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Soil pollution is a worldwide problem caused by both natural and anthropogenic activities. This has resulted in health and physiological problems to both plants and animals. This study investigated heavy metals in soils within the immediate vicinity. Soils from Seven APIIC zones in Visakhapatnam were collected and analysed for physicochemical characteristics and heavy metals. The data obtained were subjected to the pollution index model and multivariate statistical analysis. The data obtained showed that the soils are rich in zinc, and heavy metals are above trace level with a minor positively skewed distribution. The analysis of pollution index, geoaccumulation index and ecological risk factors in soils in all the locations showed that they are mainly contaminated and polluted by Cd followed by Zn. The mean heavy metal concentrations around APIIC can be arranged in increasing order as Cr < Co < Pb < Cu < Cd < Zn. Element pairs such as Zn-Pb, Zn-Cu, Zn-Cd, Pb-Cu, Pb-Cd, Cu-Cr, Cd-Co and Cr-Co showed strong positive correlation coefficient “r” indicating their association in the study area. The observed concentrations of heavy metals revealed that soil contamination has been increasing and measures must be taken to ensure the adoption of more environment-friendly practices.

Water is one of the most important sources in our daily lives. We cannot sustain our lives without water on the surface of the earth. The Hydrological modelling is important tool for land and water resources and in the same way of hydrologic behavior of watershed. Proper water management is the only solution to bridge the gap between demand and supply. In order to overcome the related issue, the availability of water and its supply. There are certain standard methods to assess the availability of water resources. Soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) which is a physically distributed parameter model to predict the surface runoff, land use and management conditions over long periods of time. It is also a river basin and continuous- time model. The model uses ArcGIS to integrate the various attribute data to estimate the Rainfall-Runoff of particular catchments at different outlets. The present study area carried out assessment of runoff for IB river basin of Mahanadi River located in Hirakud reservoir catchment area using SWAT model. The IB River flows on left side of the Mahanadi River. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is used for delineation has been carried out in the catchment area. The slope maps were prepared by using DEM. The land use land cover map was prepared using Landsat-8 data image. The rainfall data from 2016 to 2017 on daily basis had been used to prepare the modelling.

Municipal solid waste management is considered as one of the most serious environmental and social issue challenging municipal authorities in all major cities in India. The main problem is selecting a suitable landfill site for Solid Waste Management (SWM). Land filling is now accepted as the most widely used method for addressing this problem in all countries of the world. However, appropriate site selection for land filling is a problem in waste management and therefore needs to be addressed. This study aims at selecting a suitable solid waste landfill site for Visakhapatnam City, India for its future needs. A set of four main criteria and 13 sub criteria are considered for identifying suitable sites. The combination of GIS and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to give weights to different criteria. Relative Importance Weightage (RIW) of each parameter over the other is calculated by pair-wise comparison using the 9-point scale. The suitability index (0.1-0.6) values are determined for five classes (excellent, good, moderate, poor and very poor) for land fill siting. The study also aims at generating an optimal route to the suitable sites identified from the waste transfer station by using Network Analyst module of ArcGIS software such that the total system cost can be minimized.

The concentration of 23 metals was analyzed in the tissue of nine fish species, which represents the different habitats, i.e., primary feeder, tertiary feeder, and bottom feeder in fresh and marine waters of Visakhapatnam. Scomberomorus guttatus, Upeneus vittatus, and Penaeus indicus were selected in the coastal waters; Xiphias gladius, Stolephorus indicus, and Penaeus monodon from deep sea; and Channa striata, Puntius chola, and Macrobrachium rosenbergii from freshwater were analyzed. Metals in fish were analyzed by using the Inductive Couple Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The concentrations of metals in fish were within the permissible limit set by WHO, FAO apart from Chromium, Aluminum, Manganese, and Arsenic. The concentrations were highest in coastal water fish and lowest in freshwater fish. Similarly, higher concentrations were observed in bottom feeders than in other tiers.

Presence of heavy metal concentration in the ground water may cause health problems during intake of through different ways. Present study focused on heavy metal concentration of ground water in the sub-urban areas of Visakhapatnam City, AP, India. Most of heavy metals i.e., Aluminum (Al), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb) were analyzed using Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Mean values of Zn (1.845) > Mn (1.203) > Fe (0.664) > Al (0.334) > Pb (0.245) > Ni (0.082) > Cr (0.066) > As (0.028) > Cd (0.012) > Hg (0.010) results respectively. Results shows that all heavy metal concentrations were exceeded the water quality permissible limit and this area were not suitable for domestic purpose and use before proper treatment.

Development is a continuous process and is essential to enable the population to attain a better standard of life. But it should not be at the cost of the environment. The challenge of a development pattern striving to harmonize economics with social and environmental need requires active citizen participation in public issues. Involvement of the public is one of the fundamental principles of a successful EIA process. It not only provides an opportunity to those directly affected by a project to express their views on the environmental and social impacts of the proposal but also brings about transparency in the environmental clearance system. This paper focuses on public participation in EIA and its legal frame work.

Pollination Ecology of Vitex negundo (Verbenaceae)

Alangium lamarkii flowers during February–April. Buds are opening around the clock and offer pollen and nectar as the reward to their insect visitors. The breeding system incorporates both geitonogamy and xenogamy. Flowers are large, hermaphrodite, essential organs are centrally situated, stigma longer than anthers. Nectar contains glucose, sucrose and fructose. The glucose being dominant. Sugar concentration ranges from 25–29%. Protein and amino acids were present. Pollen-ovule ratio is 27300∶1.