In 2000, it took a military operation to halt the march of water hyacinth in Harike, one of the internationally protected wetlands in India, famous for a large number of birds, both local and migratory. The invasive hyacinth problem was squeezing the life out of its 41-square-metre area for some time.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Police University to come up in Ludhiana
The Punjab Cabinet today gave its approval in principle for setting up a 1,200-MW thermal plant at Rajpura. Work on the project is likely to be inaugurated on December 8.
Ludhiana, September 25 Each household in Rajianikalan village, near Jagraon, has contributed Rs 1,500 for a water supply project started under the World Bank-aided scheme.
The scheme will cover 3,200 villages at a cost of Rs 1,280 crore. Work has also started in nearby villages of Marsianbhaike, Chaka and Ramgarh.
For a state that consumes nearly Rs 500 crore worth of bananas every year - one of the highest in the country - it is no mean achievement that it is now growing its own bananas and that too king-size. What started as a small attempt in some of the districts of the state such as Ludhiana and Mohali in 2006, after farmers and scientists from Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) went to Terai area of Uttaranchal to get tips on banana cultivation, is now spreading across the central and southern parts of the state.
Ludhiana, Illegal bird trade is going on in the city in the garb of exotic bird trade. The business not only violates the Wildlife Protection Act but also poses a threat of bird flu as birds which are often transported from West Bengal, may carry the virus from there and spread it to those in the state.
Experts claim that most of the exotic birds are brought to the city from Burdman in West Bengal where bird flu has already spread. If this process goes on unchecked, poultry in Punjab is also at risk.
Ludhiana, June 23 Industry and the Buddah nullah are not the only factors to be blamed for the fish mortality witnessed at Harike Pattan downstream. While teams from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University have dispatched their separate teams to look into the factors, yet experts say presence of high level of muddy waters in canals, reduction of dissolved oxygen in water, pesticides leeching into canals due to rains or rivalry between fish contractors could also contribute to this kind of mortality.
Even as Punjab farmers have been hard hit due to the acute shortage of farm workers for sowing paddy, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has added to their woes by refusing to provide temporary power connections for tube wells. It has been a regular practice of the PSEB to grant temporary agricultural power (AP) connections for the past three years in succession. Last year, a little more than 27,000 applications for temporary AP connections were disposed of by June 20 against charges of Rs 1,500 per BHP.
Faridkot/Harike - TOXIN UNLEASHED: Sirhind and Rajasthan feeder canals become deathbed of aquatic life Mohan, who sells ice-cream near the banks of Sirhind and Rajasthan feeder canals in the periphery of Faridkot, has a choice to put up his mobile stall elsewhere. But, a few metres away along the banks, Mool Chand, the railway gateman at crossing number C-29 has no alternative but to live with the foul smell emanating from the canals and see perished aquatic life floating on the filthy waters.
The Emaar MGF company will set up a Knowledge Park in Mohali, said CEO William R Rattazi on Monday. The park would be an integrated township involving an investment of Rs 3,000 crore and similar ventures have also been planned for Jalandhar and Ludhiana. The joint cost of these ventures would be Rs 5,000 crore. While the township will keep space for offices, emphasis will also be given to education, healthcare, hospitality as well as retail.
