COVID-19 cases on the rise in Chennai
With the daily tally of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu crossing over 200, of which Chennai alone reported over 80 cases, Health Minister Ma Subramanian has said that the infection seemed to be spreading faster in healthcare institutions. The public has been advised to wear masks in public places, maintain social distancing and self-isolate if they show symptoms of infection.
The Health Minister has said that the public need not panic as the current spread is only at the individual level and is not found to exist as a cluster.
The GCC has begun pasting home isolation stickers on the houses of the infected people in the city. As part of the first phase, the work of pasting stickers has been started only in areas with a high incidence of infections.
Source: The Hindu | The Times of India
Chennai to house Southeast Asia’s largest desalination plant
A water technology company called VA Tech Wabag which is headquartered in Chennai bagged the contract for the construction of a seawater desalination project from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).
Funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the company will design, build and operate a seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 400 million litres per day (MLD).
The project is expected to cost Rs 4,400 crore and will be the largest desalination plant in Southeast Asia. The drinking water produced by reverse osmosis and remineralisation will be distributed to the residents of South Chennai by the CMWSSB.
With this new plant, Chennai will have the capacity to produce 750 MLD of water along the coast.
Source: The New Indian Express
Read more: Chennai needs an integrated water management system to prevent floods and drought: Dr S Janakarajan
Chennai gets 105 ‘Music Signals’
With an objective to make the waiting period at the traffic signals a more pleasant and calm experience for commuters and to increase interaction with the public, the city police have launched ‘Music Signals‘ in 105 junctions in Chennai.
Popular music will be played at these signals, interspersed with messages on road safety, through public address systems.
Around 40 road safety messages along with over 300 songs will be played continuously for 12 hours without any repetition.
The concept was tested at a few junctions earlier and received a positive response from the public.
Source: DT Next
GCC to fix age limit for children in swimming pools
Following the drowning death of a seven-year-old boy in Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) swimming pool at My Ladies Park in Periyamet, the GCC has decided to review rules around operation of pools in the city.
The civic body has said that the city’s public pools will have age restrictions. There will also be more stringent rules on payments and safety measures.
The contractor in charge of maintaining the pool in Periyamet was awarded the tender to maintain the pools during the previous government’s tenure. The contractor has said that the GCC has not paid the firm for maintenance and they have been spending out of pocket for the upkeep of the pool.
Source: The Times of India
Read more: Safety an afterthought in many Chennai swimming pools
Residents in Perungudi complain of foul odour after biomining
In October 2022, GCC began biomining at the Perungudi dump yard. For over 30 years, the residents in the locality have had to live with the stench and polluted air due to fire outbreaks at the dump yard.
While biomining came as a relief to them, they complain that the leachate stagnation on the roads and the toxins released from the landfill in the past six months have resulted in a high level of groundwater contamination and subsequent health hazards.
This has forced at least 50 families to move out of the locality.
Contamination of groundwater has forced residents to rely on tanker lorries which supply water only on alternate days.
The GCC has said that the industries releasing chemical effluents into the drain constructed near the dump yard were the main reason for the foul smell.
Source: DT Next
[Compiled by Shobana Radhakrishnan]