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  • 29/06/2006

green flag to blue lady: The Supreme Court, on June 5, 2006, gave the green light to the French cruise liner S S Norway, a k a Blue Lady, to enter Indian territorial waters and permitted it to anchor near the Alang coast in Gujarat. The ship allegedly contains 1,200 tonnes of toxic wastes. The decision came following the recommendations of the Supreme Court's expert committee, headed by Prodipto Ghosh of the Union ministry of environment and forests, that had allowed anchorage and beaching of the ship in view of the monsoon, when the sea would be rough.

waste hazard: The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (gpcb) on May 26 served notice to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (vmc) to stop illegal dumping and burning of municipal solid waste on a dumping site at Vadasar, on the banks of the river Vishawamitri. vmc does not have a landfill site though the city produces around 400 metric tonnes of solid waste everyday. "Recently the civic body has acquired a landfill site at Jambuva, but it needs at least a year for scientific development,' says Rohit Pathak, commissioner of vmc . gpcb has also directed vmc to recollect all waste from sites near Akota garden and on the banks of the river near Vadodara urban development authority and dispose it on a landfill site.

adopt an animal: The Bannerghatta National Park, near Bangalore, has come up with a unique scheme: "adopt our zoo animal'. Individuals and corporate houses can now adopt any animal, reptile or bird by making a yearly payment for their feed and medical expenses. "It's like adopting a child, but with the difference that the adopter cannot take the animal home,' says V Geethanjali, executive director of Bannerghatta Biological Park. In return volunteers will receive mementos and regular feedback on their adopted animals.

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