Articles by News Desk

Chennai roads may be dug up during the rains Telecom operators are reported to have received permission to dig up about 2000 km of the city's roads, just a few weeks ahead of the Northeast monsoon. The Chennai Corporation is also reportedly relaying 4000 roads at this time. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department has forecast 12 per cent surplus rainfall in the coming monsoons, which is likely to commence by October 8th, two weeks in advance of its scheduled arrival. Citizens are worried about flooding and safety of commute during the coming monsoon months, given that a short but intense…

Farmers lead Kisan Kranti Yatra to Delhi Around 70,000 farmers from across the country embarked on a yatra to make their demands heard by the central government. The Kisan Kranti Yatra was flagged off on September 23rd and saw farmers raising their voices in several demands, including an increase in minimum support price and loan waiver. They wanted to highlight the general agrarian distress that is prevalent in the country. The farmers however met with police action, with reports of lathi charge and tear gas at the Delhi-UP border as they neared the capital. There was widespread condemnation of the attempt to muzzle the…

Karnataka first state to pass Good Samaritan Bill The Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation during Emergency Situations) Bill 2016 has finally got President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent for implementation in the state. Home ministry officials confirmed the news to the media on Sunday. The act relieves citizens who act as ‘Good Samaritans’ during road-accidents, providing timely help to victims, from all legal obligations including appearances at police stations or courts. Bystanders to accidents don’t need to produce identity proof at the hospital and can withhold consent to act as witnesses, thus preventing harassment for the good deed…

Now you can volunteer with the Chennai Corporation The Chennai floods of 2015 saw many individuals and associations coming together to reach out to the needy and ever since, there has been a steady increase in the rise of citizen movements.  Taking cue from this, the Chennai Corporation has now rolled out the carpet for individuals and groups to enrol as volunteers with the Chennai Corporation. All you have to do is fill in a form that is available on www.chennai.corporation.gov.in or with the respective zonal offices.  The volunteering service will mainly be related to relief and rescue operations in…

High Court pulls up Palike for not filling potholes While hearing the Public Interest Litigation filed by four Koramangala residents including Vijayan Menon in 2015, the division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S.G. Pandit issued oral directions to the Palike to complete filling 1600 potholes by the next day (September 20). The deadline was then extended to September 24 to ensure that there were no potholes on the roads, but the Palike found it difficult to accomplish the task, especially as the white-topping work was in progress. The HC appointed a commission consisting of  Dinesh Agrawal, Head of…

Mumbai bids farewell to Bappa Mumbai celebrated Ganesh Visarjan by immersing close to 41000 idols over two days at the close of the Ganpati festival this year. Two deaths and over 50 injuries were reported in incidents related to the Visarjan. The annual celebration sees idol immersion after the festivities. The authorities enabled festivities to carry on without disruption by closing 53 roads and a further 99 roads for heavy vehicles. There were a few restrictions, however, on the celebration this year such as a ban on DJs and Dolby sound systems at Ganesh pandals across the city. The authorities also received around…

With storage levels dipping,  Krishna water likely to ease Chennai’s thirst With water storage levels dipping at the city’s major reservoirs, it is a grim situatioin as it may only feed the city for a month. But the good news is that the city will start receiving 2 TMC of Krishna water anytime now.  As per the 1983 agreement between the two states, 12 tmcft water should be supplied to Chennai of which  8 tmcft should have come between July and October. Lack of adequate inflow in the waterbodies of Andhra Pradesh was cited for the delay in releasing water…

The cash-strapped municipality of Bengaluru, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has acknowledged the long-known financial problems the BBMP is facing. BBMP is unable to fund the pending infrastructure projects, with amounts payable by the BBMP including pending bills mounting upto Rs 15,428.67 crore. BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad formally wrote to the Karnataka Urban Development Department asking that the BBMP be brought under the ambit of Karnataka Local Fund authorities and Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003. The act says the local body must compulsorily try to achieve 'sufficient revenue surplus' - excess of income generated in comparison to projected income. The commissioner…

LED lights to illuminate Bengaluru airport's second runway in 2019 The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA)'s brand new second runway slated to operate from October 2019 will be powered by energy and cost-saving LED lights. This choice was made to ensure lower maintenance, reduce power cost, ensure higher levels of safety and efficient operations. This will be the only airport in India to have LEDs. In a press release issued by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), CFO Tom Shimmin said that US based company, ADB Safegate, will be installing the necessary equipment to maintain the airfield’s LED lights such as cables…

Urban floods: Will urban affairs ministry take charge? Given the spate of flooding incidents in Indian cities and towns in the recent past, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is reportedly planning to involve the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) to spell out ways in which the ministry can act to prevent and mitigate the impacts of urban floods. In 2010 an expert panel of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had issued guidelines on management of urban flooding, and had recommended the establishment of an urban flooding unit under the ministry of urban affairs, headed by…