Northeast Frontier Railway inks pacts for sustainable projects in Guwahati
A tripartite agreement was signed among NFR, Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB) and Kusum Udyog to develop Guwahati Railway Station into a 100 per cent plastic recycling hub.
A dedicated six-member task force led by the Station Superintendent, Guwahati, has been constituted to steer the initiative, a statement said.
'Efforts include improving garbage storage infrastructure, operationalising a compost-making plant and organising frequent passenger awareness drives," it said.
The second agreement signed with IIT-Guwahati focuses on the introduction of biodegradable and compostable bags to replace the existing packets used for bedroll distribution in AC coaches.
'The pilot will begin with the Brahmaputra Mail operating between Kamakhya and New Delhi with plans to scale the same initiative across all Guwahati and Kamakhya-based trains, and eventually to the entire NFR network," the statement said.
This initiative merges collaborative research with field-level implementation, targeting a shift towards eco-friendly and passenger-conscious alternatives, it added.
'By integrating environmental sustainability into its operational framework, NFR continues to lead in creating a cleaner and greener railway ecosystem for the zone," NFR Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said. PTI TR TR SOM
view comments
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
IIT-Mandi's new batch begins with ‘higher students' intake, women enrolment increases
As many as 592 students have joined the undergraduate programmes, compared to 514 in 2024, as per the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (IIT Mandi). The 2025-26 batch is the highest ever undergraduate intake figures since its inception, the institute informed in a statement. Of the total students admitted this year, 394 are men and 121 are women. 'The intake 121 female students in 2025 from 96 female students in 2024 is a reflection of the ongoing efforts of IIT Mandi towards rising gender equality and providing more access to education in the field of STEM among women,' an IIT Mandi statement issued in this regard said. Prof Prof Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT Mandi on the orientation programme held at the institute said: 'The class of 2025–26 undergraduates too is a diverse mix of courses, with enrollments in 13 different courses of study, including the recently introduced Integrated MBA (IMBA) and popular branches such as Computer Science and Engineering, Data Science and AI, and Microelectronics & VLSI, etc.' The orientation programme featured detailed presentations by Dr Venkatesh H Chembrolu, dean academics; Dr Tushar Jain, dean students; and Dr Ramna Thakur, chief warden. They provided important information about the academic structure, student welfare schemes, hostel life, institute rules, and the co-curricular activities offered at IIT Mandi. The session concluded with a Q&A segment, where students and parents interacted directly with the faculty and administration to clarify their queries and gain deeper insights into the academic and residential ecosystem of the Institute. In addition to the orientation programme, IIT Mandi is conducting a 10-day induction programme for students, which began on August 1 and will continue till August 10. During this period, students will get the chance to engage with experts on technology and motivation. The programme will be followed by super sports Sunday activities, sessions on mental health, well-being and nutrition, and gender sensitisation. The programme also includes physical activities, beginning each day with a yoga session. Over the course of these 10 days, students will participate in significant interactions, cultural events, and a variety of other activities. The induction programme will conclude with a tree plantation drive and nature walk in the serene IIT campus, the statement added.
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
DPCC to revive study on source of pollution in Delhi
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has decided to revive its 'super-site' for real-time source apportionment studies in the Capital — this time in partnership with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune — nearly nine months after it ended the collaboration with IIT-Kanpur. Officials said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which was approached for guidance, has submitted a pilot study on the tower to the Supreme Court and is awaiting further directions (HT Archive) The decision was taken in DPCC's latest board meeting July 18, which also discussed conducting detailed audits of five-star hotels in the city to assess their groundwater consumption and reuse of treated water. Set up near Rouse Avenue in 2021, the super-site had been managed by IIT-Kanpur under a Delhi government MoU until November 2023. After the collaboration ended, officials said the government chose not to renew the partnership, citing dissatisfaction with the institute's 'methodology'. Since then, the infrastructure — including high-end equipment such as state-of-the-art air analysers, forecasting models and data dashboard and even a mobile van — has remained idle while DPCC searched for a new institutional partner. Delhi has long struggled to accurately pinpoint what is polluting its air and where it's coming from. Source-apportionment studies by IIT Kanpur in 2016 and by the The Energy and Resources Institute in 2018 are outdated, while the Decision Support System (DSS) -- which gives estimated contribution, too relies on an outdated emissions inventory. Despite multiple efforts by different agencies, including a city-specific source apportionment model by IIT-Kanpur and a broader Decision Support System (DSS) by IITM and the Centre's ministry of earth sciences, pollution control measures continue to rely on reactive strategies instead of real-time, localised data. 'The board had earlier directed that CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) be pursued to develop a well-validated methodology through national-level experts. The board desired that the environment department be kept informed about the progress. It was decided that the running of the super-site and mobile lab be expedited in consultation with all at the earliest,' the DPCC's board minutes dated July 31 stated. The minutes further note that DPCC is now in the process of formally collaborating with IITM Pune to operate the supersite and restart source apportionment studies. To be sure, IITM is already a key player in Delhi's pollution forecasting ecosystem. It operates the DSS — which estimates the sources of pollution in NCR on a near-real-time basis — and the Early Warning System (EWS), which predicts AQI levels in the coming days. The meeting also touched on the fate of the 'smog tower' installed at Baba Kharak Singh Marg in 2020, following a Supreme Court directive. Operational through 2021 and 2022, the tower has remained shut since the winter of 2023. Officials said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which was approached for guidance, has submitted a pilot study on the tower to the Supreme Court and is awaiting further directions. 'It is informed that the CPCB has filed an IIT pilot study report on the smog tower before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India… and their (SC's) decision is awaited,' the minutes noted. Meanwhile, DPCC will also initiate on-ground verification of how five-star hotels in Delhi are using water — especially whether they have separate pipelines for treated and fresh water. In a February meeting, 40 hotels were asked to submit self-declared water mass balance statements. The data showed that 760 kilolitres per day (KLD) of treated water was being discharged into sewers, while the rest was being used for non-potable purposes like flushing and horticulture. Over half (54%) of their total water demand was being met by fresh groundwater. 'Ground reality needs to be verified by the DPCC. Hotels may not have separate pipelines for flushing, etc., which need to be checked during inspection. A proper report needs to be prepared for the analysis of water consumption. It was decided that a few hotels be audited in detail for the purpose of study (not for regulatory purposes),' the board minutes stated.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
State deploys ‘Gaja Mitras' to tackle human-jumbo conflicts
1 2 Guwahati: In a decisive move to address the escalating human-elephant conflict, the state govt has launched the Gaja Mitra initiative, deploying rapid response teams across 80 conflict zones in eight districts. These teams, comprising local villagers, will be active during the peak winter season, aiming to curb the alarming rates of human and elephant fatalities. The 80 identified human-elephant conflict "hotspots" are in eight districts — Goalpara, Udalguri, Nagaon, Baksa, Sonitpur, Golaghat, Jorhat, and Biswanath. Assam has witnessed over 1,400 human and 1,209 elephant deaths from such conflicts between 2000 and 2023, marking one of the highest tolls nationwide. The initiative follows a critical report from the Wildlife Institute of India, highlighting a crisis driven by habitat loss, electrocution, railway accidents, and retaliatory killings. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma last month, in a post on his X handle, wrote that in order to strengthen the resolve of the govt to reduce man-elephant conflict, the state cabinet approved the Gaja Mitra scheme, which would allow the setting up of dedicated teams and mechanism to tackle the problem. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo An official from the forest department said each team will consist of eight local villagers trained to act swiftly and collaboratively with the forest department to manage and mitigate conflict situations. The scheme focuses on voluntary, community-driven surveillance and response, ensuring that those most familiar with the landscape and patterns of elephant movement can respond quickly and effectively. The official added that to discourage elephants from entering villages and farmlands, the scheme includes the creation and restoration of local elephant habitats stocked with their preferred food, such as bamboo and Napier grass. Apart from the Gaja Mitra scheme, NFR is carrying out the installation of an AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect the movement of elephants on the train lines so that the speed of the trains can be controlled to protect the elephants. The Habaipur-Lumding section and the Kamakhya-Mirza section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) are the two sections where the Railways have completed the installation of the AI-enabled IDS and started its operation to detect the movement of elephants on the train lines. NFR Chief Public Relation Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the installation of the AI-enabled IDS has started in four more railway sections in Jorhat, Dhekiajuli, North Lakhimpur, and Goalpara district.
