Articles by News Desk

Deaths on Mumbai’s railway tracks  A total of 2950 people died on the suburban railway tracks in Mumbai in 2023, says the latest data. Crossing the railway tracks and falling off a crowded train were the major reasons, apart from natural causes and suicides. The number is marginally more than last year when 2507 succumbed on the tracks.  The data compiled by the Government Railway Police showed that 1277 people were killed while crossing the tracks and 590 people died due to falling off the train.  “One suburban train has 12 coaches with a capacity of around 1,200 passengers, which…

Special buses to be operated for Pongal In view of the Pongal festival, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will run 450 special buses from the city to six bus stands, from where mofussil buses will be operated. The special buses will be in operation for three days from Friday (January 12) to Sunday (January 14). Similarly, to facilitate the passengers returning to the city after the festival, an additional 50 evening and night buses will ply on January 17 and 18. On January 18 and 19 early mornings, 125 buses will be operated. Source: DT Next Ennore Creek to be…

BBMP serves notices on underpaying tax After a recent upgrade of its revenue division, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has begun to serve notices to defaulters who have underpaid or under-assessed their property tax for seven years. Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue), said that the KMC Act and the BBMP Act allow revenue officers to issue notices when they find properties being under-assessed to pay a lesser amount of tax. It requires revenue officers to survey a building. BBMP has issued notices to 20,000 property owners so far. However, many, including Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, have expressed disagreement that…

Mumbaikars may have briefly felt better as pollution levels dipped with the unseasonal showers last week. But it may not last long and that persistent cold and cough might just return as temperatures fluctuate and pollution levels rise again.  Mumbai, the most densely-populated city, and in the throes of infrastructure projects and other construction, has had worrying pollution levels in the past few months. Data now shows that Mumbai has recorded a 38% increase in the PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels over the past five years. The data was analysed by Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences, and presented…

In September 2023, the Government of India constituted a high level committee (HLC) to examine the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Parliament (Lok Sabha), all state legislative assemblies, municipalities and panchayats in the country — a proposal floated as One Nation One Election. The panel, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, has now invited members of the general public to send their suggestions in writing for making appropriate changes in the existing legal and administrative framework to enable the same. One can post suggestions on the Committee's website or send an email to se-hlc@gov.in (as mentioned in…

GCC to prepare white paper on stormwater drains The Greater Chennai Corporation faced a lot of backlash over the state of stormwater drains during the recent floods. In response to that, Corporation Commissioner J Radhakrishnan said in this news report that the GCC will prepare a white paper, which will include an explanation of the much-criticised '₹ 4,000-crore-worth storm water drain works', the status of the project, where the drains worked and where they did not, and why. A flood audit will also be done by the GCC and the reports will be submitted to the government, he said. Source:…

KSRTC to induct 2,000 buses The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) plans to add 2,000 buses, of which 500 will be e-buses. It will also introduce Vehicle Tracking & Monitoring System (VTMS), a mobile app, and cashless travel. There will be 1,000 refurbished buses too. As the Shakti scheme had increased the demand for KSRTC buses, especially in rural areas, it is expected that 1,000 Karnataka Sarige buses will improve rural connectivity. Meanwhile, passengers will soon be able to pay through smart electronic ticketing machines (ETMs). Source: The Hindu, Bangalore Mirror Read more: Looking back at 2023: A review…

Toll for Mumbai Trans Harbour Link set at Rs 250 After much speculation over the amount of toll on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the state government has finalised the toll amount as Rs 250 per car one way. Earlier it was expected that a one-way journey, which cuts the travel time considerably between Navi Mumbai and south Mumbai, would cost as much as Rs 500. The 22-km long road, will connect Sewri in Mumbai and Chirale in Raigad and will have three exits. The longest sea bridge in India, it will reduce the travel time to 15 to 20…

For years, the residents of Ennore have grappled with the health and livelihood issues arising out of living in a toxic environment. The recent oil spill in the Manali area of Chennai, the ammonia gas leak on the night of December 26, 2023, and the events that followed have been nothing short of a nightmare. At a recent public hearing organised on January 1 at the Ennore Vyabarigal Sangam Thirumana Mandapam by the Ennore Makkal Paathukaappu Kuzhu (Ennore People’s Protection Committee) — a campaign front bringing together representatives of all 32 villages/localities in the Ennore/Ernavur region — people living in…

Ennore gas leak: Residents demand closure of factory Residents of Ennore continued their protests against the Coromandel International Limited, after leakage of ammonia gas from the company's pipeline late night on December 26 left many people giddy and gasping for breath, while others fainted. While 52 residents from Periyakuppam, Chinnakuppam and surrounding villages were hospitalised, many have already evacuated from the area because of the strong smell and eye irritation. The fertiliser plant has temporarily downed shutters after a notice for closure was issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to suspend operations. However, residents from the affected…