Elevated corridor, meant to unclog Ring Road, gets Yamuna agency’s nod

New Delhi: The Public Works Department (PWD)’s project to construct an elevated corridor between Signature Bridge and Delhi Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, parallel to the Yamuna, to decongest the busy Ring Road has got the much-awaited nod from the Yamuna standing committee — the body that clears projects being taken up on the riverbed.

The committee, however, mentioned that the PWD will have to get mandatory clearances from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), ministry of environment & forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

“After detailed discussion, the committee said it has no objections to the proposal from the flood point of view subject to the following conditions: Physical model study for the project may be carried out by CWPRS (Central Water and Power Research Station), Pune, at the time of formulation of detailed project report to assess adverse effects, if any,” minutes of the meeting, accessed by HT, read.[Readmore]

Researchers design a roadmap for hydrogen supply network

Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a hydrogen supply chain model that can enable the adoption of zero-emission, hydrogen-powered cars -- transforming them from a novelty into everyday transportation in just 30 years.[Readmore]

Engineers produce water-saving crop irrigation sensor

New technology responds to the global need to regulate water consumption in agriculture

A team of University of Connecticut researchers engineered a soil moisture sensor that is more cost effective than anything currently available and responds to the global need to regulate water consumption in agriculture.

New technology responds to the global need to regulate water consumption in agriculture.[Readmore].

Predicting the impact of climate change on bridge safety

Climate change will ultimately affect our bridges. But to what extent?

That is the essential question addressed by Lehigh University researchers David Yang and Dan M. Frangopol in a paper recently published in the ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering.

"We know climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of natural hazards like hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, and extreme rains," says Yang, a postdoctoral research associate in civil and environmental engineering at the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. "For this paper, we're looking at increased temperature as well as increased precipitation and their impact on bridge safety. The challenge here was that we didn't know how to quantify those impacts to predict scour risk." [Readmore]

Go with the flow: Scientists design new grid batteries for renewable energy

How do you store renewable energy so it's there when you need it, even when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing? Giant batteries designed for the electrical grid -- called flow batteries, which store electricity in tanks of liquid electrolyte -- could be the answer, but so far utilities have yet to find a cost-effective battery that can reliably power throusands of homes throughout a lifecycle of 10 to 20 yeas. [Readmore]

Jal Shakti Ministry committed to full water utilisation under IWT: India's Indus Waters Commissioner

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would stop river water from flowing to Pakistan, India’s Indus Waters Commissioner PK Saxena told India Today that Jal Shakti ministry has been committed to this end to utilise its entire rights on Indus waters and as a responsible signatory to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

"India as a responsible nation is committed to the provisions of the IWT. We are talking of our rights on the Western rivers and our waters on Eastern rivers which are absolute and complete. This is well within the treaty." [Readmore]

Mapping of water resources to be completed soon: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

 

 Pic tweeted by @gssjodhpur

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that the mapping of water resources in the country has begun. Speaking after inaugurating Second International Conference on Sustainable Water Management in Pune, Mr. Shekhawat said, the task of mapping water resources will be completed soon and the country will march ahead on the path of Sustainable Water Management.

He informed that the first phase of water mapping will be completed by March 2020 and the remaining work will be completed in two years. [Readmore]

Jal Shakti to irrigate 20 lakh hectares additional land

The newly-formed Jal Shakti department of Uttar Pradesh government has set a target to irrigate 20 lakh hectares of additional land through the Saryu canal, Madhyaganga canal, Arjun tributary by the end of this year.

“Prestigious projects like the Saryu canal have been pending for nearly four decades due to the neglect of earlier governments. The priority of the BJP government in UP is not only to create additional irrigation capacity by completing incomplete projects, but also to promote sprinkler and drip irrigation, a relatively efficient mode of irrigation, for optimum utilisation of available water,” Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh said.

It is noteworthy that out of 49 projects worth over Rs 500 crore reviewed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in October last year, 10 were related to irrigation.  [Readmore]