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.

The recent outbreak of dengue in the State became yet another issue over which the leadership of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress locked horns over the weekend after West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pradip Bhattacharya alleged that the State government is “suppressing facts” in connection with the epidemic – an allegation that was dismissed.

Although the State government maintains that dengue has claimed three lives and infected 638 persons (until September 1) this season, unofficial reports claim that the figures are much higher.

Dhaka is the second most vulnerable to coastal flooding among nine major such risky cities of the world, according to a recent study.

London, 22 AUG: A new study of nine coastal cities around the world has rated Shanghai as the most vulnerable city to serious flooding, while Kolkata and Dhaka stand midway due to their large popul