Biomeasures in Havana
Some of the bacteria and fungal species used in urban agriculture in Havana l Beauvaria bassiana , a fungus: to control the banana root borer, the sweet potato weevil, the ricewater weevil,
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Drought damage
EVEN AS the midwestern states in USA are awash with flood waters, farmers in the southeast are contending with a severe drought and face agricultural losses that have already hit $800 million in the
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We need to shift to alternative cleaner fuels
say H Paramesh, pediatric pulmonologist and Elizabeth Cherian, coordinator, at the Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital, Bangalore
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Philip Morris did it for profits
Even as the us government's us$280 billion lawsuit against the cigarette industry takes its course, tobacco major Philip Morris is mired in a fresh controversy. A www.thelancet.com article
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In Court
Turn of fate: Oyster fishers of Louisiana, us, received a major setback when the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected their us $1.3 billion claim of loss of livelihood due to a coastal restoration
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South Asia
controversial bill: A new bill that seeks to set up Sri Lanka's National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol has kicked off a huge controversy. The bill aims at reducing consumption and bans
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Buying rights
Traders up in arms over direct purchase from farmers
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To kill a mocking pest
With pesticides no longer a viable means of controlling pests in most cases, the search for alternatives like bio pesticides has proved that there is enough arsenal in plants to bring to heel even the most resistant variety
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Will this one work?
If the first class action suit against tobacco companies in Florida is successful, the US tobacco industry is in trouble
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Insurance companies among top 10 shareholders of ITC Limited
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-intro"> <p><em>Insurance companies, Indian government are the mainstay of the tobacco-driven company</em></p> </div> <p>It is fairly well known that ITC
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Tapping commercial potential
SPIC is on the brink of launching two neem-based insecticides. Godrej"s Nimin reportedly improves the nitrogen-use efficiency of urea. ITC, too, has found neem effective in checking the tobacco caterpillar moth and has in view the tremendous market in the
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Bad science bogey
Lobbies use the old trick
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Vehicular emissions are a cause for concern
<font class='UCASE'>Praful B Desai</font><font class='UCASE'>,</font> professor emeritus and former director of the Tata Memorial Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai, spoke to <font class='UCASE'>Leena Chakrabarti </font> on the increasing incidence of ca
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A development story
The Guntur Municipal Corporation leaves no stone unturned to ensure the city's all-round growth. THE Municipal Corporation of Guntur dreams big for the residents of the city, which has a more than 200-year-old history. It has achieved many firsts in its relatively brief existence of less than 20 years. The young corporation also has the youngest Mayor in the country, 23-year-old Kanna Nagaraju. The 52-member Municipal Council is guided by the young dynamic Municipal Commissioner Siddhartha Jain. Guntur means the village of tanks. It is believed that this village first came up close to what is known as the Red Tank. The French held Kondaveedu, a nearby village, from A.D. 1732 and built a fort to the east of the area now known as Old Guntur. The French commander constructed houses for himself and for his troopers towards the north of present-day Nallacheruvu (Black Tank) and this area was called New Guntur. One of the fastest developing Tier-III cities in Andhra Pradesh, Guntur has pride of place among municipal corporations in the State. A vibrant city, home to some of the wealthiest traders in cotton, chillis and tobacco, Guntur has fast metamorphosed into a modern city with an array of glittering shopping malls, restaurants and commercial complexes dotting the skyline. Providing basic civic amenities to a growing city with a population of over seven lakh has been a demanding task for the local body. It, however, has achieved many firsts, and dreams of providing 24-hour water supply to domestic and industrial consumers and meet the needs of the industrial corridor that is fast coming up between Vijayawada and Guntur. The corridor is expected to convert these into major Twin Cities of Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The GMC has achieved remarkable progress in augmenting basic amenities such as drinking water supply, sanitation, street lighting and solid waste management. It also has an efficient system in place to redress public grievances. "The GMC is highly responsive to civic problems and innovative in toning up its administrative machinery,' said District Collector Mohammad Ali Rafath. SANITATION A series of special drives has been launched by the Municipal Commissioner to augment the quality of basic services such as sanitation. The three-bin system has become a reality in many apartment complexes in the city and garbage clearance is 100 per cent. A week-long special sanitation drive in the city identified several issues, and short-term and long-term plans have been envisaged to solve them. For solid waste management, the GMC got a grant of Rs.1.26 crore from the Twelfth Finance Commission, which was spent on procuring dumper bins and tricycles. Today local residents' welfare associations take care of 50 per cent of the house-to-house garbage collection system. The use of coloured plastic bins for waste segregation at source has been introduced in some commercial areas too. Seventy-six acres of land was recently acquired in Yedlapadu mandal for dumping waste. Works such as construction of drains, laying of roads, improvement of road junctions and development of burial grounds were taken up at a cost of Rs.24 crore. Siddhartha Jain said: "People should be proud of the city they live in and be motivated to be part of the planned development. A systematic approach to administration and planning is the need of the hour. Special drives to improve sanitation and provide water supply connections will help in identifying several issues.' MEDICAL CAMP Mayor Kanna Nagaraju. At 23, he is the youngest Mayor in India. The municipal body is going beyond its principal mandate of providing basic amenities to the people; the GMC organises mega medical camps. The camps held on the Sri Patibandla Sitaramaiah High School grounds in December every year witnesses a huge turnout. The latest camp attracted more than 15,000 people. A team of 85 doctors from 20 specialisations attended to 13,400 patients. Medicines costing Rs.8.4 lakh were distributed. As many as 180 paramedical staff, students of nursing colleges and 370 cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) volunteered their services. The success of the camp motivated some private hospitals and clinics to offer follow-up medical service for the patients. They would be treated for a month at a hospital of their choice. One of the most daunting tasks for the corporation is to ensure potable drinking water for the entire city. Guntur, which does not have a raw water source, depends on the Guntur Channel and the Buckingham Channel to supply 80 million litres per day (MLD) against the total ideal assessed demand of 121 MLD. The centuries-old water source at Sangam Jagarlamudi has been renovated thanks to the special interest shown by the Mayor. A water filtration plant of 10 million gallons per day has been commissioned and four reservoirs have been built at L.B. Nagar, Srinivasarao Thota, R.T.C. Colony and Stambalagaruvu. Rise in rEVENUE The corporation saw a turnaround in its finances with a near 100 per cent collection of tax and non-tax revenue from individuals and commercial establishments. Innovative steps taken by Deputy Commissioner N. Yadagiri Rao to boost revenue collection have yielded results; of the total 1.14 lakh assessments, 941 were new assessments. The revenue wing has been trifurcated
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Cancer research in India
In India, medical research has concentrated on communicable diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy. Cancer research is still at a preliminary stage and most research centres have focused on the
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Cultivating vegetables the Jyapu way
Efficient uses of water, mixed cropping and enhanced productivity are the main features of the Jyapu method of farming.
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Cancerous virus
Researchers believe that hepatitis virus can cause cancer
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Tigers threatened
WHILE plans are being drawn up across the world to protect endangered tiger species, the Madhya Pradesh government's decision to lift the ban on the collection of tendu leaves from 44 protected
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Roach trouble
Researchers establish that exposure to cockroach allergen is a major cause of asthma in children
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ENDOSULFAN: A PROFILE
An organochlorine insecticide. Effective against a wide range of pests of crops including cereals, coffee, cotton, fruit, oilseeds, potato, tea and vegetables. Highly toxic substance . The US