Project for Mumbai slum rehabilitation
Citibank India in collaboration with the Society for Promotion of Area Research Centre(SPARC), a Mumbai-based NGO, and the UK-based charity organisation, Homeless International, on Wednesday announced a financing agreemnt for a slum rehabilitation project benefiting 76 households in Dharavi.
World's costliest cities are in Asia
Despite Asian financial turmoil, Tokyo and four other cities in Japan and China have the world's highest cost of living for foreigners, according to an annual survey released on Tuesday.
Rajasthan unveils new tourism package
The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has announced several attractive and result-oriented schemes for the corporate sector, Government undertakings other institutions and domestic and foreign touristsn in a bid to promote tourism in the State.
Scientists find way to predict huge solar magnetic storms
Scientists have discovered a way to predict the eruptions of powerful solar magnetic storms aimed at Earth, giving civilization extra time to protect its growing networks of communications, power and other electronic conveniences. An international team of scientists reported their discovery that the appearance of a giant "S" etched in …
Study finds little risks from PCB's
The largest ever study of occupational exposure to toxic PCB chemicals has found no significant increase in cancer deaths among workers who were exposed on the job. The study was financed by the General Electric Company, which faces a potential liabilities of hundreds of millions of dollars for cleaning up …
Lebanese general state proseuctor tells Greenpeace
Toxic waste scandal from Italy not closed : Lebanese General State Prosecutor Adnane Addoum told Greenpeace that the issue of imported toxic waste from Italy in 1997 is not closed. During a meeting with Greenpeace Mediterranean campaigners Ghassan Geara and Fouad Hamdan in the Justice Palace in Beirut, Addoum said …
New design cycle-rickshaws all set to hit City roads
New design cycle-rickshaw are slated to hit Delhi roads in the near-future as the Asian Institute of Transport Management(AITM) in the Capital has developed the prototype of a new type passenger rickshaw that has been tested and found sustainable and also rickshaw -puller friendly.
MCD to construct houses for the displaced
The Municipal corporation will construct 261 houses , each costing about Rs 1.2 lakh, for those displaced from the Turkman Gate area of the walled city, Delhi mayor Yogdhan Ahuja said Saturday. Inaugurating the laying down of water and sewerage lines at Delhi, Mr Ahuja said slum dwellers of the …
Call to penalise JJ dwellers for encroachment
The deputy leader of the Municipal corporation of Delhi, Mr Mahesh Chandra Sharma, today suggested the levying of damage charges on residents of slum tenements who carried out additional constructions and encroached upon land by putting boundary walls. He added that since commercial activities were being conducted in these premises, …
50 cities to get tourism grant
The Union Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Madan Lal Khurana, announced on Wednesday that every year 50 cities will be chosen and given an assistance of Rs. 1 crore to improve important tourist destinations.
New tourism policy by March-end
The new tourism policy, which envisaged an increased focus on public-private sector collaboration, will be introduced by March-end. Tourism secretary M P Berzbaruah told the Financial Express in an exclusive interview that the draft toursim policy will be discussed at the meeting of the committee of secretaries (CoS) in the …
Delhi turns on fog-proof airport tech
The Delhi airport on Friday became the first in the country to switch over to a fully-automated air traffic control system, ending prolonged uncertainty caused by a stand-off between airport authorities and air traffic controllers.
Gujarat all set to draw more tourists
Gujarat is pushing its tourism plans into high gear. From high-tech coastal development projects to entertainment tourism, from active promotion in world travel meets to preserving and promoting globally important archeological sites like Dholavira and Balasinor-the dinosaur site, the new millennium should see Gujarat as a must destination for national …
'Designer' bus stops to welcome Delhi'ites
After "air conditioned" public toilets, the New Delhi Municipal Council has turned its attention to the dilapidated bus stops. Dotting some of the shaded roads of New Delhi are a "new look" bus stands - complete with a local telephone counter and a magazine shelf.
Standing the test of time
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Centre of Human Settlement (UNCHS), in collaboration with the government of Bangladesh have drawn up a master plan for Dhaka city in the hope that it will be the ultimate in city planning. Urban or city planning requires a multi-disciplinary …
After heritage hotels, it's forest forts in Rajasthan
Long associated with forts, palaces and havelis carved by the greatest civilisations from the austere surrounds of the arid region, Rajasthan is now marketing its "forest forts" to draw in tourists for a taste of "heritage and natural history."
Funding plea by UN cities agency
The troubled United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), the UN arm dealing with rapid urbanisation, has warned that, if donors do not honour funding pledges this year and increase commitments for 1999, its existence will be at risk.Klaus Toepfer, Habitat's director, said failure to augment pledges of $1m for …
Great Balls of Fire
Don't sleep on Tuesday night , November 17. A couple of hours after the witching hour 2.10 am, to be precise--an army of meteors will come crashing into the earth's orbit and blaze off an two-hour-long magnificent pyrotechnic display, the kind you've never witnessed before. A celestial Diwali, if you …
Delhi Master Plan modified
The ministry of urban affairs and employment has further modified the master plan for Delhi with immediate effect through a notification issued at Delhi on Monday. According to a press statemnt issued by the ministry, the land norm use of an area measuring about six hectare, which is equivalent to …
