Bhagalpur canal in Bihar collapses during trial run

A day before its inauguration, the Bhagalpur canal, worth Rs 389.31 crore collapsed after being forcefully hit by the water from the Ganga river. The project is a part of the ambitious Gateshwar Panth Canal Project which has been planned to improve the poor land irrigation system in the region. The breach has caused floods in several low-lying areas. As per the authorities, however, no damage has been caused to the newly constructed part of the project. The Bihar government has ordered a probe into the breach of the canal. 

At least 3,000 million litres of untreated sewage enters Maharashtra water bodies every day: Report

As per the report by the environment ministry based on the Central Pollution Control Board findings, at least 3,000 million litres of untreated sewage and industrial effluents flow into rivers, water bodies or percolates into the ground in Maharashtra every day. It has also been reported that a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court had rapped the state government for the degraded state of the Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers and had also taken note that no coordination exists between authorities to protect the rivers. 

Centre wants states to make own strategies to double farmers' income by 2022 

The agriculture ministry has urged states to chalk out their own strategy to meet the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022. The Centre has already come out with a four-volume report on it. The government has launched several schemes in the past few months to achieve the target and apart from these schemes, the Centre wants states to devise their own strategies to boost farmers' income by focusing on production-to-post-harvest activities. 

Noyyal river polluted from soap foam, not industrial waste: TN's environment minister

Going by the claims of the state environment minister K.C. Karuppannan, the soap used by the people and the foam from it has led to the pollution in the Noyyal river. Following heavy rainfall in the last few months, water in the Noyyal river had turned black and layers of foam were developing over it. Shrugging off his responsibilities, the minister has put the blame on people and domestic waste. 

Project launched in Sikkim for managing complex disasters from climate change

The Sikkim government has launched ‘Capacity Building Strategies’, supported by the environment ministry, for managing complex disasters in the face of climate change. The project will be implemented by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and the technical organisation, SEEDS with support from the State Disaster Management Authority of the Sikkim government.

This is a roundup of important news from September 20 - 26, 2017. Also, read the policy matters this week. 

Lead image source: Press Trust of India