Solar power will be used to ensure uninterrupted power supply to 384 level crossing gates in Thiruvananthapuram railway division as part of the Railway’s energy conservation measures.

The first solar powered level crossing gate at Neyattinkara in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari section has already started functioning. This comes close on the heels of the solar power initiative inaugurated at Tiruvalla railway station. The railway division has chalked out a plan to run all the 384 level crossing gates with solar power and to become the first division to have all the level crossing gates solar powered, Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal says.

Fishes found dead at the Thiruvallam stretch of the river

After children, the next victims of the polluted waters of the Karamana river at Thiruvallam are the fishes in the river, several hundreds of which have been found floating dead since Wednesday. Barely three weeks after 20 children from the region were diagnosed with leptospirosis, prompting local health officials to splash the river banks with posters cautioning the public against stepping into the river or using the water, several hundreds of dead fishes were found floating along the shorelines of the river, including near the Pallathukadavu bathing ghat, from where the children were suspected to have contracted the disease while practising swimming.

On a green path, the Thiruvananthapuram railway division authorities are close to running its 384 level crossing gates on solar power.

Discrepancies In Chalai Project Prompts Govt Decision

The apparent failure of Suchitwa Mission and the transaction advisor in warding off discrepancies from the proposed gasification plant at Chalai has now prompted the state government to seek the technical expertise and guidance of planning commission in implementing similar projects in future.

18 children get leptospirosis after bathing in the Karamana

Signs of a decadent system become evident when a river, closely linked to the growth of not just nature, but music, culture, sports and livelihood of an entire city, suddenly has a signboard asking people to keep away from her.
The Karamana river, once the pride of the city, does not flow quiet anymore. It’s chaos on her banks, and the river does not flow freely anymore, and that is not just literally. A visit to the Thiruvallam region will tell why.

Chandy lays stress on rainwater harvesting

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has directed officials to ensure that rainwater harvesting pits are made compulsory for all new constructions in the capital district, apart from initiating digging of rain pits under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Addressing a drought review meeting at the District Collectorate here on Monday, Mr. Chandy said the maximum sum District Collectors could sanction for drought relief projects would be raised to Rs.20 lakh from the existing Rs.5 lakh.

Three days after the high-court appointed pollution control board (PCB) team filed a report citing serious omissions on the part of city corporation in terms of waste management at Vilappilsala fac

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has expressed confidence that the outstanding issues related to the endosulfan-afflicted persons will be resolved at a high-level meeting convened in Thiruvananthapuram

Expert Committee Never Suggested Gasification Plant For Municipal Waste Treatment

Thiruvananthapuram: The government awarded the contract to set up modular wastetreatment plant at Chalai at a cost of Rs 60 crores to Loro Enviropower by overruling the recommendations of the expert committee headed by RVG Menon Two weeks after TOI pointed out a list of violations in the tender process and cited the dubious history of the company that won the project, Menon told TOI that the project was tweaked.

The Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries (University of Kerala) and Agency for Development of Aqua Culture, Kerala, have identified the use of small mesh encircling nets as one of the biggest threats to the biodiversity of Vellayani lake, the second largest fresh water body in the State.

A participatory fish census conducted by the institutions has found that many perennial streams, which supplied water to the lake, have dried up. Paddy fields and wetlands have been land filled. The research team also noticed an alarming depletion of frogs in the lake. Pesticide contamination of the lake and shrinking of its area were other major issues affecting the water body’s survival.