110 deaths since January; 148 since April 2012; 586 since 2009

The Rajasthan Government on Monday cautioned about rising incidence of swine flu (H1N1) in the State and sought Central assistance even as the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Government of not being serious about addressing the epidemic-like situation. The virus has claimed over 110 lives in the State this year while 148 people have died of the disease since April 2012. Since 2009, when the epidemic first broke out in the state, a total of 586 people have succumbed to the disease.

Tamiflu Still Effective Against H1N1: Virology Institute

Jaipur: The strain of the H1N1 influenza virus has not mutated since 2009 when cases of swine flu were first reported in the state. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, in a reply to the medical health and family welfare department, said that swine flu’s viral sequencing was done here and the results revealed that the strain has not mutated and the virus is still susceptible to Oseltamivir (tamiflu) tablets.

Jaipur: The higher level of fluoride content in water, causing dental and skeleton fluorosis, will be measured by fluoride ion meters in Jaipur. A state government report says that quality of water will further deteriorate with climate change.

The medical, health and family welfare department has purchased fluoride ion meter for door-to-door survey to test water, blood and urine to find out if the excessive exposure to high concentrations of fluoride causing dental and skeleton fluorosis among the people in Jaipur and 15 other districts of the state.

The Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) is all set to reach up to the sky with a 26-floor residential complex planned in the Mansarovar area.

The highrise will be the tallest to be built by any civic body in the history of Rajasthan. According to senior officials, planning for the building has been completed and it will be a high-end four BHK product. The height of the residential building will be approximately between 65 and 70 metres. Earlier , it was estimated the building would be 24 storied, however , after calculations it was learnt it can constructed upto 26 storied.

The 266-km project is estimated to cost Rs. 20,000 crore

Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and the Centre have agreed to construct an access-controlled Delhi-Ludhiana Expressway at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,000 crore.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s proposal to revise the Delhi-Chandigarh Expressway to one connecting the national Capital with Ludhiana was ratified by Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Delhi Public Works Department Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan at a meeting chaired by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi.

Jaipur: For the wildlife lover who cannot travel to Ranthambore or Sariska every now and then, the Jhalana forest area is proving to be a great alternative. The panther spotting at the forest makes up for the lack of tigers.

And, if the proposal to declare the forest area as a sanctuary comes through, it would be another feather in the cap for Jaipur, a much sought-after tourist destination in the country.

Infosys has been awarded the National Energy Conservation Award 2012 for its energy conservation efforts at the company’s campus in Jaipur and Pune.

JAIPUR: In support of the telecom industry, Union minister for communication and information technology Kapil Sibal has told Rajasthan government about the negative impacts of removing cell phone towers in the state.

In his communique to the chief minister Ashok Gehlot in the last week of November, Sibal expressed his fear that compliance of high court orders could hit the critical communication requirement in the state. Sibal said communication is vital for law and order in the state.

Jaipur: A Central government study conducted earlier this year concluded that not a single firecracker available in the market was within the prescribed noise level limits set by the Supreme Court.

A test of 846 firecrackers made by 144 manufacturers in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu – the hub of firecracker production in the country – showed that the minimum noise level these firecrackers generated was 120 decibels (dB) against the Supreme Court-mandated 105dB for a string of crackers. The noise limit for a single cracker is 125dB. The maximum noise these tested firecrackers generated was 146.8dB.

JAIPUR: Dengue cases in Jaipur have shot up dramatically in less than a month with the report of 176 such cases in the city.

However, the medical health and family welfare department downplayed the situation claiming that in comparison to the corresponding period last year, the number of dengue cases this year are quite less. It was only in October the fever started victimizing people. The figure of dengue cases from January 1 to October 22 was just 28. But from October 7 to October 22, as many as 51 new cases of dengue fever were reported. Moreover, from October 22 to November 4, the new dengue cases found in the city were 125.