PIRAVOM: The National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), a multi-crore project for the conservation of soil and development of agriculture, is dragging in the state. Only 15 percent of the Rs 50 crore allotted by the Central Agricultural Ministry has been spent till date. The amount was allotted for the XI Five Year Plan that ends in March 2012.

KOCHI: In a major step to revive the canal system in the city by making them navigable, a new project

KOCHI: In order to strengthen the sewerage system of the city, the Kochi Corporation is planning to set up a new sewerage treatment plant at Brahmapuram. The new plant, according to a top Corporation official, will solve the issue of unscientific disposal of septic waste which causes serious health and environmental hazards.

KOCHI: To solve the potable water crisis in the city, the State Government has allocated Rs 11 crore for acquiring land for the Maradu Water Treatment Plant project.

KOCHI: Forty-three per cent of Kochiites regularly use public transport. This is in addition to the 20 per cent of the population who occasionally used public transport for commuting, says a study on public transport conducted from May 24 to 30 by the Kochi-based Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).

KOCHI: Waterlogging is one of the worst issues faced by Kochi. Once it rains, all the roads will be flooded. Though there are 18 projects to construct adequate drainages in Kochi, only four have been completed so far.

KOCHI: Thousands of fish washed up dead overnight in the Periyar just below the Pathalam bund on Thursday morning. It could be due to the high-level of pollution in the river, say environmentalists.

KOCHI: Throwing to wind all environmental norms, the Kochi Corporation has embarked on a massive filling of ecologically sensitive marshy land at Mundamveli which consists of mangroves and a host of other species.

Hundreds of tipper lorries are operating 24x7 to fill about five acres of land where a sewage treatment plant under the Kerala State Urban Development Project (KSUDP) is expected to c

KOCHI: Lifeway Solar Devices Pvt Ltd, headquartered in Kochi, did a demonstration ride of their newly-designed solar churulan vallam in the Kochi backwaters. The solar boat can continuously run for about four hours. The DC current produced from 200 watt solar panel collected in a battery is used to run the boat. The boat with an operator and four commuters can travel at a speed of 15 km/hr.

KOCHI: It seems the second phase development of the Brahmapuram Solid Waste Treatment Plant will meet with the same fate as that of the first phase. Thanks to the apathy of the Corporation, the project is still on papers