Bangalore University’s Department of Environmental Science has claimed that it has developed a “green” method to clean up nearly 90 per cent of all pollutants in the City’s lakes.

Scientists at the department explained that their project, titled the ‘Green and eco-friendly technology for treating waste water entering into wet lands of urban Bangalore,’ aims at resuscitating all polluted lakes and water bodies in the City. They added that their system was superior to the existing method used by the government, which boasts of only 50 per cent efficiency.

The government of Karnataka has failed to achieve the target of providing safe drinking water to 17.35 per cent of the state’s rural habitations during 2012-13 and spent only 46 per cent of Rs 800.38 crore allocated under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) till January 31, two months before the end of the financial year.

The state government has also missed the target of addressing the problem of contaminated drinking water in 2,467 rural habitations and is estimated to have helped only 1,500 in the just-concluded financial year.

‘Chances of being infected with the disease lower during summer’

A total of four H1N1 cases have been reported in the district since January 2013. Of the cases reported, all the patients suffering from the influenza have been cured or are currently recuperating from the viral infection.
District Surveillance Officer, Dr D G Nagaraj said that the potency of the virus declined with the increase in temperature. Therefore, the chances of being infected with the disease was lower in summer months. “All the four people who were infected, were infected during the months of winter,” he said.

The water level at the Shiva Balance Reservoir (SBR) again dropped below the minimum level on Sunday, forcing the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) engineers to make repeated requests to Cauvery Neeravari Nigam(CNN) engineers to immediately release water.

A BWSSB engineer says that if the water level keeps dropping, they may have to turn off certain water pumps at TK Halli, Harohalli and Tataguni to avoid dry run due to lack of water supply. This may affect the water supply to the City, the engineer added.

The sweltering summer heat has aggravated the problem of drinking water supply in most parts of the State, prompting the State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RD&PR) to seek the permission of Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (OCEO), Karnataka, to implement approved action plans related to drinking water at the panchayat-level.

Besides, the Revenue department has recently issued a circular stating that water in major reservoirs should be used only for drinking purpose.

Both the countries will sign the agreement today

Germany will lend India a soft loan of one billion euros to create infrastructure for green energy projects in the country.
The Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Co-operation will ink a deal in this regard on Thursday. The agreement will be part of a joint declaration on co-operation in the energy sector.

Members of the Russell Market Traders’ Association and traders will get a waste-to-energy plant installed at the market by next week.

The market, which houses around 480 shops, produces nearly 12-15 tonnes of garbage daily, out of which seven tonnes are wet waste alone. To minimise the waste and use it towards a productive end, the Association decided to instal a waste-consuming energy generator.
“The decision was made after a meeting on April 2,” explained Mohammed Idris Choudhary, the general secretary of the Association. “All shop vendors were consulted about this new technology.

Suggests highest qualified professionals at government housing wings

Achieving equitable urbanisation in Bangalore still remains a concern. Rapidly growing cities across the globe evoke similar sentiments.
Encrusting his suggestions in the context of development of Bangalore, Alfredo Brillembourg, professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, gave pointers to the government and builders in the City to achieve sustainable development.

Sir MV Layout residents’ woes continue as BDA is unable to solve problem

Water woes continue to dog residents of Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout in Ullal near Kengeri here, as they brave one of the worst summers.
Ten years since the layout’s formation, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has not provided water connectivity to residents and site owners, despite promising to do so before the properties were purchased.

Hyderabad: The dengue virus is more widespread than estimated, as India alone accounted for 33 million infections in 2012, according to a study published by Oxford University researchers on April 7.

While the World Health Organisation estimates the number to be 100 million worldwide, the study claims that in 2012, about 390 million people suffered from dengue.