Like the granite quarry probe, the district administration would carry out investigation into irregularities reported in sand and stone quarrying.

Announcing this at a monthly farmers’ grievance meeting here on Friday, Collector Anshul Mishra said that farmers and others, who had specific knowledge of the malpractices, can submit petitions.

Farmers hopes soar seeing the success of watershed projects in arid areas. The arid tracts of Madurai district are gradually turning fertile.

“The total area of the Vandiyur lake has shrunk from 640 acres to 577 because of encroachment”.

The units have sunk open wells on the Amaravathy riverbed; the activity has been going on unchecked

Many dyeing units in Karur have been illegally siphoning off groundwater from the parched Amaravathy riverbed. The unlawful activity has been going on unchecked under the very nose of the officials. Scores of dyeing units are situated at Sellandipalayam, Sukkaliyur and Rayanur on the southern banks of the river in Karur. Though a ban is in place on operating dyeing units without zero liquid discharge systems, many units are operating on the sly. The officials have taken token action against some units but many continue to operate unimpeded in the region.

Space constraints and the absence of modern infrastructure have prompted 35 textile manufacturing and processing units in Madurai to shift base to Kariapatti in neighbouring Virudhunagar district.

The units manufacture yarn and process them into fabrics before exporting them to various places. The units in Madurai generate an annual revenue of Rs. 100 crore by direct export and Rs. 350 crore by indirect export within India and to the US and the UK.Ritan N. Thakker, Chairman and Managing Director of Southern District Textile Processing Cluster, told The Hindu that 35 of the 70 units in Madurai would form a cluster at Kariapatti where 104 acres of land had been purchased. The industrial units had registered their names at the District Industries Centre in Virudhunagar and once the formalities were over, the construction of industrial units will begin.

A U.K. government-sponsored urban planning strategy for Mysore and Madurai promises to significantly cut the carbon footprint of the two growing cities.

Upcoming neighbourhoods in Mysore, for instance, can enjoy around 36 per cent energy benefits and 13 per cent lower commuting time, among others, by adopting certain low-carbon techniques, it was said at a workshop on low-cost master-planning organised by the British High Commission on Thursday.

Make use of 150 to 200 tonnes of waste generated in Madurai

There is a huge potential for converting waste into biogas, according to S.P. Kale, Head, Technology Transfer and Collaboration Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He had interaction with the district administration officials at the Collectorate here on Monday as part of a BARC initiative, AKRUTI (Advance Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation), through which it offers expertise in the areas of water, land, agriculture, tissue culture, food processing and waste management.

Are the mineral water cans you are buying for drinking purpose really safe? Is the packaged water meeting the standard guidelines of Food Safety Act?

The answers are coming in negative as at least 25 Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in Madurai district are yet to obtain the mandatory licence from Government food safety wing. These drinking water plants are, however, continuing to supply water cans to homes. Officials are going to step up raids against violators and they have appealed to the public to remember that the water need not be safe just because it is supplied in a can.

The city generated over 1,700 tonnes of garbage during the three-day Pongal festival, with an average of 550 tonnes per day, in all the 100 wards.

Taking the lead in tapping alternative sources of electricity, the Madurai city corporation has decided to power all the parks in the city with solar energy.