-Balachaur road, is staring at a bleak and parched future. Four major pharma factories — Ranbaxy Laboratories, Montari Industries (now closed), Max India and DSM India — and a paper mill in the area have poisoned ground water with their toxic wastes to such an extent that the department of water supply and sanitation in Nawanshahar has stamped its 200-odd handpumps with deadly looking red crosses. The glowing marks mean that water pouring out of the pumps is unfit for consumption. |
| The Times of India, New Delhi, Dec. 6, 2005 |
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| NESSIA tirade against PCBA chairperson The North Eastern Small Scale Industries Association has opposed the decision of the Pollution Control Board Chairman to grant NOC to three coke industries in the outskirts of Guwahati city despite a ban order recently imposed on such types of set-ups by the Government, an association press release said. NESSIA, expressed grave concern over uninhibited growth of coke industries despite the prohibitory order of the Government in this regard. |
| The Sentinel, Guwahati, Dec. 26, 2005 |
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| Last resort? Ski fields push warming warning: Australia`s snow resorts are set to follow the American ski industry, with a campaign telling snowboarders and skiers that global warming will cut short their winter play time. The campaign will be based on the "Keep Winter Cool" and "Sustainable Slopes" programs run by the American ski industry. These back legislation that requires mandatory cutting of emissions, asks skiers to reduce their personal carbon dioxide emissions and increases resorts` use of renewable energy.The Australian campaign, possibly to start next season, will be spearheaded by the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council, the body that advises the State Government and oversees policy for Victoria`s six snow resorts. |
| The Age (Internet), Australia, Nov.18, 2005 |
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| Coke’s Plachimada unit imbroglio may
linger: The recent high court verdict allowing Coke to apply for a licence despite Pollution Control Board`s (PCB) closure order and directing the panchayat to grant licence is likely to deepen the crisis of reopening the company`s Plachimada factory. Perumatty panchayat and the PCB are considering legal recourse, may move the Supreme Court (SC). This is despite the Kerala High Court dismissing the Coca Cola`s clarification petition on the period of the licence stating that it should not land the company in deeper waters. The coke plant has not been operating for more than a year. |
| The Financial Express, New Delhi, Nov. 19, 2005 |
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| New cess: More you pollute, more you pay: The Delhi government will impose a water cess on all industrial units in Capital. Industries will have to file an annual self-assessment form and pay the cess ranging from 2 to 30 paise per kilo litre. The Centre has made amendments in the Water Cess Act 1977 which has now made it mandatory for all industrial units to pay this cess. Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has directed all the industrial unit owners to submit the form s till December 13 this year. So far, only civic bodies and Schedule 1 heavy industries were liable to pay this cess. Now depending on effluents discharged by the unit, it will be charged a cess. This will mean that industries generating non-hazardous wastes will also pay a cess. |
| The Times of India, New Delhi, Nov. 17, 2005 |
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| Carbon dioxide storage a success: An experimental project in Canada to inject carbon dioxide into oil fields has proven successful, removing 5 million tons of the heat-trapping "greenhouse" gas, while enhancing oil recovery, the Energy Department said. If the methodology could be applied worldwide, from one-third to one-half of the carbon dioxide emissions that go into the atmosphere could be eliminated over the next century and billions of barrels of additional oil could be recovered, the department said. The project is a joint effort by the Energy Department, the Canadian government and private industry. Carbon dioxide is piped from the Great Plains Synfuels plant in Beulah, N.D., where it is a byproduct from coal gasification, to the Weyburn oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada. |
| Environmental News Network(Internet), US, Nov. 16, 2005 |
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| Public opposes setting up of coke industry: The reported move of setting up a coke industry in a populated area here at Belguri under West Guwahati constituency received a severe jolt with the massive opposition on the part of public from villages. A protest meet was held recently at Belguri with Amrit Rabha in the chair which vehemently opposed the reported move of setting up Swastika Coke and Mineral Industry in a 14 bigha plot of land at Belguri. Mention may be made that apprehensive of polluting environment likely to cause deadly disease, many resolutions were adopted and a memorandum sent to commissioner, Government of Assam, DC and local MLA. |
| The Assam Tribune, Guwahati, Nov. 10, 2005 |
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| Approval to set up 23 industrial units: The state-level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority granted approval for setting up 23 new industrial units involving an investment of Rs 395 crore here last evening. The new units will generate employment for 3,320 persons. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who presided over the meeting of the authority, said that since the announcement of the industrial package, 6,012 new units with a total investment to the tune of Rs 14,818 and potential to provide employment to 2,07,784 persons, had been registered. The Chief Minister said the state government would soon select suitable sites for developing information technology and biotechnology parks in the state. |
| The Tribune, New Delhi, Nov. 7, 2005 |
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| SC issues notice to Coca-Cola: The Supreme Court issued notice to Coca-Cola on a Kerala Government plea challenging two high court orders that allowed the company’s Plachimada bottling unit to draw five lakh litres of ground water a day. The SC tagged the plea along with the main petition seeking stay order of the HC that asked the Perumatty gram panchayat to renew the licence of the soft drink major to enable it to draw ground water. |
| The Financial Express, New Delhi, Octo. 29, 2005 |
