JAIPUR: The active western disturbances in the state brought fog and ground frost which was visible in the northern and eastern parts of the state on Sunday.

JAIPUR: The state government is taking measures to make Jaipur smoke-free city by the end of this financial year through effective implementation of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Act (COTPA)

The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation will shortly obtain loan worth Rs.969 crore from the Asian Development Bank for completion of work on a portion of its corridor in the Walled City here. The first phase connecting the Mansarovar residential colony with Chandpole is likely to start by July next year.

JMRC Chairman & Managing Director Nihal Chand Goyal said during an interaction with an ADB team, currently on a visit to Jaipur, that the loan would be utilised for completion of Phase 1-B between Chandpole and Badi Chaupad. Land needed for laying of rail tracks has been acquired and the displaced people have been rehabilitated, he said.

JAIPUR: All encroachments in BSF Amanishah Nullah, a dry river bed zigzagging through the city, will have to go by May 2013. The Rajasthan high court set the six-month deadline on Wednesday, though the state government requested nine months for the 'unpopular task' that it will now have to complete in an election year.

In another significant move, the court issued notices to 10 colonisers/societies allegedly responsible for the encroachments in the nullah and asked them to explain why they should not be made to pay the compensation. At the same time, the government has been told to probe the roles of its officers who connived with these colonisers/societies in settling people there.

Seeks Time Frame On Amanishah

Jaipur: The “selective approach” of the state government in removing encroachments in the Amanishah Nullah made the Rajasthan high court see red on Monday with the bench asking, “Are we in a jungle raj in Rajasthan?” Pulling up the state for tardy governance, a division bench of Rajasthan HC asked chief secretary C K Mathew to file an affidavit by Wednesday on a time frame to remove the remaining encroachments.

Tough Time For Those With Respiratory Disorders

Jaipur: Call it post-Diwali blues as number of people with respiratory problems queuing outside city hospitals saw a sharp rise over the last two days. The level of air pollution increased significantly during Diwali compared to previous year. At certain places, it was two times the figures recorded for 2011. According to the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) which measured the air quality at its monitoring stations, in almost every part of the city, except one place, the pollution level went up during the festival.

Jaipur: The pollution control board would keep an eye on pollution level in nine cities of the state on Tuesday.

Among the nine cities are Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhiwadi, Alwar, Udaipur, Pali, Kota, Bhilwara and Bikaner. The department would send the report on pollution to district collectors, department of environment, ministry of environment and forests, police commissioners and superintendents of police, said an official of Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB).

Jaipur: The vibrant colours and light produced by firecrackers are nothing but result of metal and chemical combustion. Once a rocket or sparkler is burnt, it produces dust of metals and chemicals that remain suspended for long time causing serious health aliments.

City doctors claimed that people inhale air with partially combusted low volatile organic compounds which remain present in the air for many days. The Hazardous Chemical Act does not allow use of these metals as they are poisonous.