With the city continuing to reel under acute water shortage, the time has come for us to look at other alternative sources to get around this problem and make intelligent use of available water.

The Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) is making great strides in the field of utilization of solar energy to replace traditional electricity-fueled water heating systems in the state. Nearly 5 megawatts (MW) of energy is produced using this non-conventional source of energy. In 250 villages that are not connected by grid electricity, solar panels are providing hot water. The practice is also growing in areas around Thane and not without reason.

Effluents push fish off city coast Mumbai's famed local seafood cuisine seems to be losing some of its distinctive flavour with fishes like Pomfrets, Bombay Duck, Lobsters, Prawns and Mackerels slowly disappearing into obscurity. Old timers reminiscence about how these fishes used to rule the coastline not too long ago.

Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms decline, according to a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. Kerry Emanuel, the study's co-author, wrote a paper in 2005 reporting an apparent link between a warming climate and an increase in hurricane intensity. That paper drew worldwide attention because it appeared in Nature just three weeks before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans.

Thane's notorious water scarcity crisis might be on its way to becoming even worse with the Thane Municipal Council announcing that the first phase of its proposed water supply project is running behind schedule by a month. The civic body missed the March 31 deadline and it was expected that the authorities would meet the April 15 deadline. Now the masses and their representatives will have to wait till May 12 to see if the revised deadline is met or not. Till then, Thane citizens have no choice but to suffer the water scarcity.

Inflation has become a major headache for the Government. And rightly so. For in the absence of anything positive to take to the voters in the State and not-so-distant parliamentary elections, the ruling combine at least needs to ensure that the 'aam aadmi' stays neutral on its record in office. A failure to check inflation is bound to incur the wrath of the ubiquitous aam aadmi which is bound to be reflected through the ballot-box. Hence the hyper activity in the government to try and somehow contain the inflationary demons.

The civic body has announced an ambitious plan to give away prizes to clean wards in the city. FPJ treks down to the dirtiest areas in the city to listen to citizens' woes on reasons for the filth. Zeenat Nagree reports.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is under pressure from a corporator of the Mumbra Ward Council (MWC) for taking action against those involved in violation of Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) guidelines all over the city. Mahendra Kumurlekar, an independent corporator supported by the Congress, has undertaken a step to protect the city's creek coastlines.

With a view to drastically reduce malnutrition cases in the district, thane Zila Parishad administration has under taken various measures to take proper care of the tribal children and pregnant

DEAN of Indian Institute of remote sensing Dehradun Dr V K Dhadwal expressed serious concern over the rampant destruction of mangroves in the