Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
India Newspapers

City to be declared open defecation free on Oct. 2

Thursday, 21 July 2016 11:42 administrator
Print PDF

The Hindu    21.07.2016  

City to be declared open defecation free on Oct. 2

All houses in the city will have toilets and new public toilets will come up in 34 locations by October 2 when the city will be declared open-defecation free, Mayor Harinath has said.

He told presspersons here on Wednesday that as per a survey carried out in May 2015, there were 339 houses in the city which did not have toilets. Grants were being given to these residents to construct toilets under the Swachh Bharath Mission. While around 10 wards would be declared open-defecation free on August 15, the whole city would be declared so on October 2, he said. Mr. Harinath asked people, who did not have toilets for their houses, to approach the Mangaluru City Corporation for grants by August 13. He said they were yet to decide on the penal action to be taken against those seen defecating in the open after October 2.

Chairman of Standing Committee on Health, Kavita Sanil, said that corporation had identified places such as the City Central Market, Pumpwell Junction, Morgan’s Gate, Urwa Stores, Kadri Junction and 29 other locations where new toilets would be constructed. These toilets would be built and operated by private agencies and it would be in addition to the 21 existing ones. Those operating the existing pubic toilets had been directed to maintain them in a proper manner, she said.

Mr. Harinath said that Urban Development Minister R. Roshan Baig would lay the foundation stone for construction of a dining hall for the Town Hall on Sunday.

Mr. Baig would also launch the first phase of building market complexes in Alake and Kavoor. The Minister would inaugurate the work on improving Kavoor Junction.

He would inaugurate the new night shelter in Bunder area, which had been built at a cost of Rs. 99.8 lakh, Mr. Harinath said.

 

1am woes: BBMP may increase garbage cess

Monday, 18 July 2016 09:21 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India     18.07.2016 

1am woes: BBMP may increase garbage cess

Not all glitzyNot all glitzy
Bengaluru: Hours before the first drink was downed on Sunday night after the extended 1am deadline for all days kicked in, BBMP was already smelling an opportunity to make money, citing increased garbage burden.

The civic body plans to increase solid waste management cess (garbage cess) on bars and restaurants and other commercial establishments by bringing in changes to trade licence rules.

Mayor BN Manjunath Reddy told TOI the increase in garbage will call for more waste management staff and additional financial expenses. "We will hold a meeting with standing committees of health, finance and taxation, on revising garbage cess on commercial establishments, and decide on the percentage of increase," he added.

Nightlife extension could also mean rearranging the schedule of garbage collection in commercial hubs. "We will be telling bars and restau rants and other establishments to segregate and package garbage to be disposed of in two shifts per day," he said.

A higher cess will come as a blow to commercial establishments, which are yet to recover from the massive hike in annual fee on trade licences introduced early this year.

Starting February 1, the BBMP's Taxation and Finance Committee raised the fee, citing Section 443(2)(a) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act. For seven-star hotels, the fee ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, for five-star hotels Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, three-star hotels Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, and for bakeries using more than 10 HP power, the rate is Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

The manager of a barcum-restaurant on Church Street said the civic body should consult all stakeholders before arriving at any conclusion on garbage cess."Garbage disposal is not being done scientifically by the civic body . There is a lot of bribery involved even to pick up waste from commercial hubs," he added.

Indiranagar resident Prakash K Raj's worry is that eateries will pass on the additional burden to customers."Already , eating or drinking out is a costly affair. If it becomes more expensive, extending nightlife will mean little," said Raj.
 

Rural inflation is higher than urban: Crisil

Monday, 18 July 2016 09:15 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India     18.07.2016  

Rural inflation is higher than urban: Crisil

Mumbai, July 18 (IANS) Rating agency Crisil on Monday said while urban inflation fell from 9 per cent to 5.3 per cent, rural inflation declined from 10.1 per cent to 6.2 per cent in the last one year.

The gap has remained 100 basis points in the recent past, caused by higher core and fuel inflation in the rural areas, its research said.

In 2015-16, rural core inflation was 6.7 per cent compared with 4.8 per cent in urban.

Among sub-categories such as health, education, household goods and services and recreation and amusement have all registered inflation in hinterland last fiscal.

According to the report, fuel inflation in rural was 6.8 per cent, more than two-and-a-half times the 2.7 per cent in urban due to surging prices of cooking fuel such as dung cake, firewood and chips.

"Inflation in firewood and chips -- used by 84 per cent of the rural population compared with 23 per cent of urban was 7.4 per cent, while that in dung cake -- used by close to 41 per cent of rural households compared with just 7 per cent in urban centres -- was 10.8 per cent last fiscal," it said.


According to the report, the data for the last five years show folks in rural areas - or 69 per cent of India's population -- have the rough end of the stick on inflation compared with their urban counterparts.

The research said the meltdown in commodity prices - petrol prices fell 7.6 per cent last fiscal, and diesel prices 11.7 per cent- hasn't benefited rural areas as much as urban.

"37 per cent of urban households use petrol and 2 per cent use diesel for their vehicles- compared with less than half of that - 17 per cent petrol, and 0.8 per cent diesel -- in rural households, according to data for fiscal 2012 (latest available)," the report said.
Last Updated on Monday, 18 July 2016 09:17
 
More Articles...


Page 123 of 4907