ALWAR: Panic prevailed at a senior secondary school in Alwar's Mundawar area on Monday when over 250 students were taken ill after drinking water. Parents of some children have alleged that someone poisoned the water stored in a tank. The district administration has launched an inquiry and sent the samples of water for examination.

The incident took place at Vimal Senior Secondary School in Chiruki village around 9 am.

JAIPUR: Yet another river is dying, this time in the environment minister's constituency. Not long ago, river Bandi in Pali district was a seasonal river.

In absolute disregard to environment , three out of the four common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) don't have consent to operate since March 2011, he said. "Textile dyes are toxic, highly stable and do not degrade easily and are not removed by conventional wastewater treatment methods. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) staff took samples of water from several points, ranging from CETPs, drains from industries , wells and hand pumps in villages downstream.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government's apathy towards upkeep and conservation of water bodies in the state continues as the draft plan for setting up of a Lake Development Authority is lying in cold storage.

The draft of the bill which was first prepared in 2009 is yet to be tabled before the cabinet. Despite a heavy rainfall, most of the lakes in the state are parched. To regulate and revive natural water bodies, especially lakes, the state government drafted a legislation which suggests instituting a monitoring body called Lake Development Authority.

40,000 Families Including 19,000 From Jaipur To Benefit

Jaipur: Altogether 4,000 families, who lost their houses in the recent heavy rains, would be the first batch of beneficiaries of the Rajasthan Special Housing Scheme, launched by chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday. Under the Special Housing Scheme, the state’s BPL families whose houses were destroyed completely will be provided with a financial assistance of Rs 50,000 while for partial destruction, the assistance would be Rs 25,000. The money would be provided in three installments along with an additional fund of Rs 5,000 for construction of toilets in urban areas and Rs 4,600 in rural areas.

Jaipur: Conservation with people's participation seems to be the salient feature of the eco-tourism guidelines released by the state government on Thursday. From seeking their help in the actual implementation of the guidelines to involving them with conservation work, the guidelines have paved way for community participation in a variety of ways.

As a first step, the guidelines seek the involvement of honourary wildlife wardens wildlife experts, NGOs and other independent stakeholders for assisting the Tiger Conservation Foundation and the forest department for the implementation of these guidelines in tiger reserves.

Jaipur: A day after the Supreme Court invited suggestions and objections for framing guidelines for conservation of tigers, Rajasthan on Thursday came up with its own guidelines, the first state to do so.

The guidelines, to be submitted to the court as an affidavit by Friday, seeks to promote tourism but disperses it over a wider area than just confine to the national park only. It also seeks to promote eco-tourism in lesser known areas, non-forest areas and even on private lands adjoining tiger reserves by developing them into alternative wildlife land use options. Currently tourism in the state has been confined to areas of government ownership and is managed solely by the forest department.

JAIPUR: The European Union is all set to extend the 80m euro (Rs 558 cr) support for Rajasthan's water sector projects by another two years. European Union ambassador to India Joao Cravinho was in Jaipur on Tuesday and his visit incidentally coincided with World Water Week (August 26 - 31).

EU's projects in the state namely 'State Partnership Programme,' which focuses on state-wide water sector reform, improvement, enhanced water supply and groundwater recharge, is already in progress and the EU Ambassador to India has agreed to recommend its extension.

JAIPUR: The empowered committee constituted by the state government for immediate clearance of debris in public areas and draining of flood water in affected areas of the city has sanctioned Rs 52 crore to JDA and Rs 48 crore to JMC. The amount has been sanctioned for cleaning of drains, repairing of potholes on roads and for purchase of new equipment.

The funds released by the empowered committee to civic authorities are part of drainage-repair package announced by chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday. Out of Rs 52 crore, JDA has been asked to spend Rs 15 crore on cleaning of sewage lines, Rs 18 crore for repairing of roads and Rs 30 crore to initiate construction under master drainage plan.

Jaipur: Rajasthan shall be declared a ‘genetically modified-free’ state like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala, a few non-governmental organizations demanded on Thursday.

The matter was raised during a round table on ‘Towards Community Seed Self-Reliance in Rajasthan’, which was organised by CECOEDECON and Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). The two-day meeting, which began on Thursday, was attended by farmers, students and experts in the sector apart from several NGO representatives.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has set a deadline of 10 days for the state government to formulate bylaws for governing the mobile phone towers. The court passed the order on Wednesday while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) over the health hazards due radiation of these towers.

Within the same duration of next 10 days, the government would have to remove mobile phone towers installed on all school buildings and hospitals in the state. In addition to this, the government has to conduct a survey (also in 10 days) and tell the court about the number of cancer patients who are living within the vicinity of cellphone towers.