downtoearth-subscribe

INDIA

Rainwater harvesting and recharging of groundwater will be undertaken in 500 villages of Karnataka by the state department of rural development. The department will spend Rs 10 crore for the purpose.

The Goa government will soon impose a ban on the use of all types of plastic material used for packing. "There will be a total ban on the usage of plastic materials, except milk pouches and medical products, in all the government establishments,' said Manohar Parrikar, the state's chief minister.

The President of India's assent to Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001, has paved the way to the setting up a National Calamity Contingency Fund of Rs 500 crore.

The National Commission for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes has stated that the consent of local indigenous people of Kashipur, Orissa, is a prerequisite for the setting up of an alumina plant in the area.

The Karnataka high court has stayed a proposal for the installation of four sewage water treatment plants adjacent to the Mysore Zoo.

Several hospitals in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, are violating laws regarding the safe disposal of biomedical waste, reveals a Gujarat pollution control board study.

Private firms will be given contracts to clean government hospitals in West Bengal, according to Partha Dey, the state's health minister.

The Gujarat chief minister, Keshubhai Patel, has commissioned a 40-kilometre pipeline, which will provide drinking water to 1,625 villages in Saurashtra.

According to a five-year survey by Peter Jaeger of Mainz University in Germany, at least 50 new varieties of spiders are thriving in the Himalayan region.

From January 16, 2001, the largest blood bank in Delhi run by the Red Cross Society will sell blood for Rs 350 per unit to those who are admitted to private nursing homes and hospitals. Later, this may be extended to patients being treated in government hospitals, who can afford to pay.

Related Content