Karnataka govt to form panel to decide on lifting ban on eucalyptus plantation
BENGALURU: The Karnataka government will constitute a high-level committee to decide whether to lift the ban on the Eucalyptus plantation or look for alternative ways to facilitate the revival of the Bhadravati MPM factory. According to an official statement on Thursday, a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened on Wednesday regarding the revival of Mysore Paper Mill Ltd (MPM).
The meeting was chaired by Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil at the Vidhansouda office. Forest Minister Ishwara Khandre and Bhadravati MLA Sangamesh also attended it. Ishwara Khandre said the forest department will form an experts committee today and it will be asked to submit a comprehensive report within a month.
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Speaking after the meeting, the Minister explained, "A total of 20,005 hectares of forest land has been given to Bhadravati Paper Factory in 2020 on a lease for 40 years, for growing eucalyptus. However, forest land cannot be granted without the central government's permission. On the other hand, the factory cannot run without getting the required raw material. This catch situation needs to be resolved".
MPM operation requires 10 lakh tonnes of raw material every year and currently only two lakh tonnes are available from the land given to the factory. Eucalyptus plantation is banned in the state. So, this has forced the concerned to explore a new option so that the factory can be revived, he said.
The government is considering allowing eucalyptus plantations in the surrounding districts of Shivamogga as well and the proposed committee will take a call on this, Patil added.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
