Netsol Water Solutions

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal will pass orders to fulfill his election promise of providing 700 liters of water every day to each household within 24 hours of taking oath as chief minister of Delhi on Saturday. In an exclusive interview to TOI on the day President Pranab Mukherjee cleared the way for him to be the CM, Kejriwal also declared that he would order an audit of the accounts of power distribution companies in the city to check whether they have engaged in fudging their records. "We are not claiming that we will make water available to everyone, at least at the present. But we are promising to make 700 liters of water free for each family for which only an executive order is needed," Kejriwal said. He said that distribution of water, and not availability, was the problem. (Read Arvind Kejriwal's full interview here) On the audit of the books of power companies, he asserted that such an audit was possible and comes within the ambit of the Comptroller and Audit Gener...

BANGALORE: A 30-member Karnataka legislators delegation is planning to take off to three Latin American countries in January, to "study the water falls in the Amazon forests and sporting activity," which will cost the state exchequer Rs 2.25 crore. Confirming the junket, Congress MLA Mallikaiah V Guttedar, who heads the legislature committee on estimates told TOI here on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong in the fortnight trip they are planning. "We legislators get only one opportunity to undertake a study tour abroad in five years, whereas MPs go often. There is nothing wrong in us going on these junkets," he added. Guttedar said the dates are yet to be finalized and most likely would be after the brief legislature session in January. The trip would cost Rs 7.5 lakh per member. "We will visit the Amazon forest and study the waterfalls there to see how it can be replicated in Karnataka as we have thick forests here. We will also visit Brazil to see the spo...

PUNE: With no signs of any work on the metro project taking off this year, the standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation diverted Rs 11-crore allotted for the project in its annual budget to compensate the educational institute that gave up its plot for the Wadgaon water purification plant. The committee also pulled out Rs 6.25 crore funds set aside for works under two heads for the Baner-Balewadi grade separator to pay over Rs 17 crore to the institute. The total budgetary allocation for the metro project was Rs 12 crore. The civic administration, with help from Jawarlalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, has planned the treatment plant to purify 125 MLD water. Source - TOI - timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Rs-11-cr-metro-funds-diverted-to-water-plant/articleshow/27876171.cms

KOLHAPUR: The civic body has decided to conduct water audit through hydraulic modeling of the existing water network in the city to improve supply efficiency and reduce deficits in the operational cost and revenue generated. At present, the loss in the water supply system is more than double than the permissible limit. The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) lifts about 120 million litres of water a day from the Panchganga and supplies only 80 MLD to various parts of the city. According to the rules of the urban development ministry of central government, a loss of around 15% while supplying water is permissible. But the loss that the civic body is incurring is around 34%. KMC chief hydraulic engineer Manish Pawar said, "The loss in the water supply system costs us around Rs 10 crore a year in the form of deficit between operational cost and revenue generated through bills. To plug the flaws in the supply system, we will conduct a comprehensive survey of the consumers. For this,...

Regular intake of water is essential for maintaining good health Most of us know that up to seventy per cent of the total body weight is due to water. Although it is present in all parts of the body, it is more present in organs such as lungs and brain and fluids such as blood, lymph, saliva and secretions by the organs of the digestive system. The common belief is that we feel thirsty only when our body needs water. While this is true, recent research studies have indicated that there are several other indicators of inadequate water in some or all parts of the body. Ignoring these indicators can lead to several major diseases. Most of us spend a lot of our working hours in air-conditioned environment so naturally we don't feel thirsty but that does not mean that our body does not need water. Lack of water can lead to fatigue too. So, for your glowing health, drink enough water. Importance of water for maintaining normal health: Just as water helps a seed grow into a tree, it also...

CHANDIGARH: Installation work of a water pine line caused a lot of inconveniences to thousands of commuters between Transport Light point and Railway light point on Madhya Marg on Tuesday. The traffic flow towards Chandigarh from the side of Panchkula was diverted at Railway Light point and flow towards Panchkula from Chandigarh was diverted at Transport Light point. The bonnet to bonnet situation was evident between Housing Board light point and Railway light point as hundreds of commuters were being diverted towards IT park roundabout and light point, and towards Industrial Area. The situation was worst at IT park side as traffic from two directions included from Madhya Marg and Manimajra was meeting at a common point. Sujata Sharma of sector 8 Panchkula said, "Authorities should be initiated and completed the installation work during night. Initiated such projects during days always cause inconvenience to commuters." The situation has became nightmare during late evening ...

KANPUR: The residents of Tilak Nagar area are a troubled lot these days. The Jal Nigam had been conducting the digging of roads for laying of water pipelines. For past one week, the area is in the grip of dust. The locals have started keeping their doors and windows closed to prevent dust from coming inside their houses and settling down on household articles. The situation is so bad that mounds of mud have been placed just outside the bungalows and the apartments in the area. This has also limited the movement of the people. Traffic jams are frequent in the area. Under JNNURM, Jal Nigam had dug up the road between Company Bagh crossing and Tilak Nagar crossing. With an expense of Rs 10 crores, 3,200 mm size pipes are being laid. For this work, five metres deep trenches have been dug up. There is a mound of mud outside the houses in the area. The road from Company Bagh crossing to Hanuman Temple near Income Tax Colony has not been made despite the completion of the work of laying of p...

NEW DELHI: A look at the list of water bodies in 10 zones uploaded recently by the Delhi government's Parks and Gardens Society points to the deplorable state of baolis and lakes in the city. Most of them have been encroached upon, dried up or concretized. Those that still hold water have sewage flowing into them. For this report, data from four zones was considered by TOI. Out of 54 water bodies in the east zone, 18 are dry and 21 have been encroached or built up on. In the south zone, 44 out of 120 water bodies have been encroached upon and eight have sewage entering them. Only the central district boasts a high number of water bodies that have been developed and have a permanent flow. Many water bodies are also "legally built-up", which means their land use has changed over time. For instance, the south zone has 12 such water bodies. The team that inspected these water bodies recommends rainwater harvesting at these sites. However, many have also been "illegally ...

MUMBAI: Merchant navy captain Sunil James may have returned home after five-and-a-half-months in Togo but International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (London) statistics show how waters around the Indian sub-continent are the most dangerous. James and two Indian crew members were arrested by the Togo police on July 31 on charges of helping pirates who had attacked and looted their Marshalls Island flag vessel, MT Ocean Centurion, around 45 nautical miles southeast of Togo's coastal capital Lome in the Atlantic Ocean on July 16. James, however, said the court there was unable to prove their roles. The bureau has reported 199 pirate attacks on vessels in the sub-continent's waters in 2006-12. It warned mariners to be extra cautious when transiting from Southeast Asia and the sub-continent (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malacca Straits, Singapore Straits and South China sea), Africa and Red Sea (Africa, Gulf of Aden/Red Sea, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, The Co...

NEW DELHI: India ranks 41 among 181 countries so far as water stress is concerned and its in the bracket of second high risk nations. The first-ever global water stress rankings by World Resource Institute (WRI) reveals that 37% countries assessed by it experience high to extremely high baseline water stress. The baseline water stress measures how much water is withdrawn every year from rivers, streams, and shallow aquifers for domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses. Scores above 4 on a scale of 0-5 indicate that, for the average water user, more than 80% of the water available is withdrawn annually. The report says 37 countries including Singapore, Kuwait, Oman and Israel face "extremely high" levels of water stress. India's baseline water stress is assessed at 3.6, which means the country uses between 40% and 80% of the water available annually. However, when it comes to seasonal variability between months of the year, the situation is worse. For example, during s...

MADURAI: A one-day workshop on rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling was organized for the municipal officials and builders in the city on Friday. The objective behind holding the workshop was to sensitise the officials and builders in promoting rainwater harvesting methods and grey water recycling methods in the town planning since the ground water level is depleting at an alarming level. Harnessing the ground water as the complete source of water is a wrong concept and deep bore wells will pump out the unfit water, experts said. The rainwater will percolate only up to shallow water table but the bore wells are sunk to deep water table which will exhaust after some time. The shallow water table has to be harnessed and recharged with the rain water for which the open well system will be very useful, Sekhar Raghavan, director of Rain Centre, Chennai advocated. The open well system is superior to rainfall pits since the latter will get silted in two years time and could not be d...

JAIPUR: The bodies of 25-year-old Champa Kanwar and her two sons were found floating in a water tank near her in-laws' house in Bhankrota area's Sirsi village on Friday. Police said prima-facie, the woman had thrown her children aged 4 and 2 years into the tank and then plunged into it. The police are yet to ascertain as to why she took the extreme step. Champa lived with her husband, two kids and her in-laws. "Bodies of Champa and her children were found floating in the water tank of an under-construction building near her house in the village. By the time the police reached, the villagers and family members had fished out the bodies," said the officer. Police said prima-facie, it seems Champa had committed suicide. Source - TOI - timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Mother-throws-two-sons-in-water-tank-jumps-to-death/articleshow/27317036.cms

KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode corporation (health-wing) has started collecting water samples from sources situated in the premises of marriage halls following reports of hepatitis A outbreak in the corporation limit. The civic body decided to act after councillors protested in the council meeting held on December 10 for not taking any steps to check the quality of drinking water at marriage functions. Hepatitis A cases have been reported from Mugadhar, Pallikandy and Kuttichira. The health inspectors will submit the report at a meeting to be held at the corporation on December 16 to chalk out remedial measures. More than 50 cases of hepatitis A have been reported in the three wards of the corporation so far. The health wing has also started intensive awareness campaign on the need of drinking hot water along with chlorination process of wells in these areas. According to State level Integrated Diseases Surveillance report, the district had reported 1,782 hepatitis A cases. Janamma Kunjunni...

PANAJI: Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) officials opposed the diversion of the Mhadei river as it will affect the economy of the state and lead to siltation in Rivers Mandovi and Zuari. The Mhadei water dispute tribunal team on Friday visited MPT to seek its view on the diversion of River Mhadei. Speaking to TOI, MPT chairman Mara Pandiyan said that they explained to the team that the total iron ore movement to the ports is done through these two main rivers of the state. "Any curtailment of the water level will certainly affect the navigation of barges coming to ports," he added. Pandiyan also said "We have strongly opposed any diversion of water from the Mhadei basin." Source - TOI - timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/MPT-says-no-to-Mhadei-water-diversion/articleshow/27315804.cms

NAGPUR: Hundreds of families residing in Zingabai Takli and adjoining localities have been left to face a number of problems due to improper planning and lack of coordination between Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Water supply to the localities has been hit every other day and the sewage system has been destroyed due to the construction of railway overbridge (RoB) from Mankapur Ring Road Square to the railway crossing. No precautions have been taken to protect the civic infrastructure during digging and other works, say residents. Corporator Arun Daware lodged a complaint with municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane on Friday, requesting action against NHAI for depriving citizens of basic amenities and destruction of civic property. Alleging that NHAI's adamant attitude is causing serious inconvenience to around 30,000 citizens, Daware told TOI that the drinking water pipeline has been damaged at least 70 times in the 400 meter str...

CHENNAI: The poor northeast monsoon in the last couple of years has prompted the state government to announce a slew of projects to conserve water through construction of check dams, artificial recharge structures, repairs, renovation and restoration of tanks as drinking water sources. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa made 312 announcements, including on infrastructure and welfare projects, during the concluding session of the collectors' meet here. While the last season was bad, the monsoon which arrived on October 22 this year has not brought any cheer to the state. Tamil Nadu is deficient by 32% for the period between October 1 and December 11. Except Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Nilgiris, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, the rest of the state continued to suffer from the deficiency. As per regional meteorological data, TN recorded 27.3cm of rain in the current season, against the normal average of 40cm. Days after directing collectors to gear up to counter unforeseen natural calamitie...

CHENNAI: The thought of an entire village consuming poisoned water gives him the shivers even now, he says. S Vijay, the 17-year-old son of a Dharmapuri farmer, saved 15,000 people in his native village of Pikkili, and 17 other villages in the panchayat of the same name, in Dharmapuri district, from drinking toxic water. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday honoured him with a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. Vijay works for a firm that distributes water from a sump in Melkottai village to 18 villages in the panchayat. "I wasn't well on the morning of November 9, so my mother helped me get to the sump because I had to close the valve," Vijay says. "The smell was obnoxious near the sump." Vijay and his mother grew suspicious when they spotted a powdery substance on the path leading to the sump. They found traces of the substance even on the granite slabs covering the sump. "The water also smelled foul so I suspected that someone had put poison in t...

KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode corporation council meeting witnessed heated exchange between the opposition and ruling councillors over the absence of a mechanism to check the quality of drinking water being used at the marriage halls to prepare food. The meeting was chaired by mayor A K Premajam on Tuesday. The issue came up in the wake of outbreak of hepatitis B and malaria from various parts of the district. The mayor agreed to hold a meeting with the Kerala Water Authority(KWA) to take steps to avoid leakage of water in distribution lines to avoid mixing of drinking water with drainage water. The heated exchange occurred when a joint calling attention motion on spread of hepatitis B and malaria in the various parts moved in the council by K P Abdulla Koya of UDF and Muzafir Ahmmed of CPM came up for discussion at the council. Abdulla Koya, inviting the attention of mayor, said that four marriage halls were there in the Kuttichira ward. One case of malaria and around 50 hepatitis B ...

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has conceptualized two projects, which will take care of the water needs of the city for another 25 years. At present, 900 million litres per day (MLD) of water is being supplied for 46.4 lakh people living in the city. In the next 10 years, the city population is expected to touch 80 lakh and it will be 1.20 crore in 2026 when the Surat-Navsari twin city concept is a reality. The water requirement of the city will be 1,600 MLD after 10 years and 2,100 MLD by 2026. The two projects would take off in the next five years. "We have given approval to Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (GERI) and also sanctioned Rs 31 lakh for managing a balloon barrage model upstream of Tapi river near ONGC Bridge. The project aims to create an artificial reservoir to store 20 million cubic metre (MCM) of water at any given time," SMC standing committee chairman Rajesh Desai said. The balloon barrage would be built after we receive a report from GE...

AURANGABAD: The advocates swimming association on Thursday urged the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to open its Siddhartha swimming pool for public at the earliest. The civic body has closed the pool for the past several months. Satish Varma, secretary of the association, said theAMC had been doing repair work of the pool from February 2013. "We have repeatedly urged the administration to speed up the work and open the pool for public. Every time the authorities say that the repair work is in the final stages and that it will open in 15-20 days. It is one of the best pools in the city," he said. Abhay Deshmukh, manager of the Siddhartha swimming pool, said that the pool was closed only for repairs. "The facility was started in May 1994 and since then we never closed it. However, the pool has now developed technical problems in its water filter system, besides leakages in some parts. The work is going on and it will be soon over," he said. Deshmukh added that...

HYDERABAD: Four HMWS&SB officials, including two deputy GMs and two managers, are likely to get show-cause notices for failure to identify illegal water connections and disconnect them. HMWS&SB managing director J Shyamala Rao on Monday directed GM, O&M Division-X (Saheb Nagar), Mohd Gulam Ahmed to issue show-cause notices to four officials -- deputy GMs (E) A S Sunil Kumar and P Srinivas Reddy and managers (E) G Sambaiah and M Mahender -- on Tuesday. The Water Board chief on Monday inspected a few multi-storied buildings in Alkapuri and Vaishali Nagar and found that they were drawing water illegally despite connection of supply. The managing director, who was furious over the negligence of officials, asked the circle inspector, HMWS&SB police station, to lodge criminal cases against the customers who had reopened the disconnected water connections, with law and order police. Source - TOI - http:// timesofindia.indiatimes .com/city/hyderabad/4-water-board-officials-...

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) water adalat of Central-2 sub division will be held on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 from 9.30am to 11am in the office of the assistant executive engineer, Central-2. The adalat will settle grievances connected to water billing, delay in giving water supply and sanitary connection, delay in conversion from non-domestic to domestic connection and other related issues. The disputes of customers of High Grounds (HGR) and Coles Park service station of Central-2 Sub division will be heard and settled at the adalat. The concerned officials can be contacted on telephone numbers 22945187, 22945191 or BWSSB 24/7 call centre no. 22238888. Grievance meet will be held on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 between 7 am to 9.30 am in Ideal Homes, RT Nagar and Peenya service Station. Source - TOI - http:// timesofindia.indiatimes .com/city/bangalore/Bangalore-Water-adalat-to-settle-customers-disputes/articleshow/27139022.cms

Observing that reservation of water for drinking purposes in urban areas was affecting the agricultural potential of the areas under Nashik and Ahmednagar districts, the superintendent engineer of the Nashik's Command Areas Development Authority, water resource department, M K Pokale said that time has come to maintain the sanctity of irrigation dams. In a conversation with Abhilash Botekar, he suggested that the local authorities should look for alternative sources of water for urban areas. Excerpts: When dams have been built for storing water for the public, why is there a hue and cry over drinking water? It is a common belief that the dams are constructed for storing water for drinking purposes for urban areas. But that is not the case. Dams were constructed for increasing the irrigational capacity in the country at a time when the cities actually flourished on the banks of rivers. All the 23 medium and big dams in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts are for irrigation purposes, w...

We are in the health-conscious era. So obsessed we are about our health and fitness that we don't mind reading even disputed theories about health benefits for all we want is to somehow be fit and fine. Slowly, people are waking up to the fact that home remedies are any day better compared to chemical products. So here's something that has existed since our ancestor's times, but we have given it a royal ignore. Wonder what it is? Well, it's the barley seeds. The moment you say barley, the first thing that comes to your mind is beer. But have you ever wondered how healthy barley itself is? The best thing is the seeds are available throughout the year and is the cheapest among all cereals. Here are ways in which you can consume barley. Yes, you have heard that before. Drinking beer has always made you run to the loo a little more frequently than you generally do. Drinking barley water, on the other hand, also induces increased urination which means it flushes out ...

HYDERABAD: Come January 1 and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) will simply norms for obtaining new water connections for half-inch (15 mm) domestic pipelines. "According to the new norm, the applicant can produce a bill issued by the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Ltd (APCPDCL) as proof to get new connection. Till now, the board had been insisting on xerox copies of either the registered sale deed, gift deed, lease deed, house site patta, assessment receipt from GHMC or Aadhaar card as proof. In some cases, the applicants did not possess any of these documents," a senior Water Board official told STOI. With the latest relaxation of norms, the applicant has to only file an affidavit (indemnity bond) on Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper duly notarized along with the power bill, he said. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is also chairman of the Water Board, accorded permission for this relaxation during the rec...

NAGPUR: Amid weak financial condition, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is set to bear additional cost of Rs21 crore on new Pench-IV water treatment plant, which is under construction at Godhni. The cost has increased from approved Rs29.05 crore to Rs50 crore (72%) following inordinate delay in completing the project. Bafflingly, the civic body is constructing the plant on PPP model and will have to pay back the investment made by the operator along with operation and maintenance charges for 10 years. Mayor Anil Sole along with ruling party leader Pravin Datke, chairman of water works committee Sudhakar Kohle, superintending engineer Prakash Urade and others inspected the project work on Saturday. After the visit, Kohle in a press conference said that Sole has directed the officials to complete the project by January-end. "City will get additional 115 million litres per day (MLD) water with commencement of the plant from February. Around 3.50 lakh population in West, South...

MYSORE: Rs 886 crore new water supply project planned for the city from the backwaters of KRS dam under the second phase of JNNURM scheme appears not only "impractical", it is also "unfeasible", according to experts who aired their opinion at a meeting summoned here to discuss pros and cons of the project and its benefits to the city. It was revealed at the meeting that state urban development department on Saturday submitted a project report on how it will utilize the funds for the drinking water project along with the other details. Experts at the meeting revealed that as per the new project water supply department has been directed to close all the existing 7 water supply points and supply water from a single point . Based on this the water supply experts have sought permission to set up a pumping station at 3.5 kms on the upstream of Cauvery in the backwaters of KRS dam and supply water from there to city. Speaking on the project Association of Concerned and...

BANGALORE: For the benefit of thousands of customers living in the south-2 sub division,the Bangalore water supply and sewerage board (BWSSB ) will be holding a 'water adalat' on December 9. The adalat will be held in the office of the Assistant Executive Engineer, Kottanur Dinne. The disputes of customers residing in Jaya Prakash Nagar-2, Kottanur Dinne, Vijaya Bank layout service station coming under south-2 sub division will be heard and settled at the adalat. Customers can submit their grievances in relation to defects in water billing, delay in giving water supply and sanitary connection, delay in conversion from non domestic to domestic connection and other related issues. The general public can contact executive engineer south:080- 22945143, assistant executive engineer of South-2 sub-division 080-22945267. For further details BWSSB 24/7 Call Centre no 080-22238888 can be contacted. Source - TOI - http:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Bangalore-wat...

THANE: Complaining against the recent 31% increase in water rates and rising price of power supplied to industrial units in MIDC area, the Chamber of Small Industry Association has warned that such decisions will discourage investments in the sector in Maharashtra Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thane/Hike-in-water-rates-will-affect-investments/articleshow/27008656.cms

BHUBANESWAR: Residents of Lingaraj Vihar in the state capital have been running from pillar to post demanding direct pipe water supply by Public Health Department (PHD) to their houses. Lingaraj Vihar in Pokhariput locality was developed as a residential area in 2001-02 and has 430 houses. Ever since inception, drinking water has been a major cause of concern for the residents. Initially, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the two private builders who developed the colony used to fill up a 3 lakh litre water tank in the area hiring water tankers. Residents had to bear the cost. Then, at one point of time, water was lifted from open wells in the area through pumps to fill up the tank. In summer, however, all these arrangements fall flat. After repeated appeals, the public health department ensured piped water connection to the tank, but there is no arrangement for water to reach individual houses, locals rued. "We have been demanding separate PHD pipe water connection...

VIJYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh would approach the Supreme Court against a tribunal's final award on sharing of river Krishna waters and seek "justice" for the state, a minister said on Saturday. Talking to media persons here, minister for secondary education K Parthasarathi said the government of Andhra Pradesh would definitely approach the Supreme Court to seek "justice" for the state on Krishna Water Tribunal award, which has evoked sharp criticism from Opposition parties here. He, however, did not say when the state will approach the apex court. The tribunal, headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar, came out with its final award on Friday. It allotted four thousand million cubic (TMC) of water from Karnataka's share to Andhra Pradesh and at the same time allowed the former to increase the storage in Almatti dam to 524.256 meters. Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh have called the award a "death blow" to the state, particularly to the Krishna Delta region....

AURANGABAD: Since 11.30am on Friday, the Jayakwadi Pani Sangharsha Kruti Samiti members have locked themselves in the office of A B Jogdand, executive engineer at Command Area Development Authority (CADA), demanding immediate release of water in Hiradpuri and Apegaon dams in Paithan taluka of Aurangabad district. Jogdand is on his official tour and is expected to get back late Friday night or early Saturday morning. The police are on CADA premises to check any untoward incident. Samiti members claimed that they would only leave the locked cabin once their demands were submitted in writing to Jogdand. Jaisingh Hire, sectional engineer at CADA, said that no police action has been advised by higher authorities so far. "The water resources minister Sunil Tatkare on October 28 had assured release of water in the two dams. However, no action has been taken by the administration," said Jayajirao Suryawanshi, president of the Samiti. All minor dams from Jalna to Paithan, excepet Hir...

NAGPUR: Over 90% buildings in the city are not having occupancy certificate though it is mandatory. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) have so far remained mute spectators to it by not taking any action against people who start using buildings without this document that ensures construction is as per the sanctioned plan and also safe for occupation. Municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane has now come up with a policy to compel builders and individuals to obtain this certificate. NMC will not provide water and sewage connections to buildings unless they have occupancy certificate. Corporators, builders and activists have welcomed the civic chief's decision. The town planning department has drafted the new policy and submitted to Wardhane who is set to notify it in couple of days. The norm, however, will be applicable to all new buildings and not existing ones. There is also a provision of action against the officials concerned if water and sewa...

AHMEDABAD: Tata Power has installed a rain water harvesting system at its Mithapur plant that will conserve water for reuse. The system has already conserved 60KL of water which is being reused for cleaning 107,712 solar PV modules solar module panels at the 25 MW solar power plant, spread over 105 acres. Tata Power's Mithapur project is one of the largest of its kind in the country and has been developed through its 100 per cent subsidiary, 'Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited'. In order for maintain efficiency of the solar panels, upto 100 KL of water is required for maintenance in 12 cycles across the year. As Mithapur region and Jamnagar receive very low rainfall, the objective of installing this system is to help in water conservation and sustainable use of available portable water. This will also help in savings in purchase of desalinated water which can further be used for human and community usage. The initiative is in continuation to Tata power's endeavor to p...

VASCO: Verna police have registered an offence against the owner of Naulaka transporters, whose tankers carry ammonia, in connection with the contamination of public drinking water with ammonia at Zuarinagar on Wednesday. These tankers supply ammonia from MPT to Zuari industries. Reports from a government lab have confirmed that the water was contaminated by ammonia. The complaint was filed by Mohammed Gaus. Verna PSI Anand Shirodkar, after conducting the panchnamma, said, "Preliminary investigations reveal that the ammonia tankers parked at Zorinth Birla have access to the main water pipeline." He explained that the drivers open the valve of the main water pipeline, remove the water with a plastic pipe and wash their tankers. Probably on Tuesday night, an old tank was washed and the valve was not closed. As a result the ammonia from the old tank went into the pipeline contaminating the drinking water supplied to a large number of people in Zuarinagar. Verna police is now on...

VISAKHAPATNAM: Cyclone Lehar may have begun with a bang but ended with a whimper by the time it hit the Andhra Pradesh coast near Machilipatnam in Krishna district on Thursday evening with a wind speed of barely 50-70 kmph as it fizzled out over the sea itself. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that Cyclone Lehar would cross the Andhra Pradesh coast on November 28 noon as a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) with a maximum wind speed of 170-200 kmph. IMD's predictions had people from all walks of life in the coastal districts, particularly East Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam, as well as the state machinery, right from chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, worried as it was coming in the wake of cyclones Phailin and Helen. Though the weakened system gave the much needed respite to people as well as the state government, it has now become the cynosure of meteorologists of IMD and scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), who are now taking ...

CHANDIGARH: Your water woes are far from over. Chandigarh and Mohali residents are likely to receive water supply at low pressure for a day or two after every 20 to 30 days for about three months because of repair work. The municipal corporation engineering wing has decided to start work on fixing about eight major leakages in the main water supply pipelines from Kajauli canal from the next month. "There are seven to eight major leakages in the main pipelines that supply water to Chandigarh and Mohali. We have decided to carry out repair work in winter because the water consumption is comparatively less in the season. Either the morning supply or the evening one will be affected when the work is carried out," said R C Diwan, superintending engineer of MC engineering wing. There are four lines or phases that supply water. Phases I, II and IV are maintained by Punjab engineering department and Phase III by Chandigarh municipal corporation. "Chances of leakage are less in ...

KOLKATA: Leading real estate developers in the city have persuaded the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to use multiple reference points to map waterbodies instead of relying solely on a satellite image taken in 2004. At a meeting with KMC commissioner Khalil Ahmad and heads of different departments, including building, assessment and project management unit that deals with waterbodies and heritage issues, local builders under the umbrella of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) convinced the civic officials that KMC needs to do a reality check of plots with waterbodies to resolve disputes that often crop up due to difference in the old satellite image and the current situation on the ground. "Records of KMC often show much bigger waterbodies than the actual one at the site. This is due to anomaly between satellite-aided waterbody map to actual historical and credible evidence-led mapping such as title deeds, parchas and deed plans," C...

HYDERABAD: Senior officials of GHMC and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) on Thursday inspected the Musi river and the nalas flowing into it from Attapur and Moosarambagh on the directions of the high court. GHMC and HMDA were asked to submit a report to the court about the points of sewage entry into the Musi by November 30. Senior officials including GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar and HMWSSB MD Syamala Rao were present during the inspection. The officials inspected removal of encroachments along the river besides the sewage interception and treatment. HMWS&SB has taken up half of the proposed interception treatment works and funds for the remaining work are awaited from National River Conservation Board. The GHMC commissioner also directed officials of the bio-diversity wing to beautify the entire stretch along the river. Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/GHMC-Water-Board-officials-inspect-Musi-river/articleshow/2...

MANGALORE: A 13 year-old boy drowned in Mangalore City Corporation Swimming pool. The boy was taken to hospital immediately, but the doctors declared him brought dead. The deceased has been identified as Sohan (13), a student and resident of Boloor in the city. Eyewitnesses told TOI that the boy, who was not proficient in swimming, lost balance and started sinking. Seeing him screaming for help, the swimming pool staff and others swung into action and fished him out of the pond immediately. He was taken to a nearby hospital in a car. Since, his condition was serious, the boy was later taken to AJ Hospital. Sources in AJ Hospital told TOI that the boy was brought dead. Barke police registered a case. Source - TOI - timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/Boy-drowns-in-city-corporations-swimming-pool/articleshow/24709876.cms

MAPUSA: A two-year-old boy met a watery grave after he drowned in a hotel's swimming pool in Parra on October 20. Police officials said a group of families had come to the state on a vacation from Bangalore and were staying in a hotel at Parra. Sources said there were 17 children in the group. While some of the families were relaxing in the hotel on Sunday, the two-year-old fell into the pool unnoticed and drowned. On noticing their son's absence, the parents began a frantic search for him, only to find his body in the pool. The police have conducted a panchanama and have sent the body to the Goa medical college and hospital in Bambolim for the postmortem. Police have registered a case of unnatural death under Section 174 CrPC. Further investigations are under way. Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Two-year-old-drowns-in-swimming-pool-at-Parra-hotel/articleshow/24505854.cms

INDORE: A teenager drowned in the newly-constructed government swimming pool in Ratlam district on Sunday. Raghvendra Singh Paliwal, 17, the son of a local businessman Sanjay Prasad Paliwal drowned while swimming in the newly constructed pool at Rajiv Gandhi Civic Centre. The incident happened at around 12.10 pm, when Raghvendra had gone to swim with friends at the swimming pool operated by Ratlam Municipal Corporation. It's the same swimming pool, which was inaugurated a few weeks ago by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It is still not clear how Raghvendra slipped into deep waters and drowned in the pool, despite the presence of swimming coaches and life guards at the poll. Also, the incident was spotted by Raghvendra's friends and not the coach or life guard at the swimming pool. Angered by the incident, local residents and opposition Congress activists led by party's city unit president Rajesh Sharma protested outside the swimming pool and even tried t...