Forest Minister Khandre inspects Hesaraghatta area for development of reserved grasslands
Bengaluru: Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Saturday visited and inspected the 5,678-acre grassland area including the Hesaraghatta Lake, which has been declared a reserved grassland by the state government a few months ago.
The minister warned against pollution of River Arkavathy and the Hesaraghatta Lake, which provides water to more than 10 lakh people in a year.
“Conservation of the natural grass on the site is important, along with ensuring its growth on a further. Cooperating with the families living in the neighbourhood areas, especially the shepherds and the cowherds, is also important. The area can be further developed with the help of the local gram panchayats too,” Khandre said.
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Stressing on the fauna in the grassland, the minister said pointed out that it was a breeding ground for several species of birds. “In addition, there are sources of several water bodies here. Various species of local tree, fruit trees for food and sedges for birds to nest in must be grown in the area,” he directed the officials.
Khandre instructed Meenakshi Negi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Forest Force Chief, who was present at the spot to formulate an action plan to utilize CSR funds for the comprehensive conservation and development of the Hesaraghatta area in cooperation with the Minor Irrigation Department, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and the local bodies. The plan will include allocation of funds from the Forest Department.
APCCF Kumar Pushkar, Bangalore DCF Ravindra Kumar N and others were present on the occasion.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
