The wait for the east coast to have a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal might get longer, with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC), the two state-run companies that had proposed to jointly develop a terminal in Mangalore, putting the plan on hold.

Senior executives in both companies say how far the two partners could sell the fuel in the domestic market is under doubt. Given that the Dabhol and Kochi terminals will be commissioned next year, Mangalore will be well-connected by pipelines, said a senior BPCL executive, who requested anonymity.

Mangalore City Corporation has decided to ban the use of plastics in the city.

The slow pace of laying of the inter-state pipeline, and the delays in signing up for marketing tie-ups for the sale of natural gas is likely to delay the commissioning of the Petronet LNG Terminal at Puthuvype near here.

The project was earlier scheduled to be completed by the year-end and later re-scheduled to next January. But the inordinate delay in marketing arrangements and in the pipeline work on Kochi-Mangalore and Kochi-Bangalore stretches now face serious concerns not only on the commissioning, but even the viability of the Rs 4,300 crore project. The terminal is ready to receive LNG by January, 2013. Phase II of the 900 km GAIL pipeline to Mangalore and Bangalore which involves an investment of Rs 3,400 crore is badly held up, said top officials of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT), GAIL and Petronet LNG

Cites inordinate delays in construction of the 2,175-km lines as reason

Ending months of uncertainty, the government has cancelled authorisations issued to Mukesh Ambani’s privately held firm to lay down four gas pipelines totalling 2,175 km. The company, Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd, or RGTIL, had authorisation for building four trunk pipelines — Kakinada-Haldia, Kakinada-Chennai, Chennai-Tuticorin and Chennai-Bangalore-Mangalore — set to be completed this year.

Contractors have to upload pictures of the spot on Internet

Mangalore City Corporation will soon adopt a technology to monitor on-line whether its contractors have cleared solid waste from cement bins and metal containers in the city daily, according to the Commissioner of the corporation Harish Kumar K. People will be able to see the work of contractors by logging on to a website, he told The Hindu .

The industrial clusters based in Greater Kochi fall into the group of cities with high pollution levels, as per a study done by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. The study had carried out an environmental assessment of industrial clusters across India, the results of which have been published online.

Under the study, a comprehensive environmental pollution index (CEPI) was calculated to help prioritise planning needs to improve the quality of the environment in industrial clusters.

Almost all departments ignore three-year-old GO

Wondering why the State is facing a power crisis? Here’s another classic example of governmental sloth: The state’s public offices have failed to install power-saving equipment, despite it having been made mandatory, contributing to heavier power consumption in Karnataka.A government circular issued three years ago made it compulsory for all government departments to install electrical ballasts in their offices. This has been ignored by almost all the departments barring two electricity supply companies which are also not up to speed on installing ballasts.

The contagious disease can affect human beings too, says officer

Milk Ring Test will be conducted on 1500 milk samples collected from the Dakshina Kannada Milk Union Ltd, bulk milk coolers, chilling centers, milk producers co-operative societies and private milk vendors, in order to find out the presence of Brucellosis disease in the cattle in the district. Informing the same at a technical workshop on National Control Programme on Brucellosis organised by Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, DKMUL, Veterinary Department and District Veterinary Doctors’ Association at DKMUL premises on Friday,

The families who will be affected with GAIL pipeline project between Kochi and Mangalore have formed Kochi-Mangalore Gaspipeline Santhrastara Horata Kriya Samithi and have clarified that they will not give up their land even if the authorities pay highest amount for the land.

Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, Rajaram Bhat of the samithi said that the Central government and Supreme Court has given guidelines for acquiring land for development work. However, the GAIL authorities have sidelined the guidelines and have started the acquisition process.

Says Burning Of Stock Will Cost 210cr.

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