LUCKNOW: Even after five years of its sanctioning by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme, the much-awaited municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant in Lucknow remains a non-starter. There is no concrete affirmation as when the city will be free of garbage that gets dumped around busy streets and vacant plots. Municipal officials, though, say that the plant is expected to begin functioning by the first week of February.

LUCKNOW: Even as the city remained under the grip of biting cold on Sunday, the minimum temperature dropped to 1.3 degrees Celsius in Agra, which was the lowest in record in the plains of the country. Significantly, on Saturday, Agra had recorded 0.4 degree Celsius minimum temperature, but Churu was the coldest with below zero degree minimum temperature. However, the weatherman predicted relief from the cold wave conditions as night temperatures may rise by a couple of degrees in the next 1-2 days.

LUCKNOW: The cultivation of embryonic stem-like cells made up from the tissue of an adult leopard, by Rajneesh Verma, has come as a ray of hope for scientists working to save the snow leopard. Rajneesh, a native of Lucknow is presently working at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Rajneesh has pursued his studies from City Montessori School (till Class X) and Colvin Taluqdar's (Class 12). After this he went to Australia from where he completed his BSc in biotechnology from Monash University.

LUCKNOW: In a significant judgement, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has ruled that an unused pond cannot be restored, uprooting the developments that had taken place over the water body. "In a fast changing world where development is necessary and industrial growth is taking place, sustainable development has to take place and cannot be overlooked," observed the court.

JHANSI: Blaming the past governments for the current plight of Bundelkhand region, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged state minister and senior BSP leader Nassemuddin Siddiqui had given the tractors to his sons, which were meant for farmers and sent by the Centre. Addressing a public meeting at Lalitpur, Rahul Gandhi said that when he visited Bundelkhand two years ago, he saw the plight of the people here.

LUCKNOW: Every second Indian undergoing treatment for tuberculosis comes from Uttar Pradesh. Considering that 17% of tuberculosis (TB) patients eventually become resistant to basic anti-TB treatment, the risk of multi drug resistant TB (MDR TB) looms large over the state. However, this was probably not enough to put health authorities into action mode, as it took more than two years for the state government to gear up to DOTS plus - the treatment for MDR TB.

LUCKNOW: How does an idea of a compressed air-powered motorcycle engine sound? Incredible! But B R Singh, an engineer who was awarded a PhD degree at the GBTU convocation, has made it true. Singh has come out with an air engine that can run a motorcycle. Singh's work has been acclaimed and published in the `Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy'.

In a conversation with journalists at the convocation venue, Singh claimed that the air engine can use compressed air to generate power sufficient enough to run a motorcycle for at least 40 minutes.

LUCKNOW: Ganga has been chosen as abode for the young ghariyals this year too. The Kukrail Rehabilitation Centre will release 150 ghariyals in Hastinapur sanctuary along the Ganga. The first lot of 75 ghariyals was released towards the start of the month, while the second lot will be released by the end of December. The forest department releases the artificially-reared young ghariyals, every winter, in the wild. As part of the routine exercise, young reptiles will be released in the Hastinapur sanctuary of Meerut division which exists along the Ganga, this year.

LUCKNOW: The draft report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) team after the National Rural Health Mission performance audit in the state reveals that about 27% of the total fund released by the Centre during the past four years did not reflect in the accounts of the state health society, the nodal agency at the NRHM directorate to monitor the spending.

More than onethird of the milk supplied in the city by vendors is unfit for human consumption as it contains caustic soda, a chemical compound used in detergent powders and cakes.
Primary findings gathered through results of a random survey conducted by Parag, which started on November 15, revealed that less than 10% of nearly 500 samples were pure.