The traders of Chungathara in the district are leading the way in creating a clean and garbage-free village.

Aiming at total cleanliness, the traders, under the banner of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES), secured the assistance of the Chungathara grama panchayat, the Total Sanitation and Health Mission (TSHM), the Mar Thoma College, and the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of Mar Thoma Higher Secondary School in its effort to devise a cleanliness project titled ‘clean village, beautiful village.'

Laying of pipelines for carrying regassified LNG (liquefied natural gas) from Puthuvype to Kochi and beyond is on schedule and no hitch is expected, according to GAIL (India) Limited officials here.

There have been some enquiries from the Forest Department about certain patches of land in Palakkad where the pipeline is to pass through. These are normal queries and are being replied to, a senior official of GAIL told The Hindu on Tuesday.

Study finds 75% of wells contaminated

A study of groundwater conducted across the district has found that 75 per cent of the water resources in 22 grama panchayats along the banks of the Kadalundipuzha and the Chaliyar are polluted.

KOCHI: The PWD will soon start the road work for Rs1,343 crore allotted by the Finance Department, said Public Works Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju.

After a review meeting of the top officials of PWD here on Tuesday, the minister said the Urban Development Project under the Road Fund Board would be extended to Kannur, Malappuram, Thrissur and Kottayam also.

Government will respect people's sentiments

Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has said that the United Democratic Front government will not forcibly acquire land for development activities.

Jairam Ramesh to launch PURA

As much as Rs.68.3 crore will be spent under the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Area (PURA) project being launched in Tirurangadi grama panchayat on November 15.

The Forest Department of Kerala has just completed the first-ever ornithological survey for the Malabar region recording 341 species of birds.

The survey is one of a kind notable for its sheer depth and span, more comprehensive than all such surveys undertaken so far in India. Hopefully, the five-member team including four eminent ornithologists commissioned by the Forest Department of Kerala, having completed such a through status report on the birds of Kerala, has established a new national benchmark for all such wildlife surveys in future.

Minister for Industries and Urban Development P.K. Kunhalikutty inaugurated ‘Suchitwotsavam,' a cleaning drive under the aegis of the district sanitation mission as part of the Nirmal Bharat project undertaken by the Union Ministry for Rural Development across the country, on the beach here on Sunday.

Laws to curb poultry waste dumping in public
The district is set to pilot the State government's comprehensive waste disposal project. Minister for Industries P.K. Kunhalikutty said here on Friday that Malappuram district was chosen to pilot the project considering its problems in waste disposal.

Slight increase in infant mortality rate
A Keralite, on an average, has the life span of a U.S. citizen as the State ranks high in all health indicators compared to other States in the country. But the declining child sex ratio shows the State in bad light despite the fairly good overall sex ratio, United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) consultant for Kerala and Tamil Nadu N.S.