Mumbai: Oil leaking from vessel poses threat to marine life
August 9, 2011 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
The ship sank off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday, with 60,000 metric tonnes of coal, 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 tonnes of diesel on board.
Deby Goenka, an environmentalist, expressed concern over the leaking oil s impact on the marine habitat.
“Oil is basically a toxic substance, and if it comes in contact with any marine life, it acts like poison. The oil also creates a physical coating on top of any surface. Also, if you touch it, you can find a coating of it on your feet and it is very difficult to remove it. We can use chemicals to remove the oil from our body, but the marine life, and birds do not have that option. So, once they touch the oil, they are actually doomed,” said Goenka.
The authorities have directed the fishermen to stay off the coast and refrain from fishing, until due action is taken to mitigate the oil leak s impact.
The state Pollution Control Board has been directed to collect and check the samples of the leaked oil.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Indian Navy said that the rate at which the oil was leaking has reduced considerably.
“The rate of spill has now considerably reduced; it is just about a tonne per hour. And what is seen is basically a very thin layer of silvery sheen on the water surface, which is seen mostly from around two nautical miles from the site of the accident,” said Captain Manohar Nambiar.
He added that the Indian Navy has deployed three coastguard ships, including a pollution control vessel and 30 personnel to assist the state Pollution Control Board.
Four missing fishermen found dead in boat tragedy
KARACHI: Four fishermen who had gone missing last night as a result of sinking of a fishing boat drowned to death.
Body of one of the deceased has been sent to Thatta.
According to the spokesman of Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum, Sami Memon a fishing boat carrying 10 fishermen got caught in the rough sea 30 kilometers off the coast and capsized. Six of the 10 fisherman had to swam ashore to save their lives and were shifted to hospital.
The remaining four fishermen had gone missing but later their bodies were found.
Ata Abad Lake outpours 4500 cusecs of water
HUNZA: Ata Abad Lake is persistently making outflow of 4000 cusecs from the Spillway; while, Karakoram Highway section from Gilgit to Hunza will remain open till 4pm this evening, Geo News reported Saturday.
The outpouring from the Spillway stands at 4150 cusecs and the seepage is 350 cusecs, which adds up to 4500 cusecs of outflow from the Lake, which is receiving 5000 cusecs in contrast.
The Gilgit-Hunza section of Karakoram Highway, which was blocked yesterday thanks to the bad weather, will be kept open till 4pm this evening.
The administration said if clear weather prevailed, the helicopter service would be resumed today for the affectees of Gilgit and Hunza.
Meantime, the administration said the boat service previously announced for the Upper Hunza areas of Gilmat, Shashkat, Hussaini and Phassu, would be would be resumed today if the weather turned conducive.
Rains lash Balochistan; several houses collapse; one dead
KARACHI: The downpours that started yesterday in various coastal areas of Balochistan have triggered flash flood in streams and brooks, causing several uncemented houses to collapse, Geo News reported Saturday.
Meantime, the evacuation of people to the relief camps is still in progress in Sindh’s coastal areas.
The low-lying areas in Balochistan coastal areas including Gwadar, Jiwani, Pasni and Turbat came under rainwater with Jiwani the worst hit with 165 millimeter of rains followed by Gwadar with 143 mm rains.
Makran Coastal Highway’s road link is cut off with areas including Gwadar and Turbat and also Turbat is cut off from Gwadar and Pasni.
A woman lost her life and four other people were injured in the house’s cave-ins in Malaband and Pushkan. Several houses also collapsed in Gwadar areas however, no fatalities were reported.
Hundreds of boats moored at Gwadar’s mini port were hit by the furious sea waves. The fishermen said they were facing hardships in saving their boats.
However, The concerned officials took no note.
The sources in Thatta’s Fisher Folk Form said their two boats Al-Makkah and Al-Karam were still at sea and at least ten fellowmen were present onboard.
Sindh’s Badin were overnight lashed with strong winds.
The Rangers have been called in to transport the fishermen living at Thatta’s coastal areas to safer places, as these fishermen declined to be relocated.
At least 31 relief centers have been established for Thatta affectees, who 10,000 in number have been shifted.
Phet Cyclone In Gujarat | Cyclone Phet Familiarization News 2010
Gujarat Weather | Cyclone Phet | NDTV | Phet | Gujarat Cyclone
As report of Indian meteorological department (IMD) there are Kutch and saurastara places are under high alert. There are storm in Arabian Sea is develop into a cyclone “phet”.
Indian meteorological department give order to the fishermen and workers who is stay near the sea that warned to stay away from the sea in the next 48 hours. This cyclone is blow wind with speed 120 kilometer/hr might hit the coast in the next 48 hours.
In the starting of cyclone, there are hot weather of Gujarat changed in many parts with rain and cold wind. As report of kamaljit ray who is director of IMD Gujarat, “the depression over Arabian sea moved north westwards and lay centers about 1,030 km south west of naliya in Gujarat on Tuesday.”
During the system’s influence, widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall will be experienced on the Gujarat coast, 3 June while the stormy winds with speeds reach 55-65 km / h will start from June 2 and increases gradually, said a communiqué. Meanwhile, those who died have been identified as Sanjay Baraiyya, 15, who was struck by lightning while working in an open area in Khakana village in the outskirts of the city of Rajkot. A woman who works with him, suffered serious injuries.
porpoise
May 13, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Dolphins bully porpoises, researcher discovers
Why are dolphins killing porpoises? Researchers are hoping a listening device could solve the mystery
It’s a cold, sunny spring day as our boat heads out of the little town of New Quay on Wales’s west coast. We’re on the lookout for dolphins and porpoises – at least, I am.
Bangor University PhD student Hanna Nuuttila, however, isn’t really interested in getting a sighting of these cetaceans – instead, she wants to hear them as they chat to each other beneath the waves.
By using submersible underwater hydrophones called C-Pods to collect acoustic data on their vocal behaviour – ie, where and when they do their characteristic “clicking” – Nuuttila is hoping to discover more about how bottlenose dolphins and their smaller and more shy relative, the harbour porpoise, use the vast sweep of water encompassed by Cardigan Bay.
We’re chugging along the coast towards a 1km-square “grid” she created just before Christmas, when she sank 44 C-Pods every 200 metres. Each of their locations is marked by a buoy, and for the moment, that 1km square is Nuuttila’s own little patch of sea.
“All the fishermen have been great and agreed not to put their [crab and lobster] pots in it,” she says. “The lifeboat has agreed to avoid it, too, and the coastguard is broadcasting twice a day and warning sea-goers not to go there.”
Donated by Cornwall-based manufacturer Chelonia, C-Pod devices are worth around £3,000 each, so she’s keeping close tabs on them – during the recent high spring tides several became completely submerged and for a few anxious days it looked as if they’d gone for good.
Cardigan Bay is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), so designated partly because of its importance for bottlenose dolphins as they feed, calve and raise their young. Understanding where and when dolphins frequent different parts of the bay is vital to ensuring that the effects of human activities are mitigated in areas crucial to their survival. But harbour porpoises also use Cardigan Bay, and it is this species that could benefit the most from Nuuttila’s research.
This carries on from a previous acoustic monitoring study she did for The Seawatch Foundation, prompted by the discovery that Cardigan Bay dolphins were killing porpoises.
Jahangir Badar Appears in NAB Hearing NAB
Jahangir Badar Appears in NAB Hearing NAB
LAHORE, Pakistan News: The hearing of NAB reference against PPP secretary general Jahangir Badar in an Accountability court here adjourned for January 13.
Talking to media after appearing before the court on Wednesday Jahangir Badar said he has been charged of awarding jobs to people in Sui Gas Company where the wages doesn’t extend than Rs 500.
He dispelled the impression that the National Reconciliation Ordinance has benefited People’s Party. “People’s Party will not use its power to impress justice,” PPP Secretary General added.
Jahangir Badar Appears in NAB Hearing NAB was first posted on December 23, 2009 at 11:59 am.
India Refuses to Accept 100 Indian Fishermen
KARACHI, Pakistan News: India has refused to receive 100 Indian fishermen imprisoned in Karachi jails for violation of Pakistani waters.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had issued orders for release of the Indian fishermen as goodwill gesture to the neighboring country.
“All arrangements have been completed for the Indian fishermen, imprisoned in jails for three years, to travel to the border, “ Deputy Superintendent Malir Jail Shakir Shah said.
A non-government organization has arranged food and travel expenses for the fishermen.
Around 668 Indian fishermen were imprisoned in Sindh jails while nearly 700 Pakistani fishermen have been in Indian jails.
The matter of imprisoned fishermen was put on back burner after the Mumbai attacks. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has issued orders for release of 100 fishermen as goodwill gesture to neighboring India.
India Refuses to Accept 100 Indian Fishermen was first posted on December 23, 2009 at 12:42 pm.
