More Cases In State Than Last Yr; Pune’s Disease Burden Highest; Officials Blame Weather

Pune: The number of dengue cases in the state has shot up to an alarming high, with as many as 3,564 cases reported between January and October this year, more than twice the number in 2012 when 1,436 cases of the disease were reported.

The dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) is currently predominant among the three serotypes of the virus co-circulating in Pune, scientists at the city-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) have found

The company is already operating a 40 MW solar PV project in Rajasthan

Reliance Power today said its 45-MW wind power project at Vashpet in Maharashtra has commenced operations. The Anil Ambani-led company is already operating a 40 MW solar PV project in Rajasthan and with the commissioning of the 45 MW wind power capacity, its operating renewable capacity has doubled to 85 MW, a company statement said.

Authorities Deploy 136 Additional Tankers

Rs 280-Cr Plan Focuses On Rehabilitation Of Sahyadri Villages

Kolhapur: The state forest department has submitted the first detailed conservation plan for Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) to the Union ministry of environment and forest. The Rs 280-crore plan focuses on the rehabilitation of villages on the fringe of the reserve and 90% of the proposed funds have been earmarked for it. Sources said the ministry would study the plan and pass it on to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for the final approval.

This year’s drought cannot be called worse than the one in 1972: SANDRP

While the Maharashtra government is crying hoarse about this year’s drought surpassing the one in 1972 and farmers are cutting off their crops and digging deeper than ever for water, an analysis based on rainfall patterns blames it on poor long-term vision and unequal water distribution. With 3,712 major, minor and medium projects, Maharashtra has the highest number of dams in the country; yet its irrigation coverage was 17.9 per cent in 2009-10. Its projects are plagued with delays and cost overruns, and a special team headed by Madhav Chitale is investigating them.

PUNE: About 17.46 lakh rural population of Pune division is facing severe water scarcity and most of them are dependent on tankers for drinking water supply, said a senior officer from the divisional commissionerate.

The revised report on water scarcity in villages and hamlets stated that 865 villages and 3,823 hamlets in the division are facing severe water crisis. The available sources have dried up and people have to depend on water supplied by the government.

PUNE: The number of villages and hamlets in the state facing water and fodder scarcity has increased by 850 after the first week of February.

In the first week of February, 5,294 villages and hamlets were facing severe water scarcity. The number has now increased to 6,153. The number of tankers supplying drinking water to villages and hamlets has also increased from 1,730 in the first week of February to 2,136 by the first week of March, said a senior revenue officer.

Kolhapur: A fresh study of the earthquake-prone areas in the Koyna-Warna reservoir area is under way. A team of scientists from the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, has arrived here and is expected to study the areas where seismic activity has been prevalent at low or medium intensity.

The scientists will use the Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and photographic data acquisition and processing system for geomorphological and structural studies. The one-month study will focus on the tectonic activities around the Warna and Koyna dams.