MUMBAI: The state may agree to release an additional 1.96 TMC from its dams to Karnataka, which is facing a drought. However, with a drought-like situation in nine districts here, the state also wants the Karnataka government to act in kind. During a meeting with a delegation of ministers and bureaucrats from Karnataka,CM Prithviraj Chavan and other functionaries sought permission to lift water from a Karnataka canal system for villages in Jath taluka.

Following reports of swine flu cases coming in from Pune and northern parts of the country, city doctors too are witnessing a few suspected cases. While they await reports, city doctors say the H1N1 strain is showing some variations, even as they suspect the fluctuating temperature as the primary cause for the flu’s recurrence.

Stating that the unusually cold weather could be the reason for the cases, infectious disease expert at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital Dr Tanu Singhnal said, “The few suspected swine-flu cases we received are being treated symptomatically.”

Approves PNDT Act overhaul, n To ban mobile ultrasound machines
The government today directed the board of governors of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to cancel licences of all 93 doctors convicted for sex determination of foetuses under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC and PNDT) Act, 1996.

During the 16 years that the Act has been around, only 15 convicted doctors have lost their licences, indicating laxity on part of the system to create a deterrent; only 1,040 court cases have been filed and only 93 convictions secured.

Good news for poultry farm and abattoir owners. Disposal of huge quantities of chicken feathers will soon no longer be an arduous task, thanks to a new micro-organism that can disintegrate the protein in them in just about 30 hours. Chicken feathers usually take five to seven years to disintegrate because of the keratin component in them. They can�t be burnt because the process releases large quantities of sulphur, compounds of which are harmful to animal and plant life.

The disposal of chicken feathers, that are generated in huge quantities at poultry farms and at meat shops, will now be an easy task with the biotechnology department of Kolhapur’s Shivaji University identifying a new microorganism that disintegrates feathers within 30 hours. The department’s head, Jyoti Jadhav and her research student, Ranjit Gurav were working on this project for three-and-a-half years.

Punjab is set to become the first state to opt for unique indigenously developed ultra sound tracking technology device called “silent observer” (SIOB) which will keep a tab on illegal sex determination.

Ever since the recent Census report has highlighted that 1.36 lakh girls have “disappeared” during the last decade, the government wants to ensure strict monitoring of sex determination tests as part of its “save the girl child” census.

The state government has ordered a probe into the delay in the lifting of allotted coal by the state power utility that has resulted in a power crisis.
The announcement was made by state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan during his visit to Kolhapur on Friday to attend a function to induct supporters of independent MP and former NCP leader Sadashivrao Mandlik into the Congress.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today gave the go-ahead for water supply, road and sanitation projects worth Rs 658 crore in eight cities.

Out of the total expenditure, the state government's share would be Rs 419.33 crore of which Rs 104.83 crore or 25 per cent of the project cost will be disbursed this fiscal.

The beneficiary cities are Kolhapur, Solapur, Amravati, Jalgaon, Sangli, Miraj, Buldhana and Beed, a press release issued here said.

The farmers of Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh regions have suffered heavy losses due to the poor quality soybean seed purchased from different companies. The germination of seeds was abnormally low in these regions during the 2011 kharif season.

The Union agriculture minister of state, Harish Rawat, shared this information with Kolhapur MP, Raju Shetty, who had sought details on the issue from the ministry during the recently concluded session of the Parliament.

In a bid to curb sound pollution, most of the mandals in Kolhapur city preferred playing traditional instruments this year, in place of high decibel sound systems, during the immersion of Ganesh idols on Sunday.

The local police, various social organisations and the media had relentlessly campaigned for the last few weeks, highlighting the need for mandals to refrain from using pre-recorded loud music on sound systems during the procession.

The police had warned that erring mandals would face stringent action under the Noise Pollution Control and Regulation Rules, 2000.