Kerala landslides: Drones ferry food to relief workers
Wayanad (Kerala) (PTI): As the challenging search for survivors and victims continues in the devastated landscape of landslide-ravaged Wayanad villages, authorities have turned to unmanned aerial vehicles to transport food packets to regions that still remain out of reach by traditional means.
In a bid to sustain the hundreds of personnel searching the treacherous terrain for signs of life, authorities employed modern drones capable of carrying food packets for up to 10 people at a time.
"A rapid food and water delivery system has been established to support rescue workers. Drone operations enabled the direct delivery of food to personnel operating heavy machinery, such as Hitachi and JCB equipment," according to an official release here on Monday.
The food for the rescue workers is being prepared at the Community Kitchen functioning at Meppadi Polytechnic, it said.
Under the supervision of the Food Safety Department, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association is preparing around 7,000 food packets daily, which are then distributed to those in need, the release added.
As per the government figures till Sunday evening, a total of 221 bodies and 166 body parts of the July 30 landslide victims had been recovered so far.
The number of missing people had gone down to 180 from the earlier 206 after the authorities were able to get in touch with some of them over the phone, they said on Sunday.
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Karnataka: Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre unveils plan for scientific disposal of plastic bottles
Bengaluru: In a bid to address the mounting plastic waste problem, Eshwar B. Khandre, Minister for Forests, Ecology, and Environment, has directed the additional chief secretary of the department to formulate regulations that will require packaged water bottle manufacturers to take responsibility for the scientific disposal of plastic bottles.
As part of the proposed plan, Khandre has suggested introducing a minimum price for each water bottle, which would be refunded when the bottle is returned to any establishment selling packaged water, as reported by Deccan Herald on Monday.
Under this initiative, when a person buys a new water bottle, the minimum price for each returned bottle would be discounted from the bill for the new one.
The goal is to ensure that empty bottles are returned to the shops where they were purchased, preventing them from being discarded in public spaces or ending up in the environment. Under the plan, these establishments would then return the empty bottles to manufacturers, who would be responsible for the scientific disposal of the plastic.
Khandre emphasised that the proposed regulations are aimed at tackling plastic pollution more effectively. Although the central government has already banned the manufacture, storage, sale, and use of certain single-use plastics, and the state government has enacted similar regulations, plastic waste continues to be a significant environmental challenge.
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