Articles by News Desk

GCC to provide vaccines for infants and pregnant women Under Mission Indradanush 5.0, an initiative of the Union government, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to vaccinate infants and pregnant women. The first round of the vaccination drive will be held from August 7 to August 15. The second and third rounds of the vaccination drives will take place in September and October respectively. The vaccines available will cover a range of illnesses such as polio, jaundice, Japanese encephalitis, whooping cough, tetanus and measles.  A door-to-door survey was carried out by the civic body to identify eligible beneficiaries. The…

Red alert in wettest July, holiday for educational institutions Mumbai rains did not take a pause this week, and the city recorded its wettest July ever with 1557.8 mm rain. The IMD issued a red alert on Thursday due to very heavy rains. The city was flooded in many areas. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Thursday. On Friday, both the Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded over 100 mm of rainfall within 24 hours. The northern suburbs, including Dahisar (237mm), Borivali (194mm), Vasai  (138mm), Thane (166mm), and Dahanu (224mm), experienced more intense rains.…

Building Brand Bengaluru The ‘Brand Bengaluru’ project spurred the state government to sign an agreement with Canada-based World Design Organisation (WDO) for suggestions to the BBMP to build the city. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that 200 engineers from the WDO will study and give suggestions on infrastructure, including roads, flyovers, footpaths, junctions, and more. D K Shivakumar had earlier launched a ‘Brand Bengaluru’ campaign and an online portal to invite suggestions by the public on the city’s development. He received 70,000 suggestions from the public, experts, and schoolchildren. Students from 17 schools in a special function spoke…

Application for basic income scheme for women launched in Chennai Applications have been made available for the Kalaignar Magalir Udhavi Thittam, the basic income scheme for women launched by the Tamil Nadu state government.  The scheme excludes households that own a four-wheeler or consumes more than 500 units of electricity per billing cycle. The scheme is expected to benefit one crore women state-wide.  The first phase of the scheme will be rolled out in half of Chennai’s 200 wards. Eligible beneficiaries will be identified and provided financial assistance of Rs 1000 per month. A total of 8.56 lakh application forms…

Monsoon tragedy: Passenger's four-month-old baby falls in nullah, landslide in Raigad  In a heartbreaking incident, a four-month-old baby fell in a nullah on Wednesday, when the train service was disrupted between Thakurli and Kalyan due to waterlogging on tracks. As the train was stuck for hours, the child’s mother Yogita Rumale accompanied by the child’s grandfather Gyaneshwar decided to get down from the train and started to walk on the tracks. While walking on the slippery tracks, the baby slipped from Gyaneshwar’s arms and fell in nullah. Railway Protection Force, National Disaster Response Force, local police team along with local…

BBMP's steps to raise revenue The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) targets increasing its revenue through property tax collection by 50% this year. It collected Rs 2,300 crore in 2022-23, but aims to collect Rs 4,600 crore for the ongoing financial year. BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said that they have set weekly targets for every zone and are reviewing the progress on tax collection every week. He added that those who fail to meet the revenue collection targets will be shunted out. They might either get transferred to other zones or to non-executive posts. Though the current target…

The last phase of the Byappanahalli-KR Puram metro line is slated to be completed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) mid-July or August. The Kengeri-Byappanahalli corridor will be connected to the Whitefield-KR Puram stretch. According to media reports, the ridership on the Whitefield-KR Puram stretch is about 28,000 passengers a day, and once the Purple Line is completed, the numbers are expected to rise significantly and travel time will be reduced too. All stakeholders, BMRCL, BMTC, Auto Unions, BTP, company associations like ORRCA, NASSCOM, and civil society groups, are being asked to get working together to get commuters…

15 railway stations in Chennai soon to get a facelift The Southern Railways has planned to revamp 15 railway stations in Chennai at the cost of Rs 251.97 crore under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The stations that are to get the facelift includes, Guindy, Ambattur, Park, Gummidipoondi and Mambalam. The railway stations will have parking and foot-over-bridges in addition to improving the amenities like broader approach roads, installing CCTV cameras, lifts, escalators, waiting rooms, roof plazas, retail spaces and amenities for persons with disability. Source: The Times of India Read more: Facing a medical emergency in Chennai railway stations?…

Sturdy nets to cover manholes The BMC will now install specially designed protection nets beneath manhole covers to prevent accidents such as people falling into open manholes during floods in the city. The civic engineers have suggested a prototype made from stainless steel with better durability. The nets that are used to cover 1900 manholes at present, are made of ductile metal. The civic body is likely to complete before the next monsoon. Source: Free Press Journal Robots for sewer cleaning The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has installed sewer-cleaning robot to prevent manual scavenging in the city. The sewer tanks,…

2,900 acres of urban forest land encroached In the total 16,988 acres of forest land in Bengaluru Urban district, there are 1,051 cases of encroachment, violating 2,871.37 acres, said Environment and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre. In the Bannerghatta National Park division alone, 587.15 acres of the forest have 347 cases of encroachment. In Bengaluru South, 1,277.33 acres of forest land show 283 encroachments. Bengaluru East's 570 acres have 250 encroachments, Yelahanka has 20 cases and Bengaluru North's 45.01 acres have 65 encroachment cases. Encroachers have been charged under the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 and clearances are being sought under Section…