Articles by News Desk

One hour in the morning and evening is when you can burst crackers in Chennai The Supreme court has allowed Tamil Nadu to set its own time period for bursting crackers but with the rider that it cannot exceed two hours a day. The order has come further to the plea by the TN Government to the apex court citing festival practices in the state. Further to this, the state government has notified that crackers shall be allowed between 6 am to 7 am and 7 pm to 8 pm.  The apex court in response said the state government, if it…

High Court considers scheduling hearings on BBMP's failures on Saturdays The Karnataka High Court's division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and SG Pandit criticised the BBMP's careless approach towards filling potholes.  The court criticised the BBMP than BBMP for failure to meet the target of filling potholes in 198 wards, and said the work would be handed over to other agencies capable of doing the job better. The 43 potholes brought to the judges notice during the last hearing were still present, said the counsel of the petitioners. The HC schedules are delayed due the proceedings on potholes and…

Supreme Court imposes partial cracker ban ahead of Diwali A PIL against the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali has led to restrictions imposed by the apex court on the type of crackers allowed and the time frame during which they may be used. The SC verdict has specified the time during which crackers can be burst, restricting the window to between 8 pm and 10 pm. A ban has also been imposed on ladis or series crackers. Only the sale of green crackers that are less polluting and less harmful to the environment are permitted. The court also restricted the sale of…

Rising cases of dengue in the city With the onset of monsoon, it is not only the bad roads that have been cause for worry but health woes too. Chennai has been recording a steady rise in the number of dengue cases. According to Health Minister Vijayabhaskar the government has already set up fever clinics at government hospitals that function round the clock. Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Institute of Child Health have 8 dengue cases each under treatment. The directorate of public health has recorded a spike in fever cases in the districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur…

On Saturday, October 27th, the city will be witness to yet another human chain, organised this time by the disgruntled citizens of Bellandur, one of the largest wards of Bengaluru with a tax collection of Rs 220 crore. The residents of the ward seek to highlight their issues and put forth their demands to make Bellandur livable. Residents point to the serious discrepancy of funds and infrastructure for the ward by all standards. As per the BBMP Budgetary expenditure (Source: Janaagraha), Bellandur (27 sq km) has got an allocation of Rs 6-7 crore in the annual budget. Considering the parameters…

ITO skywalk re-ignites Delhi-Centre tussle The latest battle ground between the Union government and Delhi is the newly inaugurated 400-metre ITO skywalk in Central Delhi. The skywalk was opened to the public by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri last week. In his inaugural address he accused the Delhi state government for delaying the project by stalling the 20% contribution from the state for the project for over a year. The Rs 54.84-crore project was conceptualised as one that would be completed with 80% funding from the centre and the remaining from the state. The Delhi government in turn has accused…

Swine Flu in Karnataka: 86 cases recorded in BBMP limits this year As many as 542 cases of Swine Flu have been registered so far in Karnataka and eight people had died, between January 2018 to October 17 2018. The toll continues to rise.  86 people were tested positive in BBMP limits, of which 54 cases were recorded in Bengaluru Urban, by the state's Health and Family Welfare Department. Most of the deceased patients were treated at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) between August and October. The latest death reported is of a 58 year-old man from Bengaluru south…

Delhi ups ante on anti-pollution drive An emissions study by the Pune-based System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR) under the ministry of earth sciences (MoES) has identified vehicles and industries as the biggest contributors to particulate matter (PM) 2.5 emissions in Delhi-NCR. Before the report was officially out, the Delhi government has already started a crackdown on unfit and polluting vehicles in Delhi, due to the onset of winter and impending Diwali festivities, to curb air pollution. Over 300 vehicles have come under the Transport Department's scanner, for polluting emissions and  lack of emission  certificates. As many as…

More water for Chennai residents Chennaites have reason to rejoice. The water table in 8 out of 15 zones have seen a slight rise  by 0.68m. While areas of Madhavaram, Ambattur, Annangar, Teynampet, Valsaravakkam, Adyar, Perungudi and Sholinganallur has seen increase,  North Chennai areas like Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Tondiarpet, Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have seen decrease in ground water levels. Meanwhile, the city’s water department has identified 13 lakes and 5 quarries to augment water supply. A special team has been formed at the Metro Water board which will work with PWD and institutions like IIT-M and Anna University…

Bengaluru creates record with 33.4 tonnes of plastic collected in one day Last week, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with support of NGOs working in the field of environmental conservation such as Go Native, Namma Nimma Cycle Foundation, United Way Bengaluru, and Let’s Be The Change hosted a Plog Run to mark Gandhi Jayanti. People who participated in the event jogged while collecting plastic on the way. A report in IB Times says 7000 people participated from 50 locations across the city.  33.4 tonnes of plastic waste was collected, and 10 lakh plastic bottles were recovered. This was a history, surpassing the previous Guinness…