Some roads to be free of litter in Chennai by 21st December
Across all 15 zones, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) plans to make some roads litter-free, with the help of enforcement squads. This is part of a slew of initiatives to improve solid waste management in the city. There are also plans in place to solicit wider cooperation from residents and shop owners in avoiding littering.
The enforcement squad will have conservancy inspectors and supervisors led by the zonal assistant executive engineer of GCC’s Solid Waste Management department. They will issue spot fines to people who illegally dump garbage and shops that have failed to segregate waste. The civic body has identified 30,000 shops within GCC limits which do not segregate waste.
Source: The Hindu
GCC’s smart bikes find low patronage in Chennai
More than 1000 smart bikes of Chennai Smart City Limited have found very few takers and are in poor shape. Commuters have found these bikes damaged, with parts stolen or missing.
Rs 30 crores were spent to set up smart bikes in Chennai, and the civic body has not yet brought about measures to increase ridership.
The reasons for smart bikes not taking off in Chennai include inaccessibility, hard-to-use mobile application, lack of maintenance and cycling infrastructure that support the bikes. Moreover, many people are unaware of the bike share system in the city.
Source: The Times of India
Greater Chennai Corporation ready to handle Cyclone Mandous impact
The civic body has readied itself to handle public grievances and offer emergency assistance as Cyclone Mandous makes landfall. There are 805 motor pumps ready to drain the water from low-level spots in Chennai. Apart from that, 189 relief centres and 115 tipper trucks are present across the city.
Around 270 tree shears and a JCB have been kept to clear trees and branches as fast winds up to 80 km/h are expected in the wake of the cyclone. Each ward will also have 10 personnel assigned to handle emergency situations.
The civic body has urged people to not go near the coast before the landfall.
To share cyclone-related grievances, the public can contact Corporation’s helpline number- 1913, telephone numbers 044-2561 9206, 044-2561 9208 and WhatsApp number 9445477205.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall near Mamallapuram by midnight on Friday.
Source: DT Next | The Hindu
Read more: As rains lash the city, North Chennai residents still await flood mitigation measures
Street dog census to happen in January 2023
The street dog census that was to take place in 2022 has been postponed and will now be carried out by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) during the anti-rabies vaccination drive in January 2023.
As of 2018, official records show that there were 57,336 street dogs in Chennai. Frequent census drives are necessary to test the effectiveness of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme. As per GCC officials, the present number of street dogs is projected to be around 90,000.
Owing to the pandemic, very few ABC surgeries were done in 2020. Therefore, it is not easy to know how many street dogs are in Chennai. Animal activists say that a street dog census will also help in formulating budget decisions for sterilisation.
Source: The New Indian Express
Eviction notices sent to houses and shops near Ennore water body
The civic body has served notices to 53 houses and shops encroaching on Thamaraikulam, a lake in Kathivakkam, in Ennore.
Thamaraikulam used to be five acres, and now it has shrunk to less than two acres, because of high-rise apartments and commercial complexes. Apart from this, there is an unused school complex and a corporation road encroaching on the lake area. Moreover, the lake area has been converted into a garbage dumping site.
The Chennai collector said that the revenue department was ready to help in evicting them.
Source: The Times of India
[Compiled by Padmaja Jayaraman]