Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) decided to take up development projects of Pavana, Indrayani and Mula rivers during the general body meeting on Monday.

Sanjay Kulkarni, an environment engineer, PCMC said, “The civic body had prepared a feasibility report in 2009, wherein it had arrived at a preliminary estimate of Rs 497 crore for the Pavana river development project.”

Pune: The shortcomings in the technology used by rose growers to set up polyhouses have cost them dearly this year. About 400 polyhouse owners in Talegaon Dabhade industrial area, who use naturally ventilated polyhouse technology for rose cultivation, have suffered as warmer climate in December advanced the maturity cycle of the roses. The buds bloomed before attaining maturity, thereby reducing the flower size.

Roses specially grown in polyhouses for Valentine’s Day celebrations were affected and farmers were forced to export the buds almost a week in advance. The small flower size means lower income for the farmers.

PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will construct dedicated Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) lanes on the Pune-Mumbai highway and Aundh-Ravet Road at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore.

Shirish Poreddy of the civic engineering department said, "The 12-km stretch of the Pune-Mumbai highway from Bhakti Shakti chowk in Nigdi to Harris bridge in Dapodi lies in the municipal limits, as does the 14.5-km stretch of the Aundh-Ravet Road from Rajiv Gandhi bridge on Mula river to Ravet. The PCMC will develop these roads as BRTS routes. The civic body has widened the Pune-Mumbai highway to 61 m and it has 10 lanes."

Setting Up Saw Mills, Industries May Soon Be Banned

Pune: Activities such as commercial mining and setting up saw mills, large hydroelectric projects and pollution-causing industries may soon be banned in the eco-sensitive zones around the main sanctuaries in the state, including the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve, Melghat tiger reserve and Sanjay Gandhi national park in Mumbai.

State To Screen Over 1.95 Cr Children; Programme To Be Launched Tomorrow

Pune: The state health department is set to screen over 1.95 crore children below 18 years of age across the state and provide free follow-up treatments if required through district and tertiary level hospitals as part of a new scheme under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Called the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the scheme, with an estimated state budget of Rs 130 crore for 2013-14, will be formally launched at Palghar, a tribal block in Thane, on Wednesday.

Shubhangi Khapre:SEZs were the mainstay of the last industrial policy. Where did the government fail?

BG:The SEZ subject is based on the premise of creating an entirely new entity meant to promote exports, brought to make industry more competitive. It was perceived as “anti-farmer”. Maharashtra had started 144 SEZs. In the meantime, due to opposition, the Centre introduced tax changes and imposed minimum alternate tax and dividend distribution tax on SEZ companies. Though the SEZ concept remained, it became non-viable. The question arose what to do with the land locked in SEZs, whether it can be put to good industrial use. The new industrial policy provides an option.

Survey Among 1,800 Kids In Delhi, Agra, Bangalore And Pune Throws Up Shocking Facts

An extensive survey among children has found that while 19.2% males and 18.1% females were overweight/obese, a whopping 64.8% of mothers were in a similar condition. These findings were part of a three-year survey done among 1,800 children aged 9-18 years in government and private schools and were recently accepted by international peer-reviewed journal ‘Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism’. It was conducted in Delhi, Agra, Bangalore and Pune by Diabetes Foundation, India (DFI).

Pune: Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil on Wednesday expressed concern over the unavailability of accurate data regarding availability of water.

Addressing a news conference as part of the ongoing 7th Kirloskar Vasundhara international film festival, Gadgil claimed that a lot of information was deliberately being withheld and not made available to citizens. He cited the example of Goa to underline the point. “Spring water is required for irrigation and for the sustenance of orchards and coconut groves on hill slopes. These, however, have been unfortunately and systematically damaged by the mines in the area,” Gadgil said.

77.4 % OF CLASS V STUDENTS UNABLE TO SOLVE SIMPLE SUMS FROM CLASS III

Pune: An annual national survey in 2012 of school-going children’s ability in mathematics and reading has put Maharashtra right at the bottom with just about 22.6% of the total number of Class V students surveyed able to solve simple arithmetic problems from their Class III books. The national average was 24.8%. Educationists blame the Maharashtra’s poor score to the many childfriendly reforms, such as the no exam rule, the government has introduced in the education system but has failed to implement them properly.

Pune: With reservoirs in the state collectively holding 44% water, the state government has asked all divisional commissioners to reserve water for drinking purpose and restrict its usage for non-drinking purpose.

“At least 1,155 villages and 3,709 hamlets are facing severe water shortage. The state is providing water through 1,539 tankers to areas reeling under water scarcity. The state has spent Rs 248 crore to run fodder camps sheltering 1.69 lakh cattle,” a statement released by the government said.