The green cover in the state has declined by 554 sq km. This was revealed on Wednesday in the report of the Forest Survey of India. The forest cover (sanctuaries and protected area) recorded a nominal decline of just one sq km while the trees outside the forest area recorded a decrease of 553 sq km. Additional principal chief conservator of forest, social forestry, H S Singh, said, "The data released in the report 2011 is for the year 2008-09.

Ahmedabad: Two cities of Gujarat, both industrial hubs, top the list of cities with lowest sex ratio in India. Vapi, the industrial town in south Gujarat, has got the lowest sex ratio in the country with only 734 women per 1,000 men. Diamond city Surat is second with 754 women per 1,000 men.

AHMEDABAD: Here is another instance of a suspected cover up by the state health department.

If the figures given out by the directorate of national vectorborne disease control program (NVBDCP) are to be believed then there were just 14 malaria deaths in the state between January and October this year.

Chennai The Tamil Nadu government announced on Friday a R127.40-crore interest-free loan to 15 common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) situated at Tirupur to enable 700-odd dyeing units to attain zero liquid discharge (ZLD). The dyeing units were forced to shut down by the Madras High Court in January owing to non-compliance of its earlier order in attaining ZLD.

AHMEDABAD: Nearly 75% of diabetics have uncontrolled sugar levels which may be wreaking havoc with the functioning of their vital organs like kidney and heart and adversely affecting their nerve function, rendering them vulnerable to retinopathy and neuropathy, a research by the Study of India's Twin Epidemic (SITE) has found.

Experts term this as the most alarming information on the eve of World Diabetes Day on Monday which indicates that patients and doctors have a causal attitude towards management of the disease which is known as the silent killer.

In a bid to provide protection to vital installations along the Gujarat coastline, the State Government has undertaken a project to study how coastal vegetation could help in mitigating the impact of natural disasters like tsunami and cyclone.

The bio-shield project, being implemented by the Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), would be first carried out on a pilot basis in the South Gujarat region where coastal vegetation including mangroves would be planted in an area and studied over a period of time.

AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) aims to ready the master plan to combat the outbreak of diseases three months in advance.

Talking to reporters, AMC commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra admitted that the corporation has learnt its lessons and has decided that master plan will be readied three months in advance.

For the water-borne disease, the master plan will be out in April and for diseases like jaundice and others, it will be readied in December.