In an attempt to raise awareness on conservation of tortoise and turtles, and on illegal trafficking, May 23 is celebrated as World Turtle Day.
One of the greatest threats facing turtles and tortoises in India is smuggling to East Asian and Southeast Asian markets.
West Bengal has become a focal point of the turtle smuggling trade as many of the turtles make their way to Kolkata before being shipped off.
In addition to smuggling, turtles face a variety of man-made issues that threaten their existence. One major threat, as with all other animal species, is habitat destruction.
As rivers become more and more polluted, the turtles are beginning to die off at greater rates. The hatchlings are born deformed; adults are dying from eating plastic; and the food sources are disappearing.
Large fishing trawlers also sometimes catch sea turtles, cut off their flippers to get them out of the net, and then leave them to die.
SEVA App
Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines has launched the Saral Eindhan Vitaran Application (SEVA), developed in-house by Coal India Limited (CIL) for power sector consumers.
SEVA, which is aimed at increasing the Consumer Connect as well as the Transparency and Accountability in Coal dispatch.
SEVA Dashboard provides summary of quantity of coal dispatched along with grades for the given day, month, and the latest yearly updates as well.
It also provides information on rake movement including latest status of indents of rake, allotment and loading. This would help consumers making advance logistics planning.
Further, the app has a dedicated backend team to monitor the status of specific grievances from consumers and take action on the feedback received on the app.
“Ozone2Climate”
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, along with the UN Environment OzonAction’s Compliance Assistance Programme, organized an “Ozone2Climate” Technology Roadshow, post Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, on the sidelines of the South Asia National Ozone Officers Annual Network Meeting.
The Technology Roadshow showcased current refrigeration and air conditioning equipment designed to be more energy efficient, hence with a double benefit of saving money for consumers, and with a much lower impact on the environment.
