Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced Rs 100 crore for construction of toilets in villages of Punjab under the Rajiv Gandhi Pendu Jan Sehat Kalyan Yojna. Making this announcement on the floor of the House during question hour, Badal said

Residents of Semartoli and Lupungtoli can now hope to light up their homes and have easy access to precious drops of water.

TNA MP Pathmini Sithamparanathan broke into tears in Parliament yesterday when she spoke about the issues confronting the internally displaced persons in Vavuniya.

Speaking during the emergency debate, she said that seven pregnant mothers had died in the IDP camps recently.

VEDASANDUR (DINDIGUL): Rural development is an essential component for over-all development of nation. Scientists wish to extend their knowledge for development of villages and desire to provide scientific solutions to their practical difficulties, said R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser.

MUMBAI: At a time when the city is reeling under an acute water shortage, the BMC has decided to start first-of-its-kind water-free urinals at Gateway of India. The system
will be implemented at 11 new urinals at the newly-constructed Gateway Plaza, and will not require users to flush after use. It is estimated that these urinals will save 10,000 litre of water every day.

DHENKANAL: The Total Sanitation Campaign has received lukewarm response in Dhenkanal since its inception in 2005 despite availability of funds and infrastructure. So far, only 23 per cent of the district has been covered under the Campaign

AMIT AGNIHOTRI
June 29: Concerned over the unplanned implementation of its flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the rural development ministry is planning to use the programme to create tangible assets like women

G Manjusainath , Bangalore, DH News Service:

Probably these would be the costliest public toilets Bangalore ever had. Built by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at a whopping Rs 20 lakh, these should definitely qualify for the five-star tag at least going by the money claimed to have been spent on them.

The administration today vowed to step up efforts to meet the 2012 deadline for achieving 100 per cent sanitation in the state. For this, over 37 lakh private toilets will have to be built.