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  • Better sewer facilities in 200 villages soon: CM

    Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said her government would soon provide better sewer facilities to about 200 villages in the Capital. Dikshit, who is also the Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), said the jal board would build 58 underground reservoirs, including 28 in east Delhi, in the Capital by 2009. The Chief Minister, who was laying the foundation stone for a 58 lakh litre capacity underground reservoir at Narela in west Delhi, said the DJB has commissioned a city-wide study, which has created a workable model to commission 109 reservoirs by 2011. "The total cost of construction of the reservoir is about Rs 782 lakh and this work is likely to be completed in 12 months. The reservoirs will improve availability and ensure pressure of water in various parts of Delhi,' Dikshit said. The reservoir would get water from Ranney wells and tube wells at Palla, jal board officials said. After this reservoir is commissioned, about 1.15 lakh people will benefit with augmented water supply at adequate pressure in Singhola, Singhu, Hamidpur, Bankuli and Khampur, the officials said. "At least 25 underground reservoirs need to be built at various locations to rationalise the distribution of water in north, west, north-west, south-west and central Delhi. The DJB has already approved a scheme at an approximate cost of Rs 263 crore to construct 14 underground reservoirs and Booster Pumping Stations (BPS) at various locations in the Capital,' Dikshit said. East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, local MLA Charan Singh Kandera, Councillor Sharad Chauhan, CEO (DJB) Arun Mathur were also present at the foundation stone laying ceremony.

  • Bihar likely source of polio virus in Capital

    Officials with the National Polio Surveillance Programme today said the first polio case detected in the Capital this year could have come from Bihar. The 14-month-old Baby Gulnaaz from Kirti Nagar was detected with the P1 strain poliovirus, known for its propensity to cause large outbreaks. According to government records, Gulnaaz was taken to Moti Nagar Colony Hospital on February 15 when it was found that her right limb was immobile. "She had high fever and investigations confirmed that she has polio. Though we are yet to do any genetic analysis, it seems that that the virus has travelled from Bihar,' said a senior official with the National Polio Surveillance Programme. Till date this year, 106 polio cases have been isolated in India but all of them have been P3 strains. This is the first P1 polio case in Delhi after August 2006. The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad and Faridabad have been put on high alert, the official said. "If such a case is reported from an area, what follows is an immunisation drive. The government will try to do that as soon as possible,' a Delhi government official said. In the present case, the patient is a resident of Darbhanga jhuggis, a slum populated mostly by migrant labourers from Bihar. Officials said Gulnaaz was administered 11 doses of polio vaccine in the last two national immunisation rounds in January and February this year. While Delhi recorded seven cases of polio P1 virus in 2006, the state government had last year, claimed the Capital was free of the P1 virus. However, there has been an outbreak of the dreaded P1 virus in Bihar this year with 83 cases being reported from the state. Gulnaaz's family reportedly came to the Capital from Bihar six months back. With focus on the polio scare in the country, particularly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated Rs 1,042 crore for a revised strategy on the crippling disease. India recorded 864 cases in 2007 as against 676 cases the previous year. The poliovirus enters the body through the mouth when people eat food or drink water contaminated with faeces. The virus then multiplies in the intestine, enters the bloodstream and may invade certain types of nerve cells, which it can damage or destroy.

  • Jal Board move to check water fluctuations

    Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States. Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city's share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil. Options DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee. "Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,' said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. A central monitoring mechanism he explained "would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.' "A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,' he said. Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months. VIP areas Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.

  • Opposition demands proper allocation of Yamuna waters

    The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, has written to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz drawing his attention to the Capital's water woes and demanding proper allocation of the Yamuna waters. He has urged the Union Minister to convene a meeting of the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to discuss the issue of water sharing and to evolve a strategy to ensure that all States get their allocated share. Referring to the 1994 agreement on water sharing among Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and the decision to construct a pucca canal for carrying water from Haryana to Delhi, the BJP leader said the Congress Government had failed to ensure timely construction of that canal. "The Delhi Government was directed to get the pucca Munak canal constructed, through which water would reach Delhi from Tajewala. It is a matter of concern that in spite of the lapse of 12 years the canal has not been constructed,' the letter stated. Pointing out that almost a third of Delhi is deprived of potable water today, Prof. Mukhi said the recent reduction in water supply had compounded the woes of the people. Cautioning that the ground water level in the Capital was fast depleting, Prof. Mukhi said at some places the level had reached a precarious stage. Seeking Prof. Soz's intervention, Prof. Mukhi said the Centre should find a solution to the water crisis in the Capital, which had become a perennial problem. The letter also referred to the flow of sewage into the Yamuna, which is making the process of river cleaning impossible despite a huge amount of money being spent on the cleaning works.

  • Sewer facilities for 200 villages soon: Sheila

    Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced on Saturday that her Government would soon provide sewer facilities in about 200 villages of the Capital to ensure facilities at par with the other approved colonies. Laying the foundation stone of a new 58-lakh-litre capacity underground reservoir and booster pumping station at Narela, Ms. Dikshit, who is also Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, said the Board would construct 58 underground reservoirs by 2009, of which 28 would be in East Delhi. Asserting that the Delhi Government was committed to providing drinking water supply to rural areas, she said a comprehensive plan had been chalked out for this purpose. "The Delhi Jal Board has commissioned a city-wide study with a planning perspective of 2011. This study had created a workable model to commission 109 reservoirs. "This would go a long way in improving availability and ensuring pressure of water in various parts of Delhi,' she added. East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, local MLA Charan Singh Kandera, Councillor Sharad Chauhan and Delhi Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur were among those present at the function. Ms. Dikshit said in order to rationalise water distribution in North Delhi, West Delhi, North-West Delhi, South-West Delhi and Central Delhi, 25 underground reservoir and booster pumping stations would be constructed at various locations.

  • Wild polio virus strain claims 1st victim in city

    This year's first P1 wild polio virus strain has been isolated in Delhi. Fourteen-month-old Gulnaz from Darbangia colony in Kirti Nagar area is the victim. Daughter of a rickshawpuller, the girl's family migrated from Bihar just six months ago. She was supposedly administered 10 doses of oral polio vaccine in the last two national immunization rounds in January and February this year. Till now this year, 106 polio cases have been isolated in India but all of them have been P3 strains. This is the first P1 polio case in Delhi after August 2006. P1 has been India's major enemy with the global advisory committee on polio giving top priority to its eradication. The Union health ministry successfully contained its spread in 2007 with just 36 cases. For the first time since 1999, the number of P3 cases had outnumbered the number of infections caused by P1 strain. P1 travels faster and infects more children, which is why the emphasis was on eradicating type 1 first. P3 is a very slow moving virus with low virulence. P1 causes paralysis in one out of every 200 children, as compared to P3, which causes paralysis in one out of every 1,000 infections. Health ministry sources told TOI that a polio vaccination round is scheduled to take place in Delhi this month. But states can undertake an emergency mopup operation whenever a P1 strain crops up. Polio has been crippling India, with 864 cases in 2007 compared to 676 cases in 2006. This made finance minister P Chidambaram allocate Rs 1,042 crore just for polio in the Union Budget for 2008-09, most of which will be spent to contain the virus in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, which reported 193 fresh cases of the crippling disease in 2007, has been exporting polio strains across India. An alarmed health ministry has now marked 72 blocks in Bihar as high risk. These blocks or the ones adjacent to them accounted for three-fourths of the total polio cases in the state in the past five years. In 2007, 90% of P1 cases were found in these blocks. According to experts, polio immunisation activities are being intensified in these blocks. A special immunization drive was conducted on January 13 in these 72 blocks. A ministry official told TOI:

  • 200 villages to get sewerage

    The Delhi government would provide sewer facilities in over 200 villages of the Capital. Chief Minister and chairperson of Delhi Jal Board Sheila Dikshit announced this during the foundation ceremony of a boaster pumping station at Narela. Over Rs 782 lakh would be spent on the construction of Narela underground reservoir. The work is likely to be completed in 12 months. Expressing the government's commitment to provide water supply in rural areas of the Capital, Dikshit said, "By 2009, 58 underground reservoirs would be constructed in the Capital. Out of these, 28 would be constructed in East Delhi.' The Delhi Jal Board has approved of Rs 263.00 crores for the construction of 14 underground reservoirs. Sandeep Dikshit, MP from East Delhi, expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister for the all-round development of the Capital during the last nine years. Area MLA Charan Singh Kandera also thanked the Chief Minister for approving the commissioning of 58-ML capacity underground reservoir in the area.

  • FTA Mission to India Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai September 20 30, 2007

    This report summarizes the activities associated with the FTA Mission to India conducted in September 2007. The mission provided the U.S. delegation with the opportunity to meet with senior Indian transportation officials, and to gain first-hand knowledge of India's current plans for transportation infrastructure improvements. The tour was also designed to identify any lessons learned for the U.S. transit industry, particularly in relation to the implementation and operation of Bus Rapid Transit systems, and to identify opportunities for U.S.

  • Bus rapid transport corridor (BRTC) project : CAG report

    Government of NCT of Delhi had identified high capacity buss system (HSBS) as the appropriate road-based public transport system for Delhi. High capacity bus systems were to run on a dedicated lane, which was to be carved out of the existing road network in Delhi. These dedicated lanes are referred to as the Bus Rapid Transport Corridor (BRTC).

  • Youngsters to nudge seasoned policymakers on climate change

    Educationists believe that children can often help adults see the road ahead. Climate change is one cause they hope children will take up. So when the British Council organised the first ever "Climate Change Champions' programme under the its "Low Carbon Futures Project', it school students it turned to. The project operates at two levels: working with selected networks to influence action at the corporate level and secondly working with a wider young audience to bring about extensive action. Twenty participants in the age group of 16-18 years were short-listed from over 500 applications received form across the four regions of India. Says Dr GS Gujral, Head Science, British Council, "This programme is meant to motivate the youth to play a key role in mitigating the effects that climate change is causing in India and worldwide. The 20 winners will engage in awareness programes at a local level, perhaps by organising a school network, set up an eco project or talk to important people in their community about bigger plans.' Of the 20 participants, three have been selected to represent India at the G8+5 summit at Kobe, Japan in May. Their role would be to interact with world leaders and thinkers and make them aware of the problem of climate change. Nidhi Patel of Vadodara, one of the three, believes that the possible solutions to climate change are by involving people at the grassroots level. "We need to realise that we are destroying our planet and if we do not react now, we will not be able to save it from destruction. The policymakers should be careful that the policies should percolate down to the lowest levels.' Jaswanth Madhavan from Chennai, another finalist, has already participated in many inter-school climate change competitions and believes that the inverted pyramid approach is the best way forward. "Every individual must try and make changes at a personal level and then think of educating the others,' says Madhavan. He practises rainwater harvesting at home and also has a passion for weather forecasting.

  • Success stories of rain water harvesting and artificial recharge of ground water in NCT, Delhi

    The high rate of population growth and high level of urbanization in NCT, Delhi has resulted in over-development of ground water resources. Thus in about 75% area of NCT, Delhi ground water levels are declining at an alarming rate of 0.20 m per annum.

  • Findings on particulate matter

    Data generated by CPCB of ambient air quality in various cities and towns of India under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) have been analyzed. A decreasing trends has been obseved in ambient sulphur dioxide levels in many cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai etc. This may be due to various interventions like reduction of sulphur in diesel, use of CNG as the vehicular fuel in Delhi and Mumbai etc.

  • Waste management in developing Asia

    The problems relating to mounting solid waste are fast acquiring gigantic proportions in the developing countries of Asia. Most of the countries, nevertheless, continue to primarily focus on achieving high economic growth and pay scant attention to waste management. This article takes a detailed look at the inadequacies of waste management in Asia and underscores the need for greater international engagement in tackling the menace.

  • Bus corridors in June

    High capacity bus corridors that promise to put the Indian Capital's public transport system in league with world-class cities like Beijing and Taipei will be thrown open to the public in June this year. Also called bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor, the first such pathway on the 14.5-km long Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate stretch will be made operational by June 2008. The corridor is a set of roads elevated to form a pathway for high capacity bus systems. With BRT, the city will join cities like Beijing, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Bogot

  • Use latest advances to cure heart diseases, Sheila tells cardiologists

    CM opens international symposium on

  • Water supply hit in VIP areas

    Haryana has cut the supply from 600 cusecs to 500 cusecs from February 15 It has badly affected Central Delhi that houses VIPs including the President and the PM Water production at Chandrawal and Wazirabad plants has come down by 20 to 30 per cent NEW DELHI: Water woes have re-surfaced in the Capital with Haryana slashing the supply by about 100 cusecs. The reduction in water being released for Delhi has badly affected the New Delhi Municipal Council areas that house residences of VIPs, including the President and the Prime Minister. According to Delhi Jal Board sources, Haryana has cut the supply of water from 600 cusecs to 500 cusecs from February 15. Consequently the minimum level of water in the Yamuna has fallen to 673 metres from the mandatory 674.5 metres. Sources have also said the production of water at the Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants had come down by 20 to 30 per cent. "Production of water has been affected in the Chandrawal plant, which has on its command area the VIP areas and large parts of Central Delhi. To mitigate the effect and ensure there is equitable supply of water, we have reduced production of water at Wazirabad,' said a Delhi Jal Board official. Blaming Haryana for reducing the supply of water "without any prior intimation', the official said: "We have been issuing communiqu

  • Poultry trade down with bird flu

    Poultry trade down with bird flu

    Bird flu has hit hard India's Rs 36,000-crore poultry industry, already smarting under a steep rise in essential feed prices. Although the flu is restricted to West Bengal, crashing wholesale prices

  • Money talks

    Money talks

    This is a message that has both sermons and promises. "Stop polluting the Yamuna now,' it says. We don't have to look far for the target of this admonition. Alongside is a non-descript person washing

  • Fogged out

    Foggy conditions during winters in Delhi have increased drastically over the past decade. Meteorological data for December and January in 1983 shows the average clear visibility during the day in the

  • Construction spree on Yamuna plains

    The list includes temple, shopping mall, Games Village, road diversions and more Constructions pose a great threat to the city's water security, say activists "Government not adhering to moratorium on further constructions' NEW DELHI: A temple, a shopping mall, a depot, an entire Games Village and now road diversions

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