Articles by News Desk

On a humid Sunday afternoon, two lads meddle with the coconut twigs and rat skins at the bund of Rajakilpakkam Lake, near Tambaram. The young boys, aged 3 years and 5 years, spend the afternoon playing with the skin of the rats caught by their father a day ago. Hailing from the Irular tribe whose occupation is to hunt snakes and rats, these kids make use of the leftovers from the catch. "I have never thought about giving my children toys. Even if I wish to, I can never afford it," says a 40-year-old Varadan A, the father. Just a…

KSPCB orders closure of Graphite India Whitefield residents won their two-decade-long battle to get Graphite India Limited (GIL) shut down. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) issued an order to stop GIL's industrial operations and processes that polluted the area. The order clarified that clearance had been given to GIL to operate in Mahadevapura till June 30, 2020, but this was being withdrawn with immediate effect. The KSPCB issued the order under Section 31(A) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, read with Rule 20(A) of Karnataka Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1983. The order was…

Hotel fire kills 17 in Delhi, serious lapses found A fire that broke out in the five-storey Arpit Palace hotel in Karol Bagh on February 11 took a toll of 17 lives, including that of one child. The origin of the blaze is uncertain but it spread to the upper floors, trapping the guests. This is the highest death toll in a fire since the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy in 1997 that left 59 dead. The blaze broke out in the early hours on Tuesday, February 12th. Twenty five fire tenders were rushed to the spot to battle the fire…

Up to 1 lakh penalty for violating plastic ban The Tamil Nadu Government has introduced a bill in the assembly, amending the municipal laws to impose penalty  for violating the plastic ban. The penalty will be anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 1 lakh depending, on the establishments and the frequency. Stocking, selling, carrying and distributing banned plastic items will invite a penalty of Rs 25,000 for first time violators, Rs.50000 for the second time and Rs 1 lakh for the third time offenders, post which the business licence will be cancelled. Small  commercial vendors will be imposed a fine…

Hyderabad police launch project for safe autos The Hyderabad Police launched a project named ‘My Auto is Safe’, with a view to improving passenger safety. The project will see the digitisation of data on autos plying in the city. The name of the owner, driver and their phone numbers and photographs will be collected along with details about the auto. A UV-printed sticker with the details and QR code will provided to each auto and the sticker must be pasted on the vehicle. The passengers will be able to scan the QR code to obtain the details and share them during…

Phase 1 of Chennai Metro to be fully functional this weekend The entire stretch of 45 km comprising Phase 1 of Chennai Metro will become fully functional starting this Sunday, February 10th. Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the state will inaugurate the final leg of Phase 1 connecting AG-DMS to Washermanpet.  The final 10-km stretch from AG-DMS to Washermanpet will be entirely underground and have stations at Washermanpet, Mannady, Madras High Court, Chennai Central, Government Estate, LIC, Thousand Lights and AG-DMS. The construction of Chennai Metro Rail’s phase I project built at a cost of ₹14,600 crore has been…

The 9th Annual Eureka Run sponsored by CanFin Homes is scheduled for 5:45 AM on February 24th, at Elliot’s Beach, Chennai. The run is organized by Aid India, a non-profit working on improvements in learning quality of children in villages. Aid India uses the annual Eureka Run as a platform to create awareness about issues that plague the field of education and its impact on the lives of children in Tamil Nadu. In the 1083 remote villages that it works in, Aid India aims to boost children's confidence by building skills in Spoken English, Mental Maths and Science.  Its unique…

Fuel stickers for Delhi vehicles The Supreme Court-appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has mandated fuel stickers for all vehicles plying in the national capital. The order covers all four-wheelers — old and new; private and commercial; cars, trucks and buses. The vehicles must have stickers that indicate what type of fuel is used by them. All vehicles must comply with the order by using stickers before October 2019. Petrol and CNG vehicles are indicated by light-blue stickers on their windscreens, diesel vehicles must use orange stickers, and electric and hybrid vehicles must use green stickers. 76000 vehicles currently…

88 tonnes of banned plastic seized in January It has been one month since the implementation of plastic ban in the state and the city has had mixed response from various quarters. Chennai corporation has seized 88 tonnes of banned plastic in the city during the last 31 days. According to the data compiled by the civic body, the largest quantity of banned plastics has been seized from outlets in Kodambakkam zone, while the lowest were in Madhavaram zone. It has also been reported that many retailers have gone back to use of banned items, especially bags and packaging material.…

In an attempt to leverage technology for civic responsibility, international school Chettinad Sarvalokaa Education and not-for-profit organisation, Reap Benefit are conducting a two-day event called Sarvalokaa Hackathon 2019. It is an initiative that will bring together young people from various spheres on one platform to solve local, civic and environment issues in their neighbourhoods. The Hackathon will take place on February 1 and 2, 2019 at Chettinad Sarvalokaa Education, inside the Chettinad Health City Campus, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Old Mamallapuram Road, Kelambakkam. The hackathon will comprise of workshops on rapid prototyping, design thinking, electronics and coding by some of the…