BEIJING: Cabbage sellers in China have been caught spritzing their product with formaldehyde to keep it fresh during long trips to market in the country’s latest food safety scandal. China’s food industry and regulatory agencies have been scrambling to clean up their reputations following a series of serious problems including melamine-tainted milk and pork laced with a banned growth promoter.
The official Xinhua News Agency said on Monday dozens of wholesale vegetable dealers in Shandong province’s Qingzhou city were caught selling cabbage sprayed with formaldehyde. It didn’t say if the dealers had been arrested and what penalties they might face.
Cabbage is a staple food in China. It said the practice became widespread in the last three years, particularly in warmer months when vegetables rot quickly in transit. China’s wholesale vegetable dealers are not required to use refrigerated trucks for produce, and few can afford them.
In 2008, China’s ministry of health published a list of illegal food additives that included formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can irritate the skin and cause breathing and digestive problems, and it is a known carcinogen.

BEIJING: Cabbage sellers in China have been caught spritzing their product with formaldehyde to keep it fresh during long trips to market in the country’s latest food safety scandal. China’s food industry and regulatory agencies have been scrambling to clean up their reputations following a series of serious problems including melamine-tainted milk and pork laced with a banned growth promoter.
The official Xinhua News Agency said on Monday dozens of wholesale vegetable dealers in Shandong province’s Qingzhou city were caught selling cabbage sprayed with formaldehyde. It didn’t say if the dealers had been arrested and what penalties they might face.
Cabbage is a staple food in China. It said the practice became widespread in the last three years, particularly in warmer months when vegetables rot quickly in transit. China’s wholesale vegetable dealers are not required to use refrigerated trucks for produce, and few can afford them.
In 2008, China’s ministry of health published a list of illegal food additives that included formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can irritate the skin and cause breathing and digestive problems, and it is a known carcinogen.

New Delhi: Delhiites will soon get a chance to witness some of the most exotic marine species like sharks, lion fish, penguins and dolphins in their own neighbourhood. The country’s largest public aquarium—1-lakh sq ft Blue Planet—is set to open at Greater Noida by the year-end.
“Whether it’s the marine species in Rift Valley lakes of Africa or the life forms in the Ganga, people will get to see a distinct ecosystem at the aquarium. There will be massive water tanks for exhibits, recreational boating, and mermaid shows with underwater pyrotechnics, music and light,” says S S Bhasin, managing director, Bhasin Group, which will open the aquarium in collaboration with Singapore-based Andover Group.
Spread over two floors, the aquarium—a $9-million project—will also include a tropical rainforest, underwater tunnel, 4D theatre, reptile park, penguin paradise, and activities like coral walking and shark feeding. To afford visitors a diverse experience, both saltwater and freshwater species will be on display. Visitors can soak in the ambience at the aquarium café, and take home with them little keepsakes from the souvenir store.
“The exhibits will serve both aesthetic and educational purposes. We will also have guided tours and back-ofhouse visits to show people how we maintain the place,” says Sindhu Zhang Huihan, president, Andover Group.
The aquarium is part of a 3-million sq ft complex, Great Venice, which will house a mall, multiplex, five-star hotel, shopping centre, amusement arcade, and more than 30 restaurants, cafes and bars. Cobbled walkways, water canals and gondolas will complete the Venetian experience at the complex, as envisioned by the Bhasin Group.
The mall, expected to be one of its kind, will have shops spread across three areas—canal shops, San Marco Square and mansions—and will cover about 10 acres. The project will also celebrate Indian culture—handicrafts village, state emporia, foods of India, folk performances—and even at the aquarium, 65% of the species will be of Indian origin.
Bhasin says the idea behind the project came from his children after numerous trips abroad. However, with Rs 750 crore at stake, the ambitious project is actually a numbers game. “NCR gets 15 million domestic tourists and five million international visitors each year, and about 20 million people live in the region, so the market has immense potential,” he says.

NOIDA: A day after the Uttar Pradesh government appointed Sanjeev Saran as the chairman and CEO for Noida, the new chief drew up a roadmap for completion of all projects that are stuck. The officer also outlined plans to clean up the city besides making it greener. He also directed his team of engineers to repair and take up maintenance of city roads on a war footing.
The focus will be on public projects and those that affect the lives of people on a day-to-day basis besides the five projects on the CM’s priority list. “Issues that directly affect the common man, including connectivity of roads, public transport, sanitation and horticulture, will be given precedence,” Saran said.
The Authority will ensure that basic facilities are provided before any new sectors are developed,” Saran said. The CEO has directed officials to launch a 15-day cleanliness campaign starting Monday. “Noida boasts a slogan-clean and green Noida-which I will reinforce,” Saran said. “From Monday, the city will be swept clean and citizens will see the difference,” he added. “Having witnessed the sorry state of roads in Noida, I have directed my engineers to take up the repair and restoration work immediately. In the next phase, we will start upgrade of the road network by planning flyovers and underpasses,” Saran added. “Out-of-order streetlights will be repaired and drains cleared up,” he added.
In a meeting of all the heads of departments on Saturday, he said the Authority will look at the projects launched during the previous BSP regime which were now stalled. But, he added, they will be reviewed in detail. The CEO has asked officials to present details of all work orders of over Rs 1 crore given after December 15, 2011, by Monday. He said all the policy decisions taken during the previous party’s tenure will be examined.
Talking about the developmental projects, which have been pending since the new Samajwadi Party took over, the CEO laid stress on pushing the important projects towards completion. Projects like the extension of Metro route, which is part of the Phase-III DMRC plan, and is awaiting signing of the MoU, will be taken up. “During my last tenure, the Authority had inked the MoU with the DMRC in 2006, and we will soon hold a meeting with DMRC to take the project forward,” Saran said.
The widening of NH-24 and the go-ahead for building underpasses as well as flyovers along the route will also fast tracked. Another project that the Noida chief plans to put a stamp of approval on is the alternative bridge that has to be constructed at Kalindi Kunj over the Okhla barrage. A decision on the toll for the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway will also be taken. “We will soon fix a date for the much delayed board meeting, where we will finalize the budget for this year,” he said.

Hariharan Venkatesh is not working in Kargil Realtors PVt LTD Noida, AND ANY DEFAULT WE ARE NOT REASPONSIBILITY, HIS CONTACT NUMBER, 9811191169 dATE 5/5/2012

NEW DELHI: Delhiites, gear up for more speed thrills. After Formula One, the national capital region will soon host MotoGP and Superbike World Championship – the two premier international motorcycle-racing events – and the FIA GT1 sports car racing.

While India will be the last stop for GT1’s 2012 season with a race in December, it is likely to host the first race of the Superbike World Championship, or SBK, next year, in the first week of March, an official ofJaypee Group, promoters of India’s first F1 track, said.

MotoGP is expected to be held in March 2013. “We want to accommodate all of these races, but India has only five months of good whether when they can be held,” Sameer Gaur, managing director and chief executive officer of Jaypee Sports International, said. All the races will be held on the 5.14 km-long Buddh International Race Circuit in Greater Noida that the company built last year for India’s first Formula One race held in October.

Unlike the F1 race, where all rights except for tickets rested with F1 promoter Bernie Ecclestone, Jaypee Sports will hold TV, online and radio rights as well as on-track sponsorship rights for GT1 Championship. In the case of Superbike World Championship, or SBK, Jaypee will have 70% share of the revenues, outside of tickets, with the rest going to race authorities FGSport. For MotoGP, though, Jaypee may get only 30% with the lion’s share going to race promoters Dorna Sports.

A day after the national green tribunal in Delhi ordered new industrial units in Noida would not be given environmental clearance because of rising pollution, the local administration on Friday said “only one unit in the city is causing pollution.”

The Noida administration said only non-polluting industries were being allowed as polluting industries had been banned more than two decades ago. The Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPSPCB) says 70 % of the pollution is caused by vehicles, 20 % by industries and 10 % by households.

General manager of Gautam Budd Nagar district industry centre, a state government body, Ramesh Chandra, told Hindustan Times on Friday, “Only one paper mill running at sector 6 (industrial) is causing pollution. This, too, will be closed soon. We have served a notice and the company has planned to shift to another district.”

A recent report of the national institute of disaster management (NIDM) has said Noida industries have no concerns for pollution. “There is no pollution monitoring station in industrial sectors. There is no data on pollution. Units use diesel generators everyday. Most industries have changed their products to those of polluting characters,” the report says.

Chandra, however, differs, “There is no industrial pollution. Even a few industries which were set up during the initial development of the city have also set up effluent treatment plants (ETPs).”  “Now we are giving permission only for small-scale industries such as ready-made garments, IT, ITES, corrugated boxes, engineering job works, book binding, steel and wooden furniture,” he said.

“Heavy industries are not permitted in Noida. These are allowed in Greater Noida. These big companies have ETPs and other pollution control measures put in place,” he said. Industrial associations claimed construction activities being carried out real estate firms and vehicles were contributing to over 80 % of the pollution of the city.

“Taking into consideration the grave nature of allegations and lackadaisical attitude”, the tribunal has summoned officials of the central pollution control board and the Noida authority on May 8. The tribunal also directed the (UPPCB to conduct spot inspections, collect effluent from polluting units, analyse the same and submit a report.

Darpan Singh and Kapil Datta, Hindustan Times
Noida, April 14, 2012

Anyone who reads newspapers and watches television can tell that Indian drivers and bikers have a ‘need for speed’. How else do you explain the endless news of mangled cars and bikes after their owners’ impromptu and illegal joyrides went horribly wrong. While the root  cause is more than likely the  sense of lawlessness on public roads (not to mention very suspect means of acquiring a license), at least now there is an outlet for those who fancy themselves as speed demons.

The Buddh International Circuit hosted it’s very first open trackday on Sunday in which 90 drivers and 30 bikers took their own vehicles for a spin on India’s only Formula 1 grade racing facility.

The trackday was open to anyone from the public who had a road-legal vehicle willing to pay the fee that would allow them to drive as fast as they could. Provided, of course, that they had the Rs 4,999 and Rs 7,699 to drive in a 20 minute session for bikes and cars, respectively.

Former rally driver and TV host Rajeev Khanna was one of the bikers to take part and gave an enthusiastic vote of confidence to the event.

“It was just an amazing experience for people who like to race,” Khanna told HT. “The whole event was pretty much amazing and I have never seen a more professional group of organizers.”

This year’s Desert Storm cross-country rally’s runner-up Gaurav Chiripal was one of the participants in the car category and was similarly pleased about having taken part in the event. “The facilities are the best in the country,” said Chiripal. “Overall it’s a good way for people to test their skills on a proper track instead of going crazy on the roads!”

Chiripal was, however, critical of some of the other aspects of the event. “At the last minute they set up a very expensive food stall,” said Chiripal. “There also wasn’t any place for families or onlookers to sit and relax.”

The owners of the circuit are planning five more such trackdays before the end of the year with the next one tentatively scheduled for sometime in the end of May.

Vinayak Pande, Hindustan Times
April 25, 2012

In an incident that is bound to fuel fears of the looming threat posed by high pesticide content in vegetables, a 19-month-old toddler collapsed after licking a brinjal bought from a ‘leading’ departmental store in Ghaziabad.
By AKASH VASHISHTHA
The incident took place in Raj Nagar on Friday. The child was rushed to a local hospital and had to be kept in the ICU.
‘On the day, as I opened the refrigerator, Zeus (the victim) crept up behind me and pulled out a bag of brinjals, which got scattered all over the floor. He picked up one of them and began to play with it and we let him,’ Zeus’s grandmother Rajini Dev said.
‘Within minutes, however, he fell unconscious and subsequently started exhibiting fit-like symptoms. We immediately took him to a local doctor, who at once attributed his condition to the consumption of a toxic substance. He referred him to Gargi Hospital,’ the sector-6 resident said.
Doctors at the hospital reaffirmed the local medic Dr Ajit Kapur’s diagnosis.
‘When we told him that he had licked the brinjal, the doctors deduced that the vegetable may have contained a large amount of pesticide. There was no other explanation,’ she said.
At the ICU, the toxic substance was flushed out of Zeus’s stomach through a series of procedures. The child vomited several times and was administered several drips before he regained consciousness. He remained in the ICU for 72 hours, the family said.
The family, however, has no plans to hold the departmental store to task for the ‘toxic’ brinjal.
‘We did inform them about the incident. But they denied all blame, claiming that they washed all the vegetables properly,’ Rajini said.
‘We did not make a hue and cry as our child survived. God forbid, had something untoward happened, we would not have spared them.’ Dr Kapur said:
‘The child was brought to me in a drowsy condition. Though we had no idea about what he had consumed, all the symptoms suggested his condition was the result of a toxic substance.’
The local administration, however, said they could not have pre-empted the accident. When asked about the alarming rise of pesticide levels in the vegetables available in markets, district magistrate Aparna U. said: ‘Presence of pesticide residue in vegetables is definitely an issue but the authority to check it doesn’t lie with us. There is nothing at the farmers’ level to oversee pesticide regulation.
‘Furthermore, in this case, no comparative tests were conducted to check the level of pesticides in the brinjal. Had there been sound proof regarding the same, we would have done something,’ she said.

GREATER NOIDA: Residents will no longer have to go the extra mile to get their driving licences. Literally. In a meeting held last week, officials of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), RTO and the district administration decided that a new regional transport centre that will deal with licences and registration will be opened in Greater Noida. At present, residents of Greater Noida and Jewar have to travel all the way to the Assistant Regional Transport Office (ARTO) in Sector 33, Noida for the purpose.

Greater Noida Authority will provide the required four-acre space for the centre. Once the RTO and the district magistrate approve the spot, construction work will begin. The move comes after repeated complaints and requests from residents for the need of a centre.

“The Authority has suggested a spot inside the premises of a centrally located bus depot in Greater Noida. A large portion of the depot remains vacant. We will inspect the spot this week,” said MKS Sundaram, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar. “Residents have been requesting for a centre nearby for a long time now. The existing transport office in Noida is extremely congested and we hope that the new centre will lessen of its burden,” Sundaram added.

According to the regional transport authorities, once the new centre is developed, licence seekers will be able to apply and complete formalities like the driving test for learners’ licence and payment of fees at the centre itself. The licence though, will finally be issued from the Noida office.

“The move to make a new centre is a welcome one not only for residents but also for the overburdened staff at the Noida office. Once the proposed centre takes shape, we will try to wrap up most of the formalities at the new centre itself to minimize trouble for applicants saving them several trips to the Noida office,” said a regional transport official.

TNN | Apr 25, 2012, 01.06AM IST