Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Salboni Apartment Owner’s Association Vs State of West Bengal & Others dated 15/05/2025. The matter related to restoration of the Salboni Jheel, Kolkata, West Bengal. The NGT directed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board to place …
This study aims to strengthen the understanding of the vulnerability of Kolkata from increased precipitation caused by climate change effects with a specific goal to: compile a data base with past weather related information and damage caused by extreme weather related episodes; develop hydrological, hydraulic, and storm drainage models to …
A phone call early in the morning relieved me of the tension. The general strike called by the Maoists is for tomorrow and day after. Today, I will be able to visit few villages inside Jangalmahal. A contiguous patch of forest crisscrossing three districts of south West Bengal, the area …
While several cities across the world have revived their tramways, Kolkata naively ignored its tramways and witnesses the last days of this non-polluting and once-efficient mode of transport. Read this special report in Down To Earth. Kolkata witnesses the last days of a non-polluting and once-efficient mode of transport, while …
It was quarter to nine on a cold December evening at the Kalighat tram depot in south Kolkata. A row of tramcars stood like ghosts under an iron shed. At the corner of one coach an elderly man clad in khakis read the newspaper in the dim light of a …
West Bengal has imposed a ban on use of ammonia as refrigerant. The decision by the state pollution control board (SPCB) on January 20 follows three ammonia gas leaks from cold storage facilities which hit Kolkata and its fringe areas between December-end and January this year. According to Prabuddha Nath …
The Delhi High Court, on February 9, asked the Centre to file an affidavit within six weeks on whether the government has framed a policy to ban junk food and carbonated beverages in schools. The court was acting on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by Uday Foundation, a non-profit …
As India has yet to build much of its projected urban transport infrastructure, this presents a challenge as well as an opportunity. The new investment if guided by the principles of sustainability can make a lot of difference. The question that India needs to ask is whether it will be …
The District Human Development Report (DHDR) of South 24-Parganas released on 12th July 2010, says 15% of Sunderbans may be submerged by 2020. The report identifies the most pressing developmental constraints of the district. It explores the state of education, health-care, challenges of livelihood, standard of living index, and also …
This study was conducted to determine the etiology of diarrhoea in a hospital setting in Kolkata. Active surveillance was conducted for 2 years on two random days per week by enrolling every fifth diarrhoeal patient admitted to the Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital in Kolkata.
This work presents an estimate of the air pollution from municipal solid waste transport haulage sector for the city of Kolkata. About 3000 MT/day of solid waste are generated in the city presuming generation rate of 450-500 gm/capita resident/day. On an average, 205 private carriers transport 60% of daily generated …
The district human development report of North 24 Parganas portrays the diverse features of this district and also depicts the multilayered development that has taken place, over the past five to six decades. Burgeoning urbanisation and very presence of the Sunderbans open up a rare opportunity to the policy makers …
Textile processing plants operating in and around Kolkata utilize a wide variety of dyes and other chemicals. Many of these chemicals are not retained in the final textile product but are discarded after they have served their purpose or are driven off into the atmosphere during heat treatment. The main …
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice S. S. Nijjar on July 18, 2008 converted an environment department’s notification into a judicial directive and directed the state government to phase out all two-stroke three-wheelers plying in the city by December 31, 2008 and to ensure …
The present study attempts to find out the distribution of superficial fungal infection with respect to socio-economic and demographic variables among a symptomatic group (112 individuals) in West Bengal. Moreover, an attempt has also been made to find out the risk factors associated with the superficial fungal infection type. The …
Ambient air quality at five busy petrol pumps in Kolkata, India is monitored for mono-aromatic hydrocarbons and carbonyls. Among the measured volatile organic compounds, toluene and formaldehyde were the most abundant. Source apportionment using chemical mass balance identified exhaust from roadway and refueling as the major sources. Monitoring of the …
This paper provides a comparative overview of urban transport in the world’s two most populous countries: China and India. Cities in both countries are suffering from severe and worsening transport problems: air pollution, noise, traffic injuries and fatalities, congestion, parking shortages, energy use, and a lack of mobility for the …
Commuters' exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) especially BTEX travelling in passenger cars in Kolkata, India were quantified in Phase I (2001–2002) and Phase II (2003–2004). Monitoring was made inside and in the immediate outside of passenger cars fitted with and without catalytic converters using different types of fuels, along …
