Serious gaps in police investigation and the resulting lack of evidence combined with poor prosecution have allowed the court of district and sessions judge, West, to acquit a factory owner and others in the case where the dumping of highly toxic industrial waste in an open area was alleged to have caused the deaths of two children in Site town. Handed down on March 26, the judgment chided the police for having made misdirected efforts "for its own reasons' and for failing to prosecute the case properly.

Cumbarjua Fishermen's Ekvott and Cumbarjua Nadi Bachao Samiti have threatened to agitate if the government continues with its ostrich-like attitude to the death of fish in the river. Addressing a press conference here, Samiti President and Panch member Nityanand Sawant and secretary Mahendra Gaonkar said fishing activity has come to a halt as fish is dying due to release of discharge by a sea food factory located nearby.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the state government and the AP Pollution Control Board to file a report on the implementation of Supreme Court directions with regard to pollution control measures in Patancheru industrial area. While dealing with a batch of writ petitions, a division bench comprising Justice B. Prakash Rao and C.Y. Somayajulu expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in the implementation of the Apex court orders.

A fish-processing unit has been accused of releasing effluents into the Cumbharjua canal at Marcel for the second time since February. Local fishermen on Tuesday complained that various types of dead fish were seen floating in the river and attributed the incident to the effluents discharged by the unit. Following complaints, Tivrem-Orgao Sarpanch Sanket Amonkar visited the Cumbharjua canal, which links to the Mandovi River, to take stock of the situation.

Xstrata Cuts Lead Emissions As Australia Suit Looms AUSTRALIA: April 16, 2008 SYDNEY - Xstrata Plc said on Tuesday it was working to improve lead emission controls at its Mount Isa mining and smelting complex in Australia, where health officials are investigating high lead levels in children. Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson told the state parliament on Tuesday that 45 children in the Mount Isa region showed elevated lead levels that could impair their behavioural and intellectual development.

Earth Day is a week away, so brace yourself for cuddly, hug-the-planet blubbering from the presidential candidates. John McCain will tell you we must be the "caretakers of creation." Hillary Clinton will talk of recycling and efficient light bulbs. Barack Obama will surely tell us we "cannot afford more of the same timid politics when the future of our planet is at stake."

Beijing will close factories and force 19 heavy polluters to reduce emissions by 30 per cent for two months around the Olympics and Paralympics to improve air quality for athletes, a Beijing official said yesterday. The measures, from July 20 to September 20, are an attempt to fulfill the city's commitment to provide clean air for the games, said DuShaozhong of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. Further measures will be taken in neighbouring Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shandong.