Ahmedabad: Hepatitis-B outbreak that crept silently upon unsuspecting victims has claimed more lives than the suspected Surat plague which drew global attention and saw not less than five lakh people fleeing the city in panic!

Surat: Following a TOI expose on how quacks flourished fearlessly in the city, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Sunday shot off notices to 952 organisations demanding details of their infrastructure and biomedical waste disposal mechanisms.

Amarendra Jha | TNN

Surat: Gujarat has a high potential for developing aqua culture and possibilities of foreign investments in this sector are bright, said Pinij Kungvankij of Thailand-based Charoen Pokhpand (CP) Foods PCL, a multinational company (MNC).

TACKLING TRASH

Melvyn Thomas | TNN

Surat: After joining hands for Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Japan will partner Surat-based Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure Limited (GEPIL) to make Gujarat a

Newswire18 / Kochi August 25, 2008, 3:59 IST

The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) is planning to launch futures trading in thermal coal by September 10, the exchange's Chief Business Officer Unopam Kausik said on Saturday.

Initially, the exchange plans to introduce a contract lot size of 100 tonnes and the trading centre will be in Nagpur, Maharashtra, he said.

Delivery will be made in Surat, in Gujarat, and a couple of more locations in the western region, he said.

As fuel prices skyrocket, a motley group of doctors in Surat has got together to circumvent the hike by forming a 'Bicycle Club'. The motto is not just 'burn rubber to stop burning a hole in your pocket'. They are hoping to spread the virtues of good health and encourage others to take to cycling. As a start, 50 members, including 25 doctors, will leave behind their gas-guzzling cars and cycle to work every day.

Farmers along the Gujarat coast should have been rejoicing at the prospect of a timely monsoon. Instead, they have suddenly become gloomy after unnaturally aggressive high tides have filled their fields and ponds with saline seawater. Many fear a drinking water crisis as their ponds, meant to store fresh rain water, are now brimming over with saline water. Farmers say they may not be able to cultivate anything for years together as their fields have become saline.

Minor tremor measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale was recorded in the Surat city on Tuesday, an official said. However, no damage of properties were reported from any part of the city, district officals added. "The tremor was of 3.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale with epicentre located north-east of Surat city," said B K Rastogi, Director of Institute of Sesmological Research, Gandhinagar. According to sources, the tremor was felt in the Chowk Bazar, Katargam, Wade Road, Rander and other areas of Surat at 1427 hours where people were seen rushing out of the buildings.