Forest department submits Okhla Bird Sanctuary revamp project plan [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90146]NOIDA: The district forest department of Noida on Wednesday submitted a complete revamp plan of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary to the Noida Authority. Based on a detailed project drawn up the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, the proposed project cost is tagged at Rs 23 crore.

Madhya Pradesh bans plastic/polythene bags from May 1 [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90115]BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh government today decided to ban plastic/polythene carry bags across the state from May 1 saying that its consumption results in large number of cow deaths."The state cabinet, chaired by the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has accorded nod to the proposal of imposing the ban on plastic/polythene bags across the state from May 1," State Public Relations Department Minister Narottam Mishra told reporters here after the meeting. 

CEOs take a dive to protect marine life [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90094]Thiruvananthapuram: In a first-of-its-kind event in the world, five CEOs, including a woman, went 6m under water to the ocean bed in Kovalam to do a 20-minute conference on Monday morning. They took a pledge to protect aquatic life.Well-equipped with scuba diving gears, CEOs - RajagopalIyer (UdayaSamudra Group of Hotels), Hema Menon (UST Global), Dinesh P Thambi (TCS), Dr Shyam Kumar (NeoLogix) and Rony Thomas Zacaria (Avon Mobility Solutions), dived in 50m off Grove Beach to reach the U-shaped conference table set on the ocean bed for the world's first 'Underwater CEO Conference'.

Eco task forces to cull monkeys [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90099]Shimla: As Himachal Pradesh has not killed even a single monkey despite declaring them vermin in 38 tehsils of the state, the government has now decided to form eco task forces for scientific culling of simians.The decision was taken at at a high-powered committee meeting for wild animal and monkey menace held here on Monday. A survey would also be conducted jointly with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, to declare wild boar, sambar and nilgai as vermins.

UK-based start-up hopes to cut plastic waste with innovative water balls [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90164]Small transparent spheres filled with natural or flavoured water could help provide a solution to London's plastic waste problem, according to the start-up company based in the British capital that manufactures them.With many cities around the world struggling to dispose of vast numbers of used plastic water bottles, the biodegradable 'Ooho balls' have begun quenching the thirst of consumers at special events in San Francisco and London.

Lab notes: Vitamin B can help the body fight off effects of air pollution [http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/newspaper/details.asp?id=90138]As cities around the world witness unprecedented levels of air pollution, the number of people dying from the impacts of air pollution are also rising. Global mortality due to PM2.5 – that is, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns – increased from from 3.5 million in 1990 to 3.8 million in 2000 and 4.2 million in 2015. About half of these deaths are not in the cities of India and China