This Diwali night saw a rise in air pollution levels in some pockets of the Capital while noise levels declined compared with last year, according to an air-noise pollution assessment report released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Wednesday.

A senior CPCB official said: “The rise in air pollution can be attributed to adverse meteorological conditions -- decrease in average temperature, low wind speed, and increase in humidity -- in and around Delhi and the fact that people probably burst more smoke-producing crackers.”

Indian cities are fast-expanding at the cost of rural areas, says U.N. report

New Delhi and Mumbai figure low on the list of prosperous cities across the globe, but have the potential to make it to the top rung, says a United Nation’s report. Released in the city on Wednesday, the State of the World’s Cities report by the U.N. Habitat ranks New Delhi at 58 and while Mumbai has been placed at 52 among 95 cities. The reasons for Indian cities being ranked low is the poor status of development indicators like infrastructure, environmental conditions and avenues for employment.

The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) and a Kolkata-based NGO, Education for All, signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to promote environmental awareness training pr

On a day when the Supreme Court directed the Union and State governments to provide basic infrastructure, including drinking water and toilets, in all schools within six months, a survey conducted among parents (low-income group) in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore said that “toilets remain the single-most commonly voiced concern for girl students and their parents across India among the lower-income group.”

The secondary data of survey added that only 44 per cent schools covered by the Right to Education Act have separate, functioning girls’ toilets. In the rest, girls either need to risk embarrassment and run to nearby fields, or run back home to use the toilet.

Vadodara: The Amul model of co-operatives will travel from the land of Modi to Mamta’s bastion. The Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (KDCMPUL), popularly known as Amul Dairy, is setting up a dairy plant in Kolkata with an investment of over Rs 100 crore.

Interestingly, in 2008 when Gujarat’s dairy union controlled by Congressmen had started the experiment to replicate the Amul model of co-operatives in West Bengal (WB) by collecting milk locally, there were apprehensions about the success of White Revolution in WB, which was then the red bastion.

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the shipping ministry, the governments of West Bengal and Orissa to amicably resolve the Kolkata Port limit expansion issue within two weeks.

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and the West Bengal government have challenged the Orissa HC’s judgement that scrapped the notifications issued by the ministry of shipping on October 22, 2010, altering the Kolkata Port limits and by the port trust on November 10 giving effect to the earlier one.

KOLKATA, 16 SEPT: Constant travelling and rapid urbanisation of rural areas have contributed to a nearly 50-fold increase in dengue cases over the last 50 years, say experts.

Vehicular density, construction activity, use of diesel generator sets and loudspeakers blamed

Bangalore, long considered the garden city, now has a dubious distinction. It has been ranked the country’s seventh noisiest city and the tag is bound to worry the citizens, long concerned about rising levels of air pollution and ever-increasing number of vehicles. At 65 decibels, the City’s noise level has exceeded permissible levels in residential and commercial zones.

To curb the rapidly increasing vehicular population in the city, the Delhi government is mulling a number of measures, including hefty hike in parking fees, introduction of congestion charges for entering in specific areas and improving the public transport system.

The government has already taken an in-principle decision to increase parking fees on the recommendation of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and the high court-appointed Special Task Force.