Hundreds of pounds of garbage has washed onto Lake Michigan shores in recent days, leading to an investigation by the Coast Guard and the temporary closing of a public beach. Trash was strewn along a 10-mile stretch in Mason and Manistee Counties in the northwestern Lower Peninsula. Piles up to eight inches high were reported at a beach in the city of Manistee. Garbage also washed onto private beaches in Holland, more than 100 miles south of Manistee. The trash in Mason and Manistee Counties included medical waste like prescription drug bottles and hypodermic syringes, the authorities said.

By Basavaraj Itnaal, DH News Service, Bangalore: To cut costs while increasing service delivery, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in its new garbage contracts has authorised contractors to collect service charges from hotels, choultries and other major commercial establishments. Though the terms of the existing contracts require the contractors to clear garbage from all commercial establishments, commercial activity has grown much faster than the projected rate.

When it comes to a colony's livability index, garbage matters, or rather the disposal of it. Rating the amenities provided by civic agencies in colonies, most residents stressed on the importance of cleanliness. In the

CALANGUTE, JULY 10

Civic authorities here are mulling approaching the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) for permission to use its open dump yard behind Don Bosco School on Eastern Bypass, as garbage accumulates on the streets of the hill town. Although the proposal looks impractical to implement given the distance of 65km between the two towns, what it does suggest is that the civic officials are desperate to find a solution to the garbage crisis that has been lingering for long. The row has also put at risk the health of thousands of people.

GUILHERME ALMEIDA If Curtorim villagers have sounded the bugle of agitation for the closure of the Sonsodo garbage dump, the authorities should blame themselves for the pathetic state of affairs there. Ask the member of the govt-appointed committee to oversee the situation, Microbiologist Dr Joe D'Souza. He says the situation is indeed "grim' at Sonsodo and want the civic body and all concerned to take the matter seriously before things go out of control.

CANACONA, JULY 4 - Though the solution to the garbage problem in rural Canacona is at miniature stage, it has received a boost in four villages with the taluka's BDO forwarding land acquisition proposals to the Directorate of Panchayats. According to sources, better days are ahead for the residents from Agonda, Loliem-Polem, Gaondongrim and Poinguinim on garbage disposal front. Canacona BDO has taken up the lands earmarked by the local bodies under the Rural Garbage Disposal Scheme 2005 for acquisition process.

We all learn from experience

Pune, July 3 Bio-chemical called Odofresh helps get rid of odour and flies, was used during recent palkhi procession

London China has decided to restrict access to Mount Everest to carry out a clean-up of the world's highest