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VMC looks to Pink City to curb stray dog menace

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The Times of India 16.07.2009

VMC looks to Pink City to curb stray dog menace
VADODARA: With the stray dog menace in the city refusing to die down, the civic body is contemplating to rope in an NGO, Help in Suffering, working for prevention of cruelty against animals in Jaipur. The organization is being considered even as another city-based organization is working on a sterilization project to control the stray dog population in the city.

According to sources in Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), the civic body had taken up the sterilization drive since August 2007. However, given the large population of stray dogs in the city, the menace has been unending.

Sources said as many as Rs 29 lakh have been spent on the sterilization project so far and over 9,000 dogs sterilized. While the civic body has decided to pay Rs 425 for the sterilization of one dog in the city, the organization working on the project has sought a larger amount.

Sources said they had come to know about the Jaipur-based organization some time ago. It had also come to light that the organization had a good track record and the stray dog menace in the Pink City was on decline. Representatives of the organization have been called for a meeting following which a decision would be taken.

Officials said they would first study the work done in Jaipur and only then decide if it was to be handed over to the organization. They added that the sterilization drive would bear results only in the long run and not instantly.
 

City hopes for a big slice of JNNURM fund pie

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The Times of India 16.07.2009

City hopes for a big slice of JNNURM fund pie
The current union budget may not have satisfied all quarters but it has brought cheers to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). The civic administration is hoping to get funds to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees from the central government this year to carry out some of the major infrastructure development works in the city.

The union finance ministry announced allocation of Rs one lakh crore in the financial account this year for the development of all forms of infrastructure all over the country. The funds would be made available to the central, state and local self organisations under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) of the central government.

The centre has not yet declared the share of the states in the allocation. It is however believed that the state of Maharashtra will get around Rs 12,500 crore out of the allocation for carrying out development of infrastructure in the state. Most part of the fund would be utilised for the purpose under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) areas and Thane is a premier city in the MMR.

According to civic sources the TMC is carrying out five major works with the aid from the JNNURM. These projects are the Underground Sewerage Project (USP), the Integrated Nallah Development Project (INDP), the 110 Million Litres per Day (MLD) water supply project, the Station Area Improvement Scheme (SATIS) and the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) project.

The total cost of the projects is more than Rs 672 crore. Out of this the corporation is getting around Rs 350 crore by way of 35 percent grant from the JNNURM and 15 percent from the state government on infrastructure projects. The grant on BSUP is 50 percent from the central and 30 percent form the state government.

The corporation is arranging the balance of the amount from its own coffers or soft loans from the money market. In addition to this several other civic projects worth more than Rs 200 crore are in the pipeline. These proposals have also been sent to the JNNURM and the approval of the central body is expected.

The corporation has drawn up some ambitious plans to invest another Rs 1000 crore in public developmental projects in the coming months once it is assured of aid from the JNNURM. The projects will involve development of city roads, improvement in solid waste mechanism, erection of holding ponds, 24 X 7 water supply project as well as expansion of BSUP schemes.
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 July 2009 07:46
 

Water seeps from waste dump in Lalur

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The Hindu 16.07.2009

Water seeps from waste dump in Lalur

Staff Reporter

Residents threaten to block vehicles on Thursday if no action is taken

PHOTO: K.K. Najeeb

HARMFUL: Waste dumped at Lalur on the outskirts of Thrissur. Water seeping from the waste is adding to the woes of local residents. —

Thrissur: Rain has brought a flood of woes to those who live in and around Lalur, the Corporation’s waste disposal site.

As heavy rain lashed the city in the past few days, water seeping from the waste started flowing from the trenching ground to nearby areas. The runoff seeped through every opening in the 4.53 hectare site. It ran into a house opposite the treatment plant, forcing the resident to leave for a safer place.

“Water seeping from the waste, which causes severe health problems, affects around 40 families in the locality,” said T. K. Vasu, chairman of the Lalur Malineekarana Virudha Samara Samithy.

The Samithy on Thursday threatened to block vehicles that brought waste to Lalur. “A vehicle was blocked. The rest did not arrive. Authorities have temporary filled rivulets of waste water from the trenching ground,” said Mr. Vasu.

An estimated 160 tonnes of waste is generated in the Corporation limits every day. It is dumped at Lalur. Kudumbashree workers dump an additional 25 tonnes there every day.

The Rs. 5-crore waste treatment plant, sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, has seen protests from a section of local people and environmentalists. The plant, local people alleged, posed a threat to environment and their health.

The Samithy is also against engineered landfill at Lalur. “The Corporation went ahead with the landfill ignoring warnings by the Kerala Pollution Board on November 20, 2008, against the landfill. Dust from the excavation and removal of accumulated waste is causing health problems to local residents,” Mr. Vasu added.

According to the Samithy, the Corporation should take steps to treat waste at various locations instead of dumping it entirely in Lalur.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 July 2009 07:19
 


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