Seeking a report on the mushrooming of resorts and other activities in the reserve forests in five districts of the State, the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) issued notice to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) in Bangalore on Thursday.

The CEC has instructed the PCCF to provide details about the resorts (including Jungle Lodges), restaurants and other activities in the reserve forest regions of Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Madikeri and Hassan districts.

The State Forest department has decided to grow over 20 lakh sandalwood trees on 2,000 acres of land at a cost of Rs 50 crore in nine districts of the State.

Forest Minister C P Yogeeshwara told mediapersons on Monday that the project, implemented in Mysore on a pilot basis, would be extended to other parts of the State.

The project at a cost of Rs 3,400 cr will solve water woes in B’lore

Urban development minister Suresh Kumar assured to complete the Cauvery IV phase works, before March 2012, as scheduled.

Unappealing tourism destination
While several tourist spots across the state are crying for attention and funds, the amount sanctioned for development at Gaganachukki in Chamarajanagar district had to be returned due to non-utilisation.

For Gaganachukki falls, ` 50 lakh had been earmarked for development works.

Scheme aims at increasing paddy, maize production by 20 pc
Madikeri, As many as 58 villages and 19,000 hectare land will reap the benefits under

Proportion of child population falls below nine per cent in four dists
Bangalore, The percentage of children in the age group 0-6 has declined to 11.21 per cent in 2011 from 13.59 per cent in 2001, according to census figures.

The decrease is 2.36 percen

Maddur (Mandya dist): Fire has destroyed nearly 60 acres of forest at Maradevanahlli Social forests in Kesthur range of the taluk, recently.

The social forest near Maradevanahalli destroyed in fire in Maddur taluk recently. Dh photo It is said that the fire was noticed around 1 pm. The fire has destroyed forests as well as claimed the lives of more than 10 peacocks and a python.

A team of officers led by Tahsildar arrested two persons and seized a tractor used for illegal stone quarry works at Gajarajagiri hills near Kapanahalli Gavimutt in the taluk on Thursday.

Tahsildar Dr H L Nagaraj and others paid a surprise visit to the Gajarajagiri hills following complaints of illegal stone quarrying.

Interestingly, quarrying has been going on unabated near Siddalingeshwara

The neo-natal clinic at the government hospital in Mandya, 90 km from Bangalore, is surprisingly clean as ophthalmologist Anand Vinekar, 35, wheels in a Retcam, a cutting-edge diagnostic device the size of a television set. Vinekar then pulls out what looks like a hair dryer from the device.