More than 40 people were killed and
hundreds injured when a massive
earthquake hit Madhya Pradesh's
Jabalpur district in the earthquake-
prone Narmada valley on May 22.
The earthquake, which measured
six on the Richter scale, was
felt in several parts of northern and
western India.
Only two government hospitals
in Bangalore have incinerator
facilities -and that, too, on paper.
This has come about when the c
problem of disposal of hospital
waste is reported to be looming
large, coupled with the threat of AIDS
and hepatitis infections. Experts
recently urged that syringes and
needles should be prevented from
being recycled.
Crores of rupees worth of sandal-
wood is illegally sent across the Tamil
Nadu border to cater to the needs of
sandal oil factories in neighbouring
Kerala despite denial by the state government. From the Coimbatore division alone, an estimated Rs 10-15
crore worth of sandalwood is being
smuggled to Kerala, forest department sources recently said.
The Gujarat pollution control board
has decided to draw up a list of recognised 'environment auditors' to
undertake checking and issue 'clearance certificates' thrice a year to prevent violation of environmental
guidelines. This system has been
evolved on the directive of the High
Court following complaints against
hazardous chemical units.
The Delhi Rickshaw Chalak Malik
Sangharsh Morcha recently staged a
demonstration at the headquarters of
the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Morcha members were demanding
abolition of fines and a time limit for
releasing these non-polluting vehicles, their licences and stopping
rounding up of vehicles till a proper
policy is evolved.
The West Bengal pollution control
board would soon undertake
studies of major waterbodies in
Calcutta to determine their ecological status. This move came
close on the heels of hundreds of
fish that were found dying in
Subhas Sarovar at Beliaghata. On
inspection, it was found that the DO
(dissolved oxygen) level in the water
of the lake was too low for the fish to survive.
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