Log-in leap with technology park

linking on the capital’s development screen: a tech hub meant to serve as a bridge between colleges and industry.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit recently announced plans for the technology park that will come up in Dwarka, the fast-expanding township on the western fringes.

Dikshit said after a cabinet meeting that the facility will be built under the public-private partnership model and should be “fully developed” in three to four years. “The National Association of Software Service Companies and its consultants have identified over 20 potential areas of research for this park. These include biotechnology, IT and communication technology,” Dikshit said.

The park is expected to house a research centre, an incubator to provide a platform to students and professors for testing their ideas and conducting further research, conference halls and commercial space.

The research and development units in the enclave will be that of Indian firms and MNCs, serving as a knowledge hub. “The park will further act as a catalyst for academia-industry interaction,” the chief minister said.

Rich pickings, in China

Sow in Karnataka, reap in China.

Farmers, often courted by politicians, in the state seem to be going places. Now, 1,000 of them are set to scale the Great Wall.

Chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa announced last week that farmers would be sent on a study tour to China for “first-hand” understanding of the agriculture there.

A sum of Rs 10 crore has been set aside for the trips, he told the Assembly, saying the farmers would be sent in batches.

Bureaucrats and ministers have long had the benefit of foreign jaunts, mostly dubbed study tours, but a 1,000-strong delegation at government expense is hardly common.

A coffee technology park and food park will be set up in Chikmagalur at a cost of Rs 1 crore, Yeddyurappa said. BPL ration cards will be given to plantation workers.

Fitness test for airport

One of the country’s busiest airports ran a response check last week.

With the country in the grip of a terror threat, the two-hour security drill could not have been timed better.

As part of the exercise, full-scale emergency services were put to test to find out just how well equipped the Mumbai International Airport was to grapple with a crisis.

According to Mumbai International Airport Limited (Mial), which has revamped the hub, the exercise was in accordance with rules laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the global body that sets the standards on running and managing airports. The drill is also prescribed by the country’s own watchdog, the directorate-general of civil aviation. According to Mial, the tests are mandatory for airports across the world.

The Mumbai airport remains one of the busiest in the country, handling a little more than 650 flights in a single day. Last year, 25.8 million passengers arrived and left the hub and over 2 lakh planes, which included both national and international carriers, took off and landed.                      (PTI)

Rain sting

Mumbai is wading through rains. So is malaria.

The disease has so far claimed more than 22 lives this year, turning out to be the most serious monsoon ailment civic authorities have been struggling to get a grip on.

Until the downpour this week, the casualties from all rain-related ailments stood at 63, in the last week of July.

Gastroenteritis and leptospirosis have emerged the other public-health threats the city has been staring at this season.

MUMBAI: This Sunday, watch Saat Teri Ekvess, a hilarious Gujarati play that touches on the subject of surrogate motherhood. The producers, Manhar Gadhia Productions, have made popular plays like Gandhi vs Gandhi and A Suitable Bride. Venue: NCPA Experimental Theatre, Nariman Point. Time: 7pm.